Snøhetta completes Sky House, final clubhouse for Hong Kong's Pavilia Farm

Snøhetta has completed Sky House, the fourth and final clubhouse at its Pavilia Farm residential development in Tai Wai, Hong Kong, capping a project built around an urban farm in one of the world's densest cities.

The two-storey building functions as a playground and fitness centre for all ages. It combines children's play spaces with workout areas designed for senior residents.

Sky House joins the Tea House, Well House and Farm House clubhouses, which opened in 2022 as a series of shared community spaces for the residential development.

An outdoor children's playground draws residents toward the entrance. Slides and platforms at various heights form an undulating landscape that continues into the ground floor, where the studio placed a children's play area, a classroom and a music room. Children can explore tunnels inside the hilly playground surface.

The upper floor holds lounge spaces, fitness facilities and outdoor exercise areas intended for senior residents.

At the centre of the building, a domed skylight doubles as a rope-climbing tower and connects the two floors, allowing natural daylight to fill the interiors.

"By bringing together spaces for different generations under one roof, Sky House supports meaningful encounters and strengthens community ties through everyday life," said Snøhetta.

The studio designed Pavilia Farm to introduce a new model of residential living that goes beyond private apartments in a dense urban environment and supports residents through all stages of their lives.

"Pavilia Farm began with a simple ambition: to create meaningful connections between residents, nature, and Hong Kong itself," said Richard Wood, managing director of Snøhetta Asia.

"In one of the world's densest urban environments, the project provides a shared green sanctuary, the project demonstrates how architecture can shape relationships as much as it shapes space," he continued.

The four clubhouses are arranged along a green farm at the centre of the development, giving residents access to shared gardens, urban farming, wellness facilities, and meeting and recreational spaces. Each clubhouse integrates with nature and responds to the surrounding mountains and the Shing Mun River.

The Tea House takes the form of a cantilevered pavilion overlooking the terraced landscape. Two water elements frame the building: an outdoor pool on one side and a cascading waterfall on the other, both intended to have a calming effect.

The Well House connects directly to the Tea House and contains a gym, spa, sauna, indoor pool and badminton court. Its glazed facade blurs the boundary between architecture and landscape to bring people closer to nature.

The Farm House sits at the heart of the development. It contains three kitchens and a communal dining table that invites residents to cook and share meals together. A bespoke table system, supported by a moving rail set into the floor, lets tables be combined or divided depending on the size of the gathering.

According to Snøhetta, the layout of Pavilia Farm encourages discovery and interaction.

"Rather than functioning as isolated amenities, the four clubhouses create a layered neighbourhood within the larger residential development, encouraging discovery, interaction, and participation in community life," said the studio.

"Taken together, the four houses form more than a collection of communal facilities. They create a rich network of destinations woven into daily life, supporting residents of different ages, interests, and lifestyles."

Elsewhere, Snøhetta recently completed the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota, USA, and the extension of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, Australia, wrapped in a rippling glass facade.

With all four clubhouses now built, Pavilia Farm stands as the studio's test case for residential design that treats shared space, not private floor area, as the organising principle.

The photography is by Harold de Puymorin/HDP Photography.