Podium terraces in Hong Kong: designing for sun and typhoon

A Hong Kong podium terrace faces conditions no UK garden does: UV levels that fade ordinary fabric within a season, salt-laden air near the harbour, and the certainty of typhoon-force wind.

Fabric must be solution-dyed

Solution-dyed acrylic has the colour locked into the fibre rather than printed on it. Piece-dyed outdoor fabric will visibly fade on a south-facing Hong Kong terrace in one summer.

Everything must be movable or anchored

Before a typhoon signal, loose furniture has to come in. We build seating in modules light enough for two people to carry through a standard door, and specify a storage cabinet sized for the cushions on the same terrace.

Salt changes the metal specification

Near the water, marine-grade aluminium with a full powder coat and A4 stainless fixings is the minimum. We avoid untreated steel entirely in coastal Hong Kong.

Shade is the real comfort

Between May and September the terrace is only usable in shade. Fixed shade — a pergola, a sail, a deep canopy — earns more use than any piece of furniture.

Drainage

Podium slabs are laid to falls. Furniture feet with a broad pad avoid point-loading waterproofing membranes, which matters if the terrace sits over occupied space.