This book offers the first in-depth study of three major Hong Kong public cultural architecture works, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Shatin Town Hall and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC), built in the late-colonial years.
Recent developments at the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) have attracted global attention to Hong Kong's cultural scene with iconic projects designed by world-renowned architects. However, relatively little has been written about the common-type municipal cultural buildings. Conceived and constructed over the last decades of British colonial rule, these public buildings are sometimes regarded with lower aesthetic value and neglected in the architectural discourse. Yet, they are evidence of the cultural and urban policy during a critical time in Hong Kong as it transitioned from a colonial territory to currently a semi-autonomous city. The book provides a detailed chronology of the development of municipal cultural buildings in Hong Kong by compiling textual and graphic data from archival documents and government records, some of which have not been previously accessible to readers, accompanied by newly produced analytical diagrams and drawings. This history intersects with key moments during the late-colonial period in Hong Kong, presenting a particular perspective related to the social context in its dealings with cultural architecture and spatial practices.
This book is a timely reflection of cultural and spatial production, calling for alternative projections about Hong Kong’s future urban and cultural development. It will be of interest to researchers and students of architectural design, urban planning and cultural policy studies in Hong Kong and the East Asia region.
This book offers the first in-depth study of three major Hong Kong public cultural architecture works, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Shatin Town Hall, and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC), built in the late colonial years.
List of figures
Acknowledgement
Abbreviation of Terms
Prologue
Introduction
A spatial reading of cultural landmarks
Urban development in late 20th-century Hong Kong
Cultural space, experience, and participation
Structure of the book
1. The Cultural Centre as a Public Institution
Genealogy of cultural building types
Cultural centre as an institution and architecture type
Cultural democracy and participation
Challenging institutional cultural space
2. Institutional Cultural Space in Late-colonial Hong Kong
Late-colonial conditions for cultural development
Background of cultural development in Hong Kong
The space and intention of three cultural centres
Cultural centres in the growing metropolis
3. New Towns and the Municipal Cultural Centres
New town development in the post-war Colony
Tsuen Wan Town Hall to build a sense of community
Sha Tin Town Hall competes with leisure and entertainment
Municipalism and cultural development
4. The Making of a Cultural Landmark
The city needs culture: the inception (19651974)
The design process and the master plan (19741984)
Formation of cultural identity: the opening and early operation (19841994)
5. Cultural Centre as Space for Public Participation
Urban situation the projected image
Public space syntax the actual experience
Architectural elements human actions
Design, participation and control
6. Conclusion: Late-Colonial Cultural Space
Cultural centres: the common type and the exception
New cultural space in Hong Kong since 2000
From landmark to cultural infrastructure
Epilogue
Agonistic urbanism approach to cultural development
Looking forward to an inclusive cultural space
Index
Melody Hoi-lam Yiu is a designer and researcher with a focus on public architecture and cultural practices, currently Research Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong. With over 15 years of international experience in architecture and urban design, she integrates this professional knowledge in practice with her engagement in the cultural sector to pursue research on culture-related urban issues. Following the research on the development history and design on Hong Kong's public cultural building, her current work investigates the question of cultural infrastructure and spatial agency in the cultural development of Hong Kong and Asian cities.
