Hong Kong Architecture

KCAP + Felixx have won the international competition for the revitalization of the coastline of Dapeng, severely damaged by the Mangkhut typhoon in September 2018. The winning proposal developed a logic of “Triple dike strategy”, a barrage system to ensure future resilience.

Hong Kong is considered to have one of the most exceptional skylines and urban schemes in the world: contemporary skyscrapers stand amidst the mountains and harbour, ancient houses nestled between futuristic structures, neon lights, landscapes... But among Hong Kong's numerous remarkable architectures, its spatial typology of death is like no other.

As a firm which has already won major awards, worked on culturally significant projects on a large scale, and generally achieved substantial success and recognition in just over 10 years, SO-IL seem to straddle a line between being an “emerging” and an “established” practice. Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu founded SO-IL (Solid Objectives-Idenburg Liu) in 2008 and have since gained a reputation for modern, clean-lined designs, but often with a unique material twist.

The M+ Museum in Hong Kong, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, has purchased the entire archive of the prominent Archigram group. As reported by the Architect’s Journal, the collection was sold for £1.8 million, having been given the go-ahead by the UK’s Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright.

UNStudio has released images of their proposed Lyric Theatre complex in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong. Intended as a “celebration of the world of theater,” the mixed-use scheme will house three theaters, rehearsal room, and dining, retail, and entertainment functions.

Herzog & de Meuron's M+ Museum of visual culture has topped out in Hong Kong ahead of its scheduled opening in 2020. Focusing on 20th and 21st century art, design, architecture and moving image, M+ will be the centerpiece of the West Kowloon Cultural District, and a key venue in creating interdisciplinary exchange between the visual arts and the performing arts in Asia.

Architect and photographer Kris Provoost recently captured new photos of Aedas and Andrew Bromberg’s West Kowloon HSR Station in Hong Kong. Provoost lives and works in Shanghai, and his new series of photographs show how visitors are brought into the heart of Hong Kong as the majestic structure overlooks Victoria Harbor. Integrating abundant green space and different viewing platforms, the project creates an urban park in the midst of Hong Kong's city center.

Plans for a memorial commemorating the life and career of Mr. Michael Wright, architect, surveyor, and civil servant, have been released. Mr. Wright’s dedication to the architecture of public housing in Hong Kong and the principals on which he designed are encapsulated in the memorial’s proposed scheme. Wright died in January 2018 at the age of 105 and is considered the "father of public housing in Hong Kong" for redefining the city's standards for public living quarters.

The world’s longest sea bridge has officially opened to traffic, connecting Hong Kong and Macau to the Chinese mainland. The 34-mile (55-kilometer) “Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge” features a range of unusual features, with The Guardian reporting “cameras to detect yawning, drivers forced to wear heart monitors and access restricted to the political elite and charity donors.”

Henning Larsen has completed their new campus for the French International School in Hong Kong, offering a “vibrant green oasis in the dense city.” The 1100-capacity school sits behind a kaleidoscopic façade laid across a grid of 727 multicolored tiles, offering a “vibrant sustainable environment supporting a world-class multicultural education.”