A round of applause to those who truly conserve

This time, it is the Asia Society and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects who not only identified the value of a wartime site in Hong Kong, but also addressed the issue of what conserving historical buildings should be about.

Located on Justice Drive in Admiralty, the former Explosives Magazine site originally served, as its name suggests, as storage for explosives; today, the Asia Society is turning the site into an office and exhibition centre, giving the 100-year-old structures (listed as Grade I historical buildings) a second chance to breathe in 21^st century Hong Kong.

In addition to adaptively restoring the original buildings to accommodate modern usage, a brand-new building extends the space to a total floor area of 1,300 sq-m, with a reception 6m-high assembly hall. Footbridges and subways are also new to the site.

At his first visit to the site back in the early stages of the project, architect Tod Williams recalls what he describes as “a jungle” – what this meant was that minimising intrusion on the ecological environment would pose a significant challenge. The team responded in various ways, including the ingenious new footbridge which zig-zags across the site to avoid having to fell trees which had been there for years.

According to architect Billie Tsien, the ‘new-look’ site still feels pretty much like part of the jungle, retaining the essentially peaceful and secluded ambience of the site despite its close connectivity to the vibrancy of the city.

Looking back on the controversies and criticisms which have been levelled at a number of recent heritage ‘restoration’ projects in