Beijing Horticultural Exposition was the largest exposition after 2010 Shanghai Expo in China. The theme of the Exposition is “Live Green, Live Better”. This design was selected to represent Hong Kong in the Exposition.

The theme of the Hong Kong Garden is the “City of Contrast”. The Hong Kong Garden explores a design approach to reconcile development and nature in the urban environment. It reflects the contrasting urban and garden images in the territory, examines the relationship between the development and nature and explores the aesthetic value of edible landscape.

The Architectural Pavilion embodies the essence of Hong Kong’s urban experience. It comprises of a 28m(W) x 7m(H) vertical artistic feature wall revealing the unique urban fabric along the transect of the Victoria Harbour. It is an abstract expression of the figure ground plan to induce visitors’ curiosity to discover Hong Kong with different angles.

The steel framework creates an architectural visual effect where traditional neon light signage and vertical greenery interweave. The façade in the form of overlaying semi-transparent steel reinforcement meshes celebrates the everyday construction materials. It creates different layers of visual space that embodies the essence of Hong Kong’s urban experience. Instead of deconstructing the sensation into a formal structure, the deployment of urban fragments resembles a cohesive form of impressionable memory.

Architecture blends with nature. Bamboos and vertical greening are introduced within a compressed 3-dimensional space, utilizing every possible inch of greening opportunity. The resultant intermingling of greenery within the steel structure is an attempt to develop alternative vertical greening module that could flexibly be accommodated to hyper-dense urban conditions. The Horticultural Garden features edible and medicinal planting that are rarely used in contemporary public space design.  It unveils the aesthetic quality of edible landscape and re-establishes visitors’relationship with the nature through the surprises unveiled in the flâneur of the garden. Apple trees, mint, green onion, celery and rosemary, commonly found on plates, can be found in the garden for aesthetic appreciation.

The project curates an experience inviting visitors to unfold the multi-facets of Hong Kong. It demonstrates how food urbanism and sustainable initiatives could be incorporated to a compact city.