Ham Tin Creek Villa

Tucked in the Ham Tin Valley on Lantau Island with the beach at your doorstep, the Ham Tin Creek Villas offers a slice of open wilderness in an expansive outdoors never felt before in cosmopolitan Hong Kong. In this large compound dots 9 villas in the landscape wherein life stands still. A natural creek runs through in the valley and one can hear the sounds of falling waters amidst abundant nature, feel endless soothing waves and winds by the sea and sight bursts of colourful butterflies fluttering amongst the flowers. Take a leisurely stroll as one returns home to the creek villas for in here, a slow space prevails.

We worked with the topography and the undulating terrain – to tuck, sculpt but never to flatten the earth is crucial in enriching the outdoor experience here. Reworking the old rubble walls as we found it that was left by the villagers, we accentuated the geological layers and enriched these recycled elements wherein the new encapsulates the old, blurring a feeling of immediate timelessness and tranquillity as if the landscape design has been married to the earth for a long time coming. Fallen weathered trees that survived the test of time and past typhoons grow eccentrically in the courtyards just as flowering crepe myrtle trees seem to be born out of rubble walls. Large boulder excavated in the ground during construction now greets residents at the start of the stream as land art – kissed by the evening sun casting forlorn shadows.

As we designed the flora, we kept in mind the butterflies and birds by enriching the palette that attracts them. Now as we walk in the gardens, abundant colourful butterflies have found their way back and we are hopeful a myriad of fauna will return in this ecological corridor. All trees are retained too and we highlighted the landscape further with characteristic feature trees that echo the theme of the villas. Careful planning in preserving view corridors, sightlines, visual privacy and vistas guided us in planting the trees. In time, with the forest as the backyard, the trees form an intimate and important weave to the foliage in the foreground.

Ham Tin Creek Villas encapsulates a quietude in the landscape as you watch the sunset by the wave deck, while away your time and chill by the gardens in a place you will never want to leave. A slow space as time goes by along with the water buffalos strolling by.