Taikoo Place General Manager Winsze Chung on Wellness, Padel, and Community

In honor of Taikoo Place’s most recent exciting initiative– the installation of Hong Kong Island’s first full-scale professional padel court in the center of their global business district! We were fortunate to catch up with the development’s General Manager, Winsze Chung, to get to the heart of the PROJECT AFTER 6: Padel Tour 2024 program Taikoo Place launched in partnership with PADEL+ HK and adidas.

You may have heard of the popular up-and-coming sport but never had the chance to try it out – and this is your opportunity! Originating from Mexico in the mid-1900s, the racquet sport has grown in popularity across Asia post-pandemic. Loved for its social nature and accessibility, padel is the perfect sport for busy Hong Kongers seeking efficient and fun workouts.

Initiatives like the Padel Tour are what define Taikoo Place as an arts and culture hub in the city and spearheading countless wellness and culture initiatives driving not only tenant engagement, but also a growing community, is Winsze and her dedicated team. A surprising outcome for a commercial district, the clear effort they are putting into enhancing the lives of residents is evident.

So read on to hear from Winsze herself and learn about Taikoo Place’s latest initiatives, dive into PROJECT AFTER 6, more on her passion for her community, and personal advice for achieving the possible dream of work-life balance in Hong Kong.

Can you introduce us to the PROJECT AFTER 6 program?

As part of Swire Properties’ placemaking initiatives, PROJECT AFTER 6 was launched in Taikoo Place in 2014. It is a tenant engagement program offering a valuable platform that connects the office community through a series of specially curated activities at the doorstep of their workplace. The program offers a valuable platform with aims to strengthen connections between office executives by bringing art, music, sports, and entertainment into their work environments through a series of activities, while tapping into their unexplored talents.

How has Taikoo Place been working to bring more arts and culture initiatives to both tenants and the general public?

The Taikoo Place team has curated many different types of arts and culture programs over the years and we always make sure they are entertaining, engaging, and approachable to attract community members with different interests to take part.

One of my recent favorites was PROJECT AFTER 6: Mou Man Tai, a Hong Kong-themed original English musical production co-presented by Taikoo Place and the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation that debuted in ArtisTree in June 2023. What’s so special about the production was that through an audition, we carefully selected a cast of 33 working professionals who devoted their time and effort to be theatre-trained, and ultimately perform 11 professional live shows. In particular, Mou Man Tai was shown at the time when social distancing and pandemic measures were just lifted, so people were longing for a get-together. The story was also crafted around the enduring spirit of our Hong Kong community so it [resonated well with] the audiences.

Apart from PROJECT AFTER 6, Taikoo Place is also equipped with ArtisTree, a 7,000 sq ft multipurpose venue with professional theatre-standard lighting and audio, which has [showcased] a diverse range of original works since its launch in 2008. ‘ArtisTree Selects’ is a series of specially curated programs presented by Taikoo Place, showcasing unique works by local and international artists. A recent exhibition was ArtisTree Selects: Enchanted Forest, a site-specific collaboration with the internationally acclaimed artist Joana Vasconcelos, who is known for her traditional handicraft large-scale sculptures and installations and her collaboration with Dior’s Fall Winter 23/24 Haute Couture collection show.

What is the importance of such initiatives / How does Taikoo Place stand out because of this?

Our team is very motivated to introduce unique and exciting programs because Taikoo Place places a huge emphasis on work-life harmony and creating a vibrant community. We do not want to stop at just ‘promoting’ work-life harmony but want to go one step further by ‘empowering’ our tenants by giving them the right platform to achieve it as well, which in the long-run would have a positive impact on work productivity and a more integrated community.

We believe these beyond-the-office experiences set us apart as we continue to develop Taikoo Place into a Global Business District.

How would you describe the community you are building at Taikoo Place?

Taikoo Place is home to a vibrant, diverse, and well-rounded community of over 35,000 office workers. As a Global Business District, Taikoo Place hosts a wide range of tenants from various industries and sectors, including many local and international corporations and individuals.

Seeing the success and enthusiastic participation in our PROJECT AFTER 6 programs, I am so impressed with the many talents of our office community here in Taikoo Place, beyond their 9-to-5 roles. Furthermore, many of our community events are also organized in collaboration with charitable partners, enabling the community to give back while having fun. For instance, we held an 8-Hour Charity Spin last November to raise funds for the InspiringHK Sports Foundation, which I also participated in to lead our Taikoo Place team, and together we raised over HKD$300,000!

How does your community set itself apart from other business districts in Hong Kong?

Taikoo Place not only provides premium office spaces, but also the unique physical connectivity among our buildings and amenities through air-conditioned elevated walkways. Furthermore, we have just completed the 70,000 sq. ft. central open green space with diverse species of trees and plants at the center of Taikoo Place, which is very distinctive in the urban landscape.

On top of that, setting a unique standard within Hong Kong’s business landscape, we care for our tenants not just in terms of professional success, but also in their personal and social pursuits. The placemaking initiatives as well as all the tenant engagement activities such as the Taikoo Place Business Network, PROJECT AFTER 6, Wellness Month, and ArtisTree Selects programs, etc. set us apart from other Hong Kong business districts. To us and our community, Taikoo Place is much more than a workplace, but a great place to be beyond work.

