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Architecture and design
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Dutch design bears fruit in Mong Kok for those who are millennial at heart

In one of the most densely populated areas of the city, the 28-floor high Skypark aims to offer open spaces, vegetable gardens and a sense of community

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The rooftop of Skypark has plenty of plants and even an area where residents can grow their own vegetables. Photo: Courtesy of Skypark
Kate Whitehead

Mong Kok has a new residential development designed for and marketed to millennials, but that does not mean you have to be a 20- or 30-something to live there. “Millennial”, says the project’s chief architect, is a mindset and translated into high-rise living that means breaking down boundaries and creating a sense of community.

Robert Wagemans, founder of Amsterdam-based firm Concrete, is the chief architect on the Skypark project. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Robert Wagemans, founder of Amsterdam-based firm Concrete, is the chief architect on the Skypark project. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“You can be a millennial at 45; Steve Jobs was a millennial in his mindset,” says 43-year-old millennial Rob Wagemans, founder of Amsterdam-based design firm Concrete and chief architect on the Skypark project in Mong Kok.

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New World Development echoes that sentiment, with its literature on the project contending: “Millennials are environmentally conscious, fond of a sociable lifestyle, open to inhabiting co-living spaces and are keen on both accessibility to, and connection with nature.”

Breaking down barriers is central to the design philosophy of Wagemans and his team of 46 architects and designers in Amsterdam. Photo: Courtesy of Skypark
Breaking down barriers is central to the design philosophy of Wagemans and his team of 46 architects and designers in Amsterdam. Photo: Courtesy of Skypark
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Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, executive vice-chairman and general manager of New World Development, was familiar with Wagemans’ work designing hip hotels such as W Hotel and CitizenM, with its focus on community, and saw him as a good fit for 28-floor Skypark.

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