Discovering architecture in Hong Kong

Herzog & de Meuron in Hong Kong: Tai Kwun, Centre for Heritage & Art 

Built between 2011 and 2018, the Tai Kwun, Centre for Heritage & Art preceded the completion of M+. However, the moving spirit behind both is the same. In this case, the Herzog & de Meuron studio intervened in an existing building in Hong Kong, namely a police station decommissioned in 2006, which had in turn occupied  one of the architectural legacies of the British period. The building in question, dating from 1841, is one of the most important historical monumental complexes in Hong Kong from the past. Possessing two large outdoor courtyards, a rare presence in the dense local urban fabric, the site has been reactivated and partially museumized. It hosts an exhibition program, as well as initiatives aimed at a broad public. In relation to the new inserts, the choices made by the designers distance themselves from any possible attempt at camouflage thanks to an outer skin made up of 100% recycled aluminum modules. This cladding makes it possible to clearly identify the historic walls and at nightfall allows the light to pass through it. 

The masterpieces of Sir Norman Foster and I.M. Pei. in Hong Kong 

Selected in 2011, through a competition, as the author of the masterplan for the West Kowloon Cultural District (i.e. the area where M+ was erected), the architectural practice headed by Sir Norman Foster has returned to work in Hong Kong after the success of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation HQ. Built between 1979 and 1986, the HSBC headquarters is one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century architecture. One of the symbols of the Hong Kong skyline, it is an expression of the high-tech current. Flexibility and highlighting of internal mobility systems, such as stairs and elevators, as well as the eye-catching load-bearing structure, are some of the distinctive features of this work, which stands at a short distance from the equally famous Bank of China Tower designed by I.M. Pei. Known above all for his extension to the Louvre in Paris, the tower he built in Hong Kong is close to 368 meters high (including the spire), making it for two years the tallest building in the whole Asian continent. Beyond technical prowess, its history is entwined with local traditions, given the involvement of Feng Shui experts in its design. 

Both of these skyscrapers, along with the towers erected later, form the distinctive Hong Kong skyline that can be seen from the Kowloon Peninsula. On the west side of the peninsula, the local practice New Office Works has recently redesigned a portion of the waterfront by redeveloping a disused pier. A succession of five roofs, slightly undulating and made of steel, introduces a light and apparently ephemeral element into the public space of HK, in contrast with the compact volumes of the surrounding tall complexes. Finally, between sea and land, also in Kowloon, there is the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA), whose renovated building was reopened in 2019 and overlooks the busy waterfront promenade.