snøhetta's urban farm sprouts green pockets in bustling hong kong

Snøhetta introduces its urban farm in Hong Kong

Snøhetta returns to Hong Kong with its urban farm design bringing green pockets into the heart of the bustling city.

Conceived for The Pavilia Farm residential development in Tai Wai, the project consists of three clubhouses that

encourage social interaction, shaping a gathering space where residents can share experiences, dive into calm, and enjoy urban farming in a shared garden. This green lung in the middle of the densely populated city brings people closer together and closer to nature, inviting them to leave the urban environment that surrounds them behind for a while and surrender to the positive effects of agriculture.

‘Pavilia Farm is a project that highlights the importance of creating new green, urban neighborhoods. More people live in cities than ever before – and that trend is likely to continue to increase in the future – so we need to build in a way that can make it sustainable – both environmentally and socially,’ says Robert Greenwood, Partner and Managing Director of Snøhetta Asia. all images by ©New World Development

A shelter for interaction and calm

Celebrating the beautiful landscape of mountains and the Shing Mun River, Snøhetta (see more here) designed three small structures ‘to become sanctuaries of calm and simplicity in the heart of buzzing Hong Kong’. The aim of the project is to bring a playful touch to the urban city and enhance the life quality of both old and young residents. Two of the three clubhouses dubbed ‘the Tea House and the Farm House’ just opened, while the last one with the name ‘the Sky House’ is expected to be completed at the end of 2023. Each of them serves different purposes for the local community, but they all share the same philosophy of adding green pops to the urban future and creating memories.

‘The Pavilia Farm and the clubhouses are small but perfect examples of how that can be done. At Snøhetta, we talk about collective ownership and creating places and spaces that belong to the collective and can bring people together. Spaces that belong to no one and everyone at the same time. With this project, the Tea House and The Farm House represent those ideas and create a green lung in the middle of pulsating Hong Kong. A space where all the residents can find peace and calm, but also interact and connect with each other’, continues Robert Greenwood.

Three small pockets

The Tea House is planned ‘as a point of arrival’, inviting guests to escape from the fast-paced city and indulge in a serene journey. This ambition is accentuated by the element of water, which is the protagonist of the structure. An indoor pool on one side and a waterfall on the other echo the continuous sound of the falling water, fostering a relaxing harmony calming the mind, and slowing down the tempo.

Unlike the meditative mood of the Tea House, the Farm House takes shape as a gathering hub, bringing the farm inside the house and bringing visitors together. Surrounded by the urban farm and its produce, it becomes the centerpiece of Pavilia Farm. Rail-bound table system invites the community to gather under the same roof and linger around the same table. Informed by a conventional dining table in a home, this table is ‘the center point for conversations, laughter, and spending time together’. Here residents can prepare and eat the food they have collected, while conversations flow and experiences are shared. This clubhouse forms a ‘close-knitted community through food and harvesting from nature’.

the houses create a sanctuary for peacefulness and joy