Summer holidays have begun!  You may have plans to travel abroad with your family.  But there are also a lot of activities for you and your kids to enjoy in Hong Kong.  Many of the activities are highly educational, such as visiting the 14 historic buildings that have won UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation to learn about our cultural heritage.  The 14 buildings, which include a temple, churches, study halls, schools, a hotel and even a coffin home, are either declared monuments or graded/proposed graded historic buildings.

The UNESCO awards aim to recognise and encourage conservation and restoration projects under private initiative and public-private partnership in the Asia-Pacific region.  Since the awards began in 2000, UNESCO has received 556 entries from 24 countries covering a wide range of conservation projects, such as private residences and palaces.  It is really encouraging that of the 168 winning projects, 14 are in Hong Kong.

To enhance public understanding of these award-winning projects, a roving photo exhibition on “TIMELESS archiCULTURE - UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation: 14 award-winning projects of Hong Kong” was launched in mid-June. The exhibition, which has attracted about 8,000 visitors up to mid-July, will be held in various places across the territory until the end of December this year.

For more information about the exhibition, visit the following website https://www.heritage.gov.hk and download a booklet on the historical background and architectural features of the historic buildings, as well as the features that won them their awards.  You are also welcome to visit the historic buildings and join free guided tours organised for some of them during their selected opening hours.

The 14 historic buildings are:
Hung Shing Temple
Ohel Leah Synagogue
King Law Ka Shuk
The Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception
St. Joseph’s Chapel
Tung Wah Coffin Home
St. Andrew’s Church
Liu Ying Lung Study Hall
Little Hong Kong
Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre
Béthanie Campus, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Academy of Visual Arts of Hong Kong Baptist University
Savannah College of Art and Design (Hong Kong)
Tai O Heritage Hotel

I would like to tell you about the distinctive features of some of the award-winning projects.

(1) Savannah College of Art and Design (Hong Kong) (Former North Kowloon Magistracy) won the award in 2011.  Built in 1960, this Grade 2 historic building is a classic model of civic buildings of that period.  It was closed in 2005, and revitalised into an institution that has been providing art and design programmes since 2010.  Its award citation reads, “Creative design allowed for contemporary insertions to provide the required educational facilities while retaining the building’s original fabric and spatial character.  The project demonstrates the possibilities of adaptive reuse for public buildings of this typology and is a model for successful public-private co-operation under the framework of Hong Kong SAR’s policy for retaining and optimising the value of heritage buildings.”

(2) Tai O Heritage Hotel (Old Tai O Police Station) won its award in 2013.  Built in 1902, this Grade 2 historic building is a typical colonial-style police station.  In 2012, it was converted into a nine-suite boutique hotel with a Heritage Interpretation Centre open to the public for free visits.  Its award citation reads, “The project is particularly commendable for its involvement of local community members and former occupants of the building that has greatly contributed to the restoration work and helped reinvigorate the distinctive character of the heritage property.”

(3) Hung Shing Temple in Sai Kung and Ohel Leah Synagogue in the Mid-levels were the first two historic buildings in Hong Kong to win the awards in 2000.  The temple is a declared monument.  It was built before 1889 and is a typical example of a rural temple.  Its award citation reads, “Restoration of the Hung Shing Temple was a community preservation project with full involvement of not only local villagers but far-flung members of the extended clan.”  The synagogue is a Grade 1 historic building.  It was built by the Sassoon brothers in 1901 in dedication to their mother and has been serving the Hong Kong Jewish community since then.  Its award citation says, “The building has retained its original use as well as scrupulously maintained the original design of the structure – a design which has both symbolic connotations and historic associations.”

(4) St. Andrew’s Church and Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui won the awards in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  St. Andrew’s is a proposed Grade 1 historic building.  It is a Gothic Revival building constructed by the Church of England (now the Hong Kong Anglican Church) for Kowloon’s non-Chinese-speaking Christians in 1906.  Its award citation reads, “The painstaking restoration of the exterior brick façades, through recycling and selective replacement of old bricks, can serve as a ready model for other brick structures.”  The heritage centre is a Grade 1 historic building occupying Blocks S61 and S62 of the former Whitfield Barracks, constructed in 1910.  Its award citation reads, “This contemporary intervention to the former Whitfield Barracks has successfully reconfigured the historic military complex into the Heritage Discovery Centre.”

(5) The Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception is a Grade 1 historic building on Caine Road in Central.  Founded in 1888 by Hong Kong’s first Roman Catholic Bishop, Rev. Timoleone Raimonde, the cathedral was badly damaged in the war and underwent emergency post-war restoration.  The cathedral won the award in 2003.  Its award citation says, “By undertaking necessary repair work and upgrading the services in the cathedral, the conservation project has not only consolidated the physical historic fabric of the building, but has also renewed the spiritual life of Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic community.”

(6) Béthanie Campus, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (The Béthanie) is a declared monument in Pok Fu Lam.  The Béthanie won the award in 2008.  It was built by the Society of Foreign Missions (Société des Missions Étrangères) in 1875 not only as a base for preaching in Mainland China but also as a sanatorium for sick missionaries.  Currently, apart from being leased to The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, it is also a popular choice for wedding ceremonies.  Its award citation reads, “The restoration has safeguarded a significant religious landmark of Hong Kong.”

(7) Little Hong Kong, a Grade 3 historic building in Shouson Hill, won the award in 2007.  Originally the Central Ordnance Munitions Depot constructed by the British Royal Engineers in the late 1930s, it was converted into wine cellars and a clubhouse.  Its award citation reads, “The restoration has saved a valuable, but almost forgotten chapter in Hong Kong’s history.”

(8) King Law Ka Shuk in Tai Po Tau Tsuen, Tai Po, a declared monument that I have introduced in My Blog last year, received the award in 2001.  It is a traditional Chinese three-hall, two-courtyard building with a functional design.  Its award citation says, “The restoration was an ambitious attempt to bring the building back to its original state while also integrating some more modern elements from the 1930s.”

These 14 award-winning projects show that conservation and restoration projects in Hong Kong, be they private or public-private initiatives, are fully up to international standards.  I hope that these award-winning projects will encourage more private owners to conserve their historic buildings, and the valuable experience gained in their restoration projects will also provide useful reference.