Get closer to nature and reconnect with what matters at this rooftop urban farm

This urban biodiversity museum and sustainability themed education park called Nature Discovery Park, sits on the rooftop of a newly developed retail destination in the centre of Hong Kong. The rooftop urban farm, designed in collaboration by LAAB Architects and PLandscape, offers city dwellers a place to connect with nature and to learn about sustainability.

This immersive park runs tours, workshops and education programs for adults and kids where they can get their hands dirty and learn about growing food, biodiversity and sustainability. Plus there is also a a butterfly garden, a native and rare plants garden and an aquarium which is home to the water and tropic marine species that would be in the nearby Victoria Harbour if it wasn’t polluted! Fish are beautiful to watch at any time but imagine how motivating it would be to see what varieties you could have in your nearby harbour if action was taken to clean it up.

Central to the rooftop urban farm is the glass house, which was prefabricated to reduce construction waste. Its facade was made from double glazed glass to reduce heat gain and sliding doors are used to naturally ventilate the space. The building’s roofline is tipped up slightly to help catch sea breezes from the nearby harbour. The glasshouse is home to a hydroponic nursery with a dining space overlooking the outdoor outdoor farm, where they serve farm-to-table meals. Sustainable timber was used to make everything from the gorgeous timber furniture, pendants, joinery and even door handles. Make sure you check out the lovely plant filled hanging pendants!

The K11 MUSEA, the shopping centre which the Nature Discovery Park sits atop, as achieved US LEED certification and BEAM Plus green building certification in Hong Kong (provisional silver level).

Related project: Want to know more about how Hong Kong is greening up the city, read about their plans to be a city of sustainable skyscrapers.

Sustainability specs:
– Rooftop urban farm
– Outdoor farm, indoor hydroponic farm
– Farm to table meals
– Sustainable timber used to make furniture, door handles and pendant lamps
– Naturally ventilated
– Double glazing throughout
– Tours, workshops, community gardening, education programs to teach people about growing their own food, biodiversity and sustainability

The spatial design of Nature Discovery Park advocates for the co-existence of human, nature, and urban environment by enabling eco-tours and a series of education programmes on biodiversity and sustainability.