Text description provided by the architects. Amid the myriad of skyscrapers and luxurious retail spaces at Hong Kong’s waterfront, the KUBE at K11 MUSEA is an installation to create a distinctive and intimate place for encounters and happenings—an invitation to shoppers and passers-by from the local community and abroad to stop by, and be fully present to experience the city.
Located in front of the main entrance of K11 MUSEA—a ten-storey retail space designed to blend cultural experiences and commerce—the KUBE is a compact, multi-functional installation: at once a kiosk, an outdoor seating area and an event space. Part of the KUBE is a golden colour cube, which is home to a local artisan coffee brewer. Its anodised aluminum finish changes colour as the light of different qualities reflects from the material, offering visitors unique scenes at dawn and dusk, day and night.
Seating is an integral part of the installation. Adjacent to the kiosk is a set of stone cubes that function as outdoor chairs and tables—configured in a way to enhance connections between visitors. People stopping by the stone cubes for coffee breaks, or simply to enjoy the harbour view, readily end up in serendipitous conversations. The stone cubes also create possibilities for different events—such as outdoor performances with a harbour view—to inject cultural programs into the shopping area.
For special events, a giant red balloon, visible from across Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour, is installed as a “city canopy” to gather all participants under the same roof, and as an “urban pin” to mark the KUBE as a place in the city for inspiring encounters. Small in scale, yet distinguished by its simple geometry and engaging happenings around it, KUBE is an urban landmark of experience, rather than spectacle.
