Record rent tipped for Gehry apartments

The Life: Frank Gehry's first residential project in Hong Kong may set a record for apartment rents.

Construction work takes place on 53 Stubbs Road, top right, designed by Frank Gehry, in Hong Kong. Bloomberg News

Q&A: One just out of the box

Why is Frank Gehry so special? At a time when architects were focusing on modernist boxes, he broke the mould. He was one of the first abstract architects, bringing the ideas of Picasso and Miro to buildings. That willingness to bring a postmodern artistic sensibility to his work has influenced a generation of architects.

What's happening with Hong Kong property? Prices have been soaring for the last two years, rising as much as 20 per cent in the last year alone. Some analysts rank it as the hottest and most expensive residential market in the world.

Isn't the government clamping down on the market? In fact the government has implemented several measures. Initiatives include restricting the number of homes one person can purchase, limiting the use of cheap financing and making land available for more projects.

Architect Frank Gehry's first Hong Kong tower is generating international buzz in both the architecture and property communities.

Apartments in Opus Hong Kong, Mr Gehry's first residential project in Asia, are likely to set a record for rents on the island. Prices have not been set, but the developer Swire Properties has "every expectation it will break records", Martin Cubbon, the chief executive, told The Wall Street Journal.

The 12-storey tower on the Peak, an exclusive tree-covered hill overlooking downtown Hong Kong, will feature 12 apartments averaging about 6,000 square feet.

Hong Kong is already considered one of the most expensive rental markets in the world. To set a record, apartments would have to rent for more than US$50,000 (Dh183,650) a month, according to media reports.

The design is unusually sedate for Mr Gehry, whose best-known works include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Mr Gehry, who also designed the Guggenheim museum planned for Saddiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, has designed residential properties in the past, but they are relatively rare. He is best known for his distinctive post-modern public buildings, which use undulating shapes and metal forms.

The design for Opus features a fairly traditional looking rectangular tower, wrapped by glass spires. "Finely tuned glass-enclosed columns form the structure, twisting up around the building like reeds swaying in the breeze," according to the developer.

The glass balconies were designed to resemble "boat decks".

Mr Gehry has his own take on the design. The glass columns will create "intimate" indoor spaces for the apartments, he told CNN. Each apartment will have a unique layout and perspective.

"Instead of just having one window in front of you, the windows are like a surround that open the vista even greater, and yet in doing that, we make separation of various parts of the dwelling, and create more intimate spaces," Mr Gehry said.

Opus Hong Kong is expected to be completed in the first half of next rear.

Top 5: Famous Frank Gehry projects

1 Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

2 Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, US

3 Dancing House, Prague, Czech Republic

4 EMP Museum, Seattle, US

5 Serpentine Gallery, London, England

Source: 2010 figures from International Data, a market research company.

The Quote: It's about creating emotion with inert material, which ancient Greeks and ancient Indians were able to achieve with stone and metal centuries ago. - Frank Gehry, describing his style