Project Overview
Project Overview
Dedicated to Paragon Project It is the vision of The Baroque on Lamma that Hong Kong shall be the “Asian Sailing Capital”, and to demonstrate “Development and Conservation can Co-exist”, with eco-education and eco-tourism be part of daily life and available to the community at large.
Hong Kong has a long history of sailing and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club was established since 1846. Hong Kong still has the largest fleet of pleasure crafts in South-East Asia and the most mature yachting market. However, such position is fast being eroded because there has been no new marina constructed for more than 20 years and a few of the existing marinas are currently equipped with berthing facilities for modern superyachts and none for modern racing yachts, resulting in Hong Kong being left out of major international regatta events and boat shows. On the other hand, neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia are racing to expand their facilities, and so is China. Hong Kong must act to remain in the lead.
The proposed marina will provide up to 500 wet berths and is capable of accommodating yachts of more than 100 metres long. These berths will cater for long term users as well as visiting yachts. There will be a private Yacht Club and a Sailing Academy. All facilities will be designed to international standards and it will be a “green marina” targeting to achieve the “Blue Flag” standard, or equivalent.
In line with 2013 Policy Address by Chief Executive, the marina is designed to receive ocean-going superyacht that bring in high net-worth visitors, thus filling in the small but economically significant gap not satisfied by the cruise liner. The Sailing Academy will train Hong Kong’s sailors to participate in international sailing events to catch up on Singapore whose sailing team swept up most of the sailing medals in the 2006 Asian Games. The marina will be of a scale and design that is suitable to host crowd drawing international regatta event like the Volvo Ocean Race which had already come to Singapore and China - but not Hong Kong. The marina can also hold international boat shows of the scale equivalent to that of Monaco which attracted more than 30,000 visitors in 2014. These are mega events that bring economic benefits to Hong Kong.
Other components of the proposed development include a commercial Waterfront Plaza, a spa resort hotel, and a low density residential community. The Waterfront Plaza is the heart of the development providing public amenities, ferry piers, berths for visiting yachts, a piazza for gathering/events, catering outlets, shops, offices, holiday accommodation etc. The 120-rooms spa resort hotel will offer superb architecture and interior design, privacy, personalised service and attention to details, setting the standards for spa resort hotel in Hong Kong. The hotel will have a strong eco-theme taking advantage of the conservation initiatives of the whole development and the unique bio- and cultural character of Lamma. The low rise residential development will promote low carbon life style. We believe that a residential community is essential to inject life into the development and to foster a community spirit that makes it a success. The current concept envisages there will be about 850 residential units in terraced houses and in low rise terraced apartments that blend into the natural environment. An integrated sustainable strategy will be implemented for the whole development including waste recycling, waste to energy, kitchen waste composting, renewable energies (including wave energy), rainwater collection, 3-stage sewage treatment, organic farming, passive energy design etc in support of Government’s drive to steer Hong Kong towards a low carbon footprint city.
Hong Kong Government wishes to take forward the Convention on Biodiversity, which is welcome by The Baroque on Lamma. We propose a visionary solution to the inherent conflict between development and conservation in the Hong Kong through “micro” assessment of the actual ecological value of a site rather than relying on a broad brush land use zoning done on a “macro” level. We propose to identify and preserve the land of high ecological value in-situ, thus preserving their bio-diversity, while building on land with lower ecological value through a land swapping mechanism. Not only will the valuable habitat, hence biodiversity, be preserved in situ but there would also be resources made available to actively managing and preserving it. This is the concept behind the proposed Conservation Corridor, which can offer active and immersive eco-education as well as community based activities to promote awareness and practice of conservation.
The vision of The Baroque on Lamma is to:
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