Building a better community

According to Bryant Lu, Vice Chairman of Ronald Lu & Partners (RLP), an award-winning architectural and interior design firm founded in 1976, architects are commissioned by clients but they have a greater responsibility.  “For all our projects, we have to consider the social and economic impacts to their community in addition to the financial impact to the client as well as the needs of the end-users,” he said.

This means that architects are not just creating buildings and spaces that are aesthetically pleasing but also socially responsible because most buildings are going to last for a few decades and serving generations of people.  The refurbishment project of China Resources Building, Harbour Road Garden and Causeway Centre in Wanchai was a prime example of how RLP designed a win-win-win-win projects for the clients, users, local government and the public with a better environment that creates greater economic and social value.

Built in the 80s, the headquarters of the China Resources Group was made up of a 50-storey office building with a six-storey commercial podium and a walled public park. In the late 2000s, the owner decided to make significant changes to the building.  Lu said, “The owner believed that China Resources Building and the whole area had to be rebuilt in order to compete with neighbouring contemporary office buildings. However, we convinced them to adopt a more comprehensive and sustainable revitalisation strategy in the initial design proposal.  This must have been a relief to the government too because all the solid waste generated from building demolition would otherwise be dumped into the landfill.”

RLP was eventually tasked with the revitalisation of China Resources Building, Harbour Road Garden and Causeway Centre, which today acts a role model for rebranding and upgrading existing buildings, public area and community space, with its retrofitting approach and sustainable design.

The renovation work began in early 2009 after a three-year design and pre-construction planning process. Among all, the upgrading of the main building was the most challenging part as RLP had to complete the works within two years without removing any of the building’s tenants. A special construction process was developed to carry out the works and has proven to be very successful. Most importantly, this project successfully preserved an architectural icon within the fabric of the city, while bringing it up to 21st century standards of sustainable design and upgrading its identity to a socially responsible international company.