Avant-garde architect uses curves to reinforce sense of movement

World renowned architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia has never reneged on the principles of modernism, always pushing it forward decisively.

His recent project Le Meridien Cyberport conspicuously brings the principles to the fore of Hong Kong's architectural scene.

The co-founder of Arquitectonica International said the hotel building was a reflection of an idea carried forward through a form.

'The materials used, metal and glass, are much of our time. It is certainly a design of simplicity, with not so many ornaments. Its feature is in the form,' he said.

'Besides, the building is not symmetric and static. It is dynamic and implies movement. Look at the curve and the roof of the hotel and you can feel the building is moving towards the water.'

Ever since the Pink House in Miami, Mr Fort-Brescia has fought the front lines of avant-garde design. The Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum ran a four-month retrospective on Arquitectonica's work throughout the world, focusing on the Times Square redevelopment.

Mr Fort-Brescia said Le Meridien Cyberport, at the far end of a cluster of buildings in Cyberport, reinforced a sense of motion within the site.

'The hotel is very much a part of Cyberport. It has to create synergy between the various components,' he explained. 'Its exterior complements the whole development. The materials used fully convey Cyberport's message.'

The hotel adopted a segmented, curved form to break up the mass of the building and reflect the dynamic nature of the Cyberport development, he said.

Mr Fort-Brescia said Le Meridien Cyberport was formed by three curving structure volumes.

'Its three curving volumes gently lean towards the sea. Among them, the atrium forms the focal point of the property,' he said.

He said the big glass facade of the atrium promised an open view of the sea and allowed natural light to penetrate the building.

With the spacious interior setting, all the hotel facilities and services are open to guests.

'Everything stays open, this is modern living expressed in a design form,' he said.

The Cyberport development occupies 24 hectares of land in Telegraph Bay at the southwestern side of Hong Kong Island. Its low density, campus-style design takes advantage of its unique ocean-front location.

The development is a 24-hour living and working environment that caters for the specific needs of information technology companies and provides flexibility, creative stimulation and social interaction. It calls for distinctive architectural structures to create a recognisable image.

'Cyberport is an unusual [project],' said Mr Fort-Brescia, the principal architect of the development.

'It is not a high-rise project, yet in size it is high-rise horizontally. It follows the geology of the site and creates a form more like a sculpture than a box.'

The important part of the design was that all components in the valley faced the sea, and the sequence of the buildings which are of different heights, was interlocking like a chain, he explained.

'At Cyberport, the landscaped podium level campus that sits on the fourth floor of the development, is an artificial geography providing a panorama perspective just like standing on a mountain.

'At the podium is an amphitheatre equipped with a large screen. It is set to be a prefect venue for activities.'

Similar to a traditional academic campus, the perimeter of this large open space is defined by the office tower, the hotel and the Cybercentre.

According to the architect, the building forms are intended to look like a dynamic collage of blue, amber and white prisms that imply a sense of motion through their sloping facades and 'speed-line' light features.