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H Queen’s accommodates
only top galleries and
extraordinary restaurants.
A new mall typology?
HONG KONG – What does the future hold
for the shopping mall? ‘U.S. mall-vacancy
rate hit its highest level in seven years,’
according to a Forbes report published
several months ago. It’s a statistic that belies
a period of strong economic growth. Take
a closer look, and you’ll find that high-end
malls perform admirably and that the overall
decline is due mainly to shopping centres
that have failed to innovate.
Malls trace their roots to depart-
ment stores. Whereas these one-stop shops
are found in city centres, however, the mall
represents a suburban alternative: a broad
selection of stores under one roof, public
space that functions as a town centre, and
a parking garage for optimum accessibility.
The history of malls is well known: advanc-
ing e-commerce, a middle-of-the-road
product and brand supply, and few signs of
modernization have undermined the con-
cept in recent years.
Nonetheless, hope abides. Forward-
thinking property developers realize they
have to invest in attractive play areas for chil-
dren and in an aesthetic upgrade. They also
see the necessity for expanding an often one-
sided portfolio with non-retail – from F&B
and hotels to fitness studios and co-working
spaces – and for aiming such facilities at one
specific lifestyle.
An extreme example in this category
is in Hong Kong’s historical art district,
where a sleek 24-storey tower soars 125 m
into the sky. Unlike other shopping centres,
H Queen’s was conceived with only two
types of tenants in mind and one type of cus-
tomer. Its art galleries and restaurants target
a well-heeled clientele with superb taste.
Architect William Lim, founder of
local firm CL3 Architects, translated their
well-defined demands into a programme
that occupies an austere glass tower with
two disparate features. The three bottom and
five uppermost floors are slightly staggered
relative to each other to make room for spa-
cious restaurant terraces. The glazed façades
are partially covered with a grid of white
dots that tempers sunlight. Along with its
distinctly white street image, these features
attained an LEED gold status for the building.
The interior couples the anticipated
luxury with unexpected efficiency. Stepping
out of the lift, you instantly find yourself in
a gallery or restaurant. Public space was not
included in the design. Among the tenants
are David Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth,
premium galleries previously unable to find
a suitable spot in art city Hong Kong. A roof
lift hoists works of art weighing as much
as 1.25 tonnes into the building through a
3-m-wide, 4.5-m-high opening in the curtain
wall. Of equally high calibre are the restau-
rants, one of which is Ichu, a spin-off
of Lima’s legendary Central.
The one-stop art-and-food shop
H Queen’s is unique in its genre: a building
with a comparable programme is nowhere
else to be found. Yet. – RT
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