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The Club has a rich history in horse racing spanning over 160 years and is one of Hong Kong’s most respected charity organisations. Through her charity trust, the Club supported some 100 charitable and community projects in Hong Kong and China in 2008. The Club also built all the venues in Hong Kong for the equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.Located in the centre of Beijing within two kilometers from the Forbidden City, the site is 16,221 sq m in area with a total buildable area of 37,800 sq m. Under the Beijing planning requirements, the site was be developed into a low rise, low density development and after serious deliberation on the design brief, the Club chose a design direction which would echo the traditional Chinese quadrangular courtyard house and at the same time include 'east meets eest' contemporary design elements.
The architects aimed to fulfil a number of design goals; respect Chinese architectural heritage in the fast developing capital of Beijing; incorporate the fundamental elements of Chinese architecture - axiality, symmetry, enclosure and hierarchy; integrate the traditional Chinese stand-alone building form with consistent indoor environmental control throughout the whole development; and apply Chinese classic architectural roof forms and their unique colour patterns with modern stone and glass elements.
The design applies passive solar design principles with south-facing internal courtyards, skylights to basements and natural cross ventilation to all buildings, making use of efficient structural planning grids based on Chinese traditional structural systems.
The five star Clubhouse includes a reception hall, ninety guest rooms, Chinese and Western restaurants, a ballroom, a bar lounge, business centre, indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, back of house facilities and over 150 underground carparks.