Contrary to appearances, this is not an apartment. It's a beautifully appointed showroom for the fledgling solar-power consultancy that owns it. That's because, under government regulations, industrial units such as this cannot be converted for residential use, no matter how tempting the high ceilings, large windows and mountain views.
For one of the consultancy's investors, Phillip Meyer, it's both home from home and work from work; he sleeps in a flat a couple of minutes away and has a day job in finance. As a hangout, this place is hard to beat.
'I'd been looking for a loft space - something bigger and more unusual than the typical Hong Kong apartment,' he says. 'And I wanted to explore green living, particularly solar power, but with an 'eco-indulgence' twist. So this seemed a good opportunity to invest in a working showroom using eco-friendly principles and start a business to encourage other people to do the same.
'The company is still in its early stages, as we've only just finished the unit, and we've yet to formalise the data on just how much power we're saving and so on. But it's something I'm keen to pursue,' he says.
Having lived in New York, where the loft apartment was all but invented, he immediately saw the potential in the wide-open spaces of this 2,000 sq ft industrial unit. But the clincher was the rooftop that came with it, also 2,000 sq ft.
'When I saw that, I had to have it,' he says. 'We're at the edge of the New Territories, overlooking the Sha Tin valley, and there's such a feeling of openness and light. The building was the right size - not too big - and the roof gave us the perfect location for the solar panels, as well as the chance for a 'garden' space. How often do you find that in Hong Kong? Plus the price was more reasonable than [those on] the Southside, where I also looked.'