Art museum in Hong Kong, occupying two floors within a large mixed-use development. The project’s unique facade pushes the boundaries of glass fabrication technology, comprising 475 glass tubes, each nine metres tall.
The K11 development project is located in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The all-glass facade for the museum space is located within the sixth and seventh floors of a multi-storey development and wraps around half the building footprint (approximately 170 metres).
The facade consists of 475 glass cylinders, each nine metres tall with a radius of 450mm, encircling the museum. Never before have glass panels of this size been curved to such a tight radius. These cylinders have been fabricated from two half-cylinders, themselves formed with hot slumped laminated glass, that are then sealed together with silicone.
All panels are base supported, with the panels over the entrance and openings being supported on the adjacent full-height glass cylinders via a mechanical connection bolted through the glass. Movements from the supporting structure are accommodated through vertically released connection details at the top restraint.
We were challenged to design and engineer the tubular structural glass facade that would span from bottom to top without additional supports, meanwhile meeting the energy and performance requirements of the project.
