The Art of Living
Victoria Dockside’s K11 Artus enters Hong Kong’s long-stay market by putting design first.
Victoria Dockside's K11 Artus enters Hong Kong's long-stay market by putting design first.
This summer, the K11 Group (an offshoot of New World Development) unveiled the next cog in the Victoria Dockside wheel: K11 Artus. Nestled amid K11 Atelier, the Rosewood Hong Kong hotel, Rosewood Residences and the K11 Musea shopping centre, Artus aims to take luxurious, artistic and artisanal living to new (pricey) heights. According to interior designer André Fu at AFSO, “contemporary living goes beyond aesthetics to where people feel they want to stay longer, invite friends to join them and feel very much at home with a sense of comfort. It is not about curating a particular lifestyle. It is about choosing to live with culture.” With properties such as Eight South Lane and Bohemian House already completed, K11 Artus represents something of an evolution in NWD'S Artisanal Movement.
Rough Waters
Long before the summer of discontent kicked into full swing, Hong Kong's luxury leasing sector was trending down, where rents were slipping despite low vacancy rates. According to Savills' Residential Leasing Brief from July 2019, rents dropped 1% on Hong Kong Island (2.5% in the New Territories) in the second quarter of this year. “The cost of living in Hong Kong is well ahead of its Asian peers and is causing expats to consider cheaper alternatives,” said Simon Smith, head of Savills Research. The main drivers in the leasing sector are now mainland Chinese tenants and local Hongkongers.
In the serviced sector, rental rates fell 2.2% in the last quarter—almost the same rate at which FIREBS unemployment rates grew (2.4%). Occupancy has also fallen, and sits at roughly 87% in the hotel-style sector (luxury, five-star properties with full amenities), and 75% at the apartment level.
Those may be “weak” for Hong Kong, but many locations would welcome results that poor, and so Artus is nonetheless wading into this tricky environment with its newly launched “artisanal homes.” Located in what the K11 Group refers to as the “dynamic art and cultural ecosystem” that is TST'S Victoria Dockside, K11 Artus follows the brand mandate to combine art and commerce in a craftsmanship-forward address designed by some of the world's most renowned architects and interior and landscape designers.
Like most well-located serviced apartments, K11 Artus sits above a shopping mall, in this case the just-opened K11 Musea. The mall boasts a serene rooftop garden, a nature park, a family-friendly edutainment zone and a new IMAX theatre to go along with elite brand boutiques (Givenchy, Chanel, and the like), mainstream favourites (Patagonia, Levi's) and F&B options ranging from cheerful fast food (Hong Kong's second Five Guys) to fine dining (Velo). It's all wrapped in a cool, futuristic design, whose curvilinear, bronze-tinged hallways create a unique shopping experience to say the least. With art an intrinsic element of the development, paintings, sculptures, photography and more add a healthy dose of culture to the commerce.
Raising the Bar
As a residence, Artus offers 287 long-stay units inside Kohn Pedersen Fox's tower, with Bangkok-based P Landscape creating its green spaces and interiors courtesy of AFSO. The exclusive penthouses were designed by Hong Kong's Joyce Wang, who created an ultra-modern, metallic-infused architectural space; Fiona Barratt-campbell from the UK, who applied her signature Romanesque naturalism to the unit; and New York-based nemaworkshop reinterpreted Hong Kong's heritage through a modern lens emphasising comfort over trends.
In the engaging public spaces, Fu and his studio created the two-storey Social Salon, a 16,000-sqare-foot cultural hub featuring floor-to-ceiling windows facing the harbour, with one floor dedicated to entertaining and working and another to health and wellness. The private Living Salon lounge is a lush, classically styled meeting space that complements the casual vibe of co-working modelled The Commune. The Media Chamber is a vibrant modern enclave. The gym is oak-lined and the outdoor infinity pool is clad with turquoise Balinese stone. Artworks dot the walls and halls of each space.
Most of K11 Artus' residences, also by Fu, feature a private balcony (the penthouses include rooftop terraces) to go with his soft tones, warm accent pieces and international aesthetic. The apartments mix modern with vintage details, bold colours with classic understated hues, and a wide variety of textures and finishes for sensual, welcoming homes. Every suite is unique, and can include materials such as engraved marble, Persian fabrics, refined oak and glossy lacquer walls.
Apartments at K11 Artus comprise of 510- to 720-square-foot studios; onebedroom (and one-plus) units sized 730 to 1,262 square feet (one-plus from 880); two-bedrooms at 965 to 1,378 square feet; and three-bedroom configurations at 1,653 to 1,921 square feet. Penthouse units range from 3,042 to 3,703 square feet.
Prices at K11 Artus will reflect its five-star aspirations. Sister property Rosewood Residences' penthouses allegedly rent at approximately HK$500,000 per month, and Artus shares that rarefied air; a current promotional staycation rate clocks in at HK$6,000 per night. Savills reported that the building's first deal set a new record for rents in Kowloon when a May tenancy was signed for HK$145,000 per month, setting the bar at HK$113 per square foot per month for the two-bedroom, 1,284-square-foot apartment. Monthly rents begin at HK$57,000 for city view studios and range up to HK$300,000 for three-bedroom harbour view suits. The Artus penthouses start at approximately HK$650,000 per month—and it should be noted that the three penthouses have already been leased. Evidently, the sky may not be falling just yet.
K11 Artus combines art and commerce in a craftsmanship-forward address designed by some of the world's most renowned architects and designers.