Woods Bagot breaks the ice

Ice cube-inspired retail facility in Causeway Bay completed by international practice

Just days after it surfaced that China plans to merge nine of its key industrial cities into a single giant metropolis, Woods Bagot has announced the completion of a 25 storey retail tower in the heart of Hong Kong.
Located on Hoi Ping Road in Hong Kong’s busiest commercial district, Causeway Bay, the Cubus Building is adorned with geometric lighting panels ‘inspired by ice cubes’. Stephen Jones, Principal at Woods Bagot, explains: “The value proposition for this project was to create a landmark building exhibiting a strong identity that differentiates itself in the market. The project team has fulfilled the client’s vision, with the building set to become a landmark in this busy area of Hong Kong Island.”
Internally the towering structure offers up 5,600 sq m of retail and restaurant space, however it is externally that the Cubus Building is set apart from its neighbouring rivals. A generous glass lift affords sweeping views over the animated urban development of Hong Kong, toting the tower as a tourist attraction as much as a local retail facility.
Jones continues: “The development of ‘Podium Tower’ buildings continue to prevail in Hong Kong due to local site coverage regulation, however, the design team transformed this potential constraint into an opportunity by creating exclusive open decks through the reduction of the lower-level floor, floorplate sizes.”