Architectural firm Lead 8 has been appointed lead design architect for Hong Kong International Airport’s (HKIA) SkyCity RDE Complex.

The 20-year-old airport is currently undergoing an HK$140bn (£13.7bn) expansion, and Lead 8 has been selected to spearhead the development of an area spanning 25 hectares, with 350,000sq m of space specifically allocated for leisure and retail facilities.

The new space is set to become Hong Kong's largest retail, dining, and entertainment complex.

Claude Touikan, Lead 8's co-founder and executive director said: “This will be an innovation-driven design, incorporating sustainable features through key design drivers to achieve, and indeed, exceed building certification standards.”

The firm, which has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and London, was commissioned by Roxy Limited, who was awarded the contract in May by Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA).

Expected to be completed in phases from 2023 to 2027, the SkyCity complex will rise between the intermodal terminal and the SkyCity Marriott Hotel, greatly enhancing the connectivity of the airport not only within Hong Kong but also in the Pearl River Delta.

Like the rest of HKIA, which served 72.9 million passengers over the past year, SkyCity is expected to see an exponential increase in footfall. The airport projects that its customer base could swell to 100 million by 2030.