Analogue

Hong Kong Palace Museum: ATAL Completes Multi-disciplinary Works at New Cultural Landmark

香港故宮文化博物館：安樂工程為新文化地標完成多元化項目

With the opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) to the public on 2 July to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, ATAL Engineering Group (ATAL) is proud to see this iconic cultural project come to fruition.

A collaboration between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum in Beijing, the HKPM houses precious artefacts and artworks from the Mainland, Hong Kong and overseas.

A pioneer and leader in electrical and mechanical (E&M) engineering and technology services, ATAL was awarded the contract for plumbing and drainage system installation at HKPM, while Anlev Elevator Group (Anlev) , ATAL’s global brand of lifts, escalators, and moving walkways, won the contract for design, supply and installation of a heavy-duty lift for the smooth conveyance of the priceless art treasures.

“The HKPM is a perfect gift to residents of Hong Kong on this joyous occasion, in a year which also happens to be ATAL’s 45th anniversary,” said Dr Ir Otto Poon, Chairman of ATAL Engineering Group. “We are delighted to have contributed to this masterpiece project and helped create a new cultural landmark for Hong Kong.”

The seven-storey museum stands on a site area of 13,000 square metres and features a remarkable cauldron-shaped design. With a total floor area of about 30,000 square metres, it features an exhibition space of 7,800 square metres across nine galleries.

The first batch of a total of more than 900 treasures on loan from Beijing’s Palace Museum arrived in Hong Kong in early June for the opening exhibition. These include 166 grade-one objects classified as “national treasures”. Dating back thousands of years, these rare and iconic works are highly sensitive to light and humidity. From the onset of the project, ATAL has taken great care to meet the HKPM’s exceptionally high professional standards and help create the best environment for the safe handling and display of such internationally significant art treasures.

A good example is an Industrial Deionised Water Supply System installed to provide water of sufficient purity to be used in the museum’s laboratories. This is crucial for the HKPM conservators charged with performing any necessary preventive or interventive conservation work on the art pieces.

Safe and smooth transportation of the national treasures is vital too, as the slightest vibration could be risky to fragile artworks. The HKPM’s heavy-duty lift from Anlev has been specially designed to carry valuable exhibits, leveraging a large lift car with special anti-vibration material for the flooring. The lift is also equipped with an AC Variable Voltage Variable Frequency (ACVVVF) lift drive which regulates both the input voltage and frequency throughout the lift ride, thus saving energy. The size and weight of the lift system made the installation, testing and commissioning more challenging. The deployment was nonetheless successful thanks to Anlev team’s good planning and profound experience.

The HKPM attaches great importance to the visitor experience, including the provision of the best acoustic environment. To meet the venue’s high acoustic treatment requirements, which stipulate a low noise sensitivity level for E&M services and equipment throughout the building, we applied sound absorption materials and provided our engineering teams with soundproofing training.

“The HKPM is the latest example of ATAL’s continuous growth in tandem with Hong Kong over the past 45 years. We are proud of this heritage,” said Ir Dr Poon. “The project underscores our expertise in building services and lift works in a special-purpose building with highly customised requirements, demonstrating our ‘Engineering with Passion’ motto.”

ATAL is delighted to have contributed to the iconic Hong Kong Palace Museum project

back to top