[ 建築是時代的映照，是建築師對未來的想像，亦是當刻建築科技的演示。位處中環核心的The Henderson，建築以洋紫荊含苞待放的形態作為設計靈感，以曲線回應大自然有機與不規則之美。適逢疫症後整個社會對辦公空間的設計重新檢視，The Henderson 融合先進科技、工藝創新及可持續建築設計，是一幢面向未來的超甲級辦公大樓。]

An Icon Amongst Icons – Benchmark Office Design

Digital design conceptions
‍Located in the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district, the design aspired to be “An Icon Amongst Icons” and to set a benchmark for workplace design of the new generation. Echoing the organic forms of the natural world, the base of the tower is elevated above the ground to create a new civic plaza with generous planting in the public realm. With three public gardens & parks in the vicinity, the tranquil outdoors naturally flows into the generous communal spaces of the interior. [01] The craftsmanship and precision of the curved glass façade enhance the seamless connectivity between the building’s interiors and the surrounding gardens with the city beyond.The fluidity of the geometries presented the necessity for extensive adoption of digital tools for the detailed design of the all-glass envelope. Aspects of façade design were studied in depth with different software, including overall geometry study, glass penalization, twisted mullion study, curved subframes design, building services integration, interface with structures and, more importantly, visualization of the outlook before production and site work.With the design fully visualized in the digital world, contractors also transformed their production planning and fabrication with reliance on the same digital model, resulting in an end-to-end digitized process. Digital moulds were used for the creation of varying glass modules, resulting in a high level of precision, reduced erroneous moulds and wastage, and guaranteed tolerance compliance for installation. This was the first project accomplished with custom-made “digital moulds” via the hot glass bending technology of such extent and complexity. This also helps in long-term building maintenance through digitization with easy accessibility to 3D information to avoid wastage or redundancy.

Precise steelwork was also the essential pre-requisite for the successful implementation of a steel-and-glass construction. High-precision twisting steel works for façade mullions were made feasible with the highly complex 3D models, and on-site 3D scanning enabled low tolerances and remarkable accuracy for installation, which was crucial for programme-sensitive projects like The Henderson.

[01] Render by Zaha Hadid Architects

Building technologies and sustainability
The high-tensile steel structure provides a very wide skin-to-core span, up to 26m, of naturally lit, column-free, Grade A office space with a 5-metre floor-to-floor height of maximum flexibility. The tower’s vertical core is located on the eastern side of the building to optimise views of Chater Garden and the city’s renowned skyline to the west. [2] To uphold the vision of creating a benchmark of future-ready offices, especially after the pandemic when the physical workspace is no longer a must, The Henderson embraces 4 pillars of sustainability through the integration of the latest digital technologies - Resilience, Health, Green, Smart technology, together with Hospitality services to attract tenants and talents. Designed to ensure resilience against powerful typhoons in the region, the typical tower façade is comprised of 4-ply, double-laminated, double-curved insulated glass units – the first of their kind in Hong Kong – to effectively insulate the building while protecting the building users from potential damage to properties and disruption to business. Climate risk assessments were conducted with digital mapping of local micro-climate to ensure the envelope is suitably adjusted to address particular wind pressures. The novel “façade resilience strategy” is built into the curtain wall system to combat the climate crisis yet in a sustainable and maintenance-friendly manner.‍

[02] Photo by Virgile S. Bertrand.

Connection with the cityscape
Designed to be accessed through multiple levels, the triple-height entrance lobby at ground level welcomes building occupants and visitors with its interplay of natural light, planting and organic forms leading up to the upper office public lobby above the city’s elevated walkway network. [03] [04]As a continuation of the fluidity of the tower façade, the glass ceiling hovering above the public footbridge employed the same digital fabrication process to ensure precision and full integration of services. 3D printing of subframe details assisted the architect’s review of the overall appearance and enabled contractors to fully understand the constructability prior to site installation. [05]Similar to other projects in the city, the structural design of the footbridge & curved cladding works was pushed to the limits to comply with stringent site coverage limitations. Building services, planting, structure subframes and architectural finishes were thoroughly reviewed in BIM to ensure both spatial compliance and aesthetic requirements for enhanced pedestrian experience. [06]

[03] Crafted aluminium “petal” cladding through digitization on Ground Level Entrance Lobby. Photo by Virgile S. Bertrand.

