Town Park, Indoor Velodrome and Sports Centre, Hong Kong

The project provides a town park and an indoor velodrome cum sports centre in Hong Kong’s Area 45 Tseung Kwan O (TKO) bounded by Wan Po Road and Po Hong Road. The site has an area of about 6.87 hectares and is adjoining the TKO Sports Ground which is for the 2009 East Asian Games in Hong Kong.

The indoor velodrome with a seating capacity of 3000 meets the needs to provide stage performance like concerts, leisure and sports facilities like ball games and dancing, and to provide a world-class training base for cyclists and an international cycling competition venue.

We were responsible for full building services engineering consultancy for this project from 2008 to 2014. Sustainable features of the design include:-

• The roof is integrated with both photovoltaic and solar panels to generate renewable energy and act as a heat source for the hot water supply system.
• Energy consumption concerns were involved in HVAC system design: high efficient motors were used for the equipment; variable air volume system was adopted to reduce air-conditioning energy; AHU system was equipped with energy recovery wheels so as to pre-cool/warm the fresh air to reduce air-conditioning energy and occupancy sensors for HVAC and lighting system are used in appropriate areas.
• A 3-meter vertical green wall was used outside the recessed mechanical plant rooms to provide screening and integrate with the walkway of the landscape park.
• Low energy systems included use of displacement air conditioning system for the spectator stands, CFD analysis of the indoor air movement for justification of the design concept.
• Renewable technologies included PV, solar thermal system, micro turbine and other green features such as water cooled frictionless chillers, thermal wheels, greywater recycling and rainwater havesting.
• Other sustainable design features are controlling the noise impact by abatement measures; controlling indoor air quality and discharges from exhaust air and cooling tower.

We also carried out a discounted cash flow analysis to compare air cooled and water cooled conditioning systems, taking into account initial capital cost, operating cost (electricity and water) with inflation factors and maintenance cost over a life of 20 years. Discounted cash flow was used instead of simple payback because simple back pack does not take into account inflation on electricity and water cost. It was assumed that the utility cost will be doubled in 20 years and a general inflation of 5%. Results showed that the energy saving offered by water cooled system was impressive and the electricity cost saving is significant although water cooled system has higher maintenance cost and there will be additional expenses on water cost, water cooled system would still offer a positive cash flow on after six years subject to the operation and usage of the actual building.

The project was completed in 2014. It won 2014 Architectural Services Department Annual Awards.