The campus lies at the geographical centre of a built-up urban district in the eastern part of Hong Kong Island. The site area is about 9,930 square metres, accessible by public transport and located within walking distance of mass transit railway stations. It abuts a future park to the southeast, a bus depot to the northeast and an elevated railway line to the northwest. The campus also lies in close proximity to a waterfront located to the east; a high-rise public housing estate to the south; and another member institute campus to the north. The elevated railway line to the northwest and the six-lane Wing Tai Road to the south create serious traffic noise pollution. Pedestrians commonly access the site by an elevated footbridge across Wing Tai Road. Vehicular access is permitted from the eastern corner of the site.

Design

The twin-block design opens up to the harbour and the adjacent district’s open space on the east to create high building permeability, enhancing views, daylight, natural ventilation, and the microclimate of the wider neighbourhood.

Mitigation of climate change

The annual energy consumption for the baseline is estimated to be around 5,335 MWh. The annual energy consumption of THEi is estimated to be about 4,000 MWh (the projected annual operating energy consumption is therefore 102 kWh/m2/year; while projected annual carbon emissions related to the operation is 2,822 metric ton/year).

Engagement

Students and faculty were engaged to solicit their feedback on the architectural design and room layouts through face-to-face meetings, surveys, physical models, scaled drawings and computer simulations in the design stage.