[04]  24-hour pedestrian walkway enhancing connectivity. Left - Photo by Virgile S. Bertrand. Right - Photo by Studio UNIT.

[05] Left – Study of sprinkler integration in BIM. Right – Review of constructability through 3D print.

[06]  Bottom – Subframe study for glass ceiling above footbridge.

Smart technology in building management
In the post-pandemic era of raised health awareness, the building’s smart management system creates a contactless pathway for all occupants from the street to their workstation, which eliminates direct contact with communal surfaces and through AI-assisted lift controls. Using a mobile phone with Bluetooth function or a contactless smart card, building occupants can enter the building, pass security, call lifts to their office floor, and access other zones such as amenity sky gardens and washrooms, all in a frictionless fashion yet without compromising property security.

Connected to wind sensors at the weather stations at the tower top and street level, the building allows hybrid ventilation through the automated management system based on real-time on-the spot weather information, enabling all office areas to be naturally ventilated. Natural ventilation can also be supplemented with dehumidification and filtration, when required, to further enhance the indoor environment air quality. The building is equipped with an air monitoring system to detect the degree of occupancy for all interior spaces and allows automatic adjustment of indoor temperature, humidity and fresh air supply to meet demands. These smart systems learn to accurately predict daily occupancy trends to optimise energy demand, ensuring increased efficiencies with lower energy consumption.

Towards carbon neutrality
To comprehensively address carbon emissions, The Henderson did not stop at the building design and construction completion. Instead, the goal is to reduce whole life cycle carbon emissions through various sustainability and smart building strategies, involving building occupants’ behaviour change while customizing the workplace environment to suit individual needs without compromising occupants’ comfort or convenience. Analytic modules are integrated with the Digital Twin and the smart office application to enhance control over various workplace systems. The analytic module performs data analysis and generates building performance data which provide insights to tenants that assist their carbon neutrality journey. This user data-driven approach and enhanced user controllability engage tenants in making a paradigm shift and reducing carbon emissions as part of The Henderson’s carbon neutrality roadmap from a life-cycle perspective.
‍
Architecture is a reflection of the latest technology and local culture of its time. As one of the newest icons in the heart of the city, The Henderson looks to the future with the integration of advanced design, construction and operational technologies.

Eureka CHU, Senior Associate at Ronald Lu & Partners.
朱勵雅 呂元祥建築事務所 高級經理

1. Project Name

   The Henderson

2. Project Type

   Commercial – office and retail

3. Design  Year

   2017-2020

4. Start/ Completion Date

   2018 – Sep 2024

5. Building Area (GFA)

   43,200m²

6. Height

   184m (36 levels inc. ground, 5 below ground)

7. Location

   2 Murray Road, Central, Hong Kong

8. Client

   Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd.

9. Lead Architect & Authorized Person

   Ronald Lu & Partners (Hong Kong) Ltd.

10. Design Architect

    Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)

11. Building Services Engineering

    WSP (Asia)
    

12. Structural & Geotechnical Engineering

    C M Wong & Associates; Eckersley O’Callaghan Asia (Footbridges & Banquet Hall) LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (Steel)
    

13. Facade Engineering

    Group 5F; Meinhardt Facade Technology (Hong Kong)

14. Lighting consultant

    Speirs + Major (Overall & Media Façade) ; LichtVision;

15. Landscaping

    PWP Landscape Architecture; Earthasia

16. Quantity Surveyor

    Rider Levett Bucknall

17. Sustainability & IT Consultant

    Arup (in collaboration with Microsoft on IT Consultancy)

18. Traffic consultant

    MVA (Hong Kong)

19. Acoustic consultant

    Shen Milsom & Wilke

20. Vibration consultant

    C.F. Ng and Associates

21. AV / IV / Specialist Media consultant

    Ptarmigan Integration Limited

22. Security consultants

    UCS Hong Kong (Physical); PWC (Cyber security)

23. Signage & Wayfinding consultant

    Atelier Pacific