ICEBERG, 68 KIMBERLEY ROAD

Taking inspiration from the forms of glaciers, architectural practice, ARK designed “Iceberg” to stand out against the surrounding concrete buildings in the heart of the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong.

Describing it as a “Ginza” type retail development, the architects said it was important that the architectural design is unique and iconic to attract people to the building. Ginza is an upscale area of Tokyo recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world.

Night lighting is especially important to Ginza-style malls as they are open late into the night, and façade lighting needs to draw attention and attract shoppers and customers to the mall. Inhabit’s specialist lighting team were engaged by ARK and property developers Henderson Land Development to explore methods of increasing the presence of the building at night and generate a unique presence within the area.

At street level, narrow, diffused L.E.D profiles have been meticulously integrated into the pavement and the triangular glass panels to abstractly suggest cracks in ice. The bright lines acquire the attention from shoppers bustling along the busy street and draw closer attention to the entry point of the mall.

Moving further up the building, linear L.E.D profiles are concealed in a custom-made light trough at the bottom of the spandrels to illuminate the ceramic ink frit pattern on the façade’s glass panels. The R.G.B.W, L.E.D technology, combined with the ceramic frit, create cloudy, diffused lines across the façade to amplify the building’s geometry and provide a programme of gradual changing colours that recalls the Aurora Borealis lighting effects which can be seen in the skies of the Artic Circle.

The lighting for iceberg is a great example of what we bring to our projects at Inhabit; we have an abstract narrative of the “Northern Lights” that suggests the vapour-like colours created by this phenomenon, together with integrated features that highlights the geometry of the architecture. These, combined with the striking and sharp diffused lines of light at the entry area, generate a unique outcome within a densely built-up area of Hong Kong.”

  • Scope
    SPECIALIST LIGHTING DESIGN
  • Location
    HONG KONG, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
  • Client
    HENDERSON LAND DEVELOPMENT
  • Architect
    ARK ASSOCIATES
  • Photos
    EDMON LEONG