25FEBRUARY 20 20 FORBES ASIAH
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One striking example of K11’s brand DNA is the atrium of K11 Mu-
sea, which soars eight stories and features twin circular skylights and
a geodesic sphere measuring 10.4 meters in diameter suspended over
the space whose interior is reserved for performances or exhibitions.
heng’s gamble is showing early signs of paying off:
even as Hong Kong’s economy contracted, K11 Musea
opened last August with 97% occupancy and K11 Ate-
lier has around 80% occupancy at rental rates above
HK$100 per square foot ($13)—33% above the average
rent for grade-A office space. The complex has won multiple awards—
even one for its carpark, which features graffiti by Cara To, a Belgian
artist born to Hong Kong parents.
“Our slogan for New World Development is we create, we are arti-
sans,” Cheng says. “I want everyone to believe that they are a creator,
that they can innovate and create things.” Victoria Dockside’s ten-
ants include Cartier and Gucci, and several brands new to Hong Kong
such as Fortnum & Mason’s first store outside the U.K., a Le Cordon
Bleu cooking school and a Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry school (only the
second such school in the world).
Cheng, 40 and an avid art collector, first tested K11 in Hong Kong
in 2009 with a six-story “art mall” in Kowloon’s Masterpiece build-
ing, a joint venture between New World and Hong Kong’s Urban Re-
development Authority. He then developed K11 projects in mainland
China—Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Wuhan—all of
which combine commerce with art. He plans to keep expanding the
K11 brand, with plans for a total 36 projects opened across China by
- He also runs the nonprofit K11 art foundation and the for-profit
K11 Investment fund.
“The hardest thing I think is the tenacity and the perseverance of
testing that product for the first few years, and believing that it would
work, not blindly or egotistically, but knowing it would take time,”
Cheng says of his vision for K11.
LONG HISTORY
how the younger Cheng positioned
the Victoria Dockside, New World
Centre in its heyday was considered
one of Hong Kong’s premier lifestyle
destinations and was once one of the
largest mixed-used developments in
the world by size.Even as Hong
Kong’s economy
contracted, K11
Musea opened
last August with
97% occupancy.
K11 is a novel concept—blending “art, people
and nature.” It is meant to fuse together elements
of artistic, cultural and environmental design in
public and private spaces. “I don’t see [K11 Mu-
sea] as a shopping mall, but as a place for mil-
lennials to learn, acquire knowledge and be im-
mersed in different cultures.”
To fulfill his vision, he hired 100 designers, ar-
chitects and artists from around the world, each
overseeing a different part of the complex, even
utilitarian areas such as the carpark. Coordi-
nating it all was New York’s Kohn Pedersen Fox
Associates, one of the world’s leading architec-
tural firms.CO
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Victoria Dockside in 1910 (left) and today.The Victoria Dockside site has a
long history, dating back to 1910.
It was once known as Holt’s Wharf
and was one of Hong Kong’s major
shipping and logistics centers. Cheng
Yu-tung, then 46, bought the site in
1971, just one year after New World
Development had been established
and a year before the company went
public on the Hong Kong exchange.
He proceeded to redevelop it into
the New World Centre, a mixed-use
site that included the Regent Hotel
(now the InterContinental). Much like
Victoria Dockside, New World Centre
also opened in phases, and was finally
completed in the 1980s. Also akin toC