Congratulations on recently launching the Padel Tour 2024 initiative alongside PADEL+ and adidas! Not only is the pop-up court available for tenants to enjoy, but this generous program is also open to the public. What was the inspiration behind this?

The inspiration behind the Padel Tour 2024 was to introduce an exciting new sport to the community to promote a more well-rounded lifestyle, one that infuses wellness, social connection and a shared passion for this dynamic sport. Padel is a globally trending racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash. It is highly accessible and social in nature. It is also less physically demanding compared to similar sports and can be enjoyed by players of all ages and skill levels.

Installing the first professional padel court right in the heart of Hong Kong Island and our business district was no small feat, but we were determined to make this trending sport conveniently accessible to our community and inject a fresh, unexpected element into the neighborhood.

To give the most professional padel experience to our community, we also enlisted the expertise of professionals in the field including adidas, providing top-of-the-line sports gear for participants, and Hong Kong’s first premier padel club PADEL+, offering professional padel coaching services. Our partners’ generous support has helped enrich the overall experience and allowed us to reach a larger public audience.

How does your unique community make initiatives like Padel Tour 2024 possible?

The diverse talents and collaborative spirit of the Taikoo Place community are what make initiatives like Padel Tour 2024 possible. By working with a range of the city’s most professional partners such as adidas and PADEL+, we are able to bring fun and varied activities that cater to the varied interests of our tenants and visitors.

On a personal level, why do you believe in giving back to our community?

Taikoo Place is situated in Quarry Bay within which Swire Properties has a rich history in the area. We creatively transformed the area through our placemaking and place keeping strategies from the sugar refinery, to the dockyard, then to the Taikoo Shing residential estates, and the global business district of Taikoo Place.

For me personally, it was my first job in Swire Properties, and this district is also where I was born and grew up in. Hence, I have a strong emotional tie with the area as well as with all the developments here. It’s so amazing to see the areas being transformed gradually through the long-term strategic planning as well as detailed design to bring market leading best practices, premier quality infrastructures, ESG initiatives into fruition, and to operate and maintain them with the highest level of service. It’s exciting to be part of the team “running” the portfolio, and it’s equally rewarding to be a part of the community enjoying it. Hence, our team and I are really motivated in curating the best experience for our clients and the community.

How does Taikoo Place uphold CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) values both internally and externally?

The entire Taikoo Place project has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from a former sugar refinery, a dockyard, into a meticulously planned Global Business District with a heavy focus on sustainable development. To give a bit of background, the redevelopment involved converting three techno-centers into two Grade-A office buildings, while also introducing approximately 70,000 sq ft of expansive green open spaces.

As the General Manager, I'm committed to enhancing the overall well-being of the Taikoo Place community and fostering a sustainable, balanced workplace environment. We work to uphold these values across internal and external operations and strive to be responsible corporate citizens that create lasting, meaningful impact.

PROJECT AFTER 6 and art programs such as ArtisTree aim to create a positive impact on our community by encouraging social connections and holistic work-life integration. These programs not only enrich the experiences of our tenants, but also contribute positively to the wider Hong Kong community, aligning with Swire Properties' broader placemaking and Sustainable Development 2030 Strategy.

What advice do you have for busy Hong Kongers who are having difficulty separating from work and practicing self-care?

Hong Kongers are a hardworking bunch, so I know from personal experience that it is almost impossible to set clear boundaries between work and leisure. Instead, I would recommend trying to find leisure in your working environment. For example, in Taikoo Place, it’s easy to utilize your lunch hour for a quick workout if exercising is your way of destressing; take a walk in our open space to appreciate the greenery around you; join our lunchtime music performances, art exhibitions or urban farming workshops. What’s more, the many F&B dining outlets and alfresco options in Taikoo Place would also be perfect for a lunch, coffee catch up or happy hours! Even something as simple as dedicating just half an hour each day to a hobby can make a big difference.

Work-life harmony is not as far-fetched as it once was, as our community places more and more [emphasis] on holistic wellbeing. The key is to be disciplined about prioritizing that time, and with a little bit of planning and commitment, busy Hong Kongers can find ways to better balance the demands of their careers and personal fulfillment.

Thank you for sharing! What’s next for the Padel Tour 2024, PROJECT AFTER 6, and Taikoo Place?

Over the past months, we have been hosting some 101 Padel Discovery Workshops for our community with the coaching support from our partner PADEL+. In June, we launched our first Taikoo Place Padel Tournament exclusive to tenants. We will also be running workshops such as Padel with Beer to promote padel as a social lifestyle and appeal to our fun-loving community.

We have a lot of other out-of-the-box programs we will be rolling out later this year in Taikoo Place. I encourage everyone to stay tuned with us on our Instagram @taikooplace_hk!

The full-scale padel court is open to the public daily until mid-October 2024 and bookings can be placed via the Taikoo Place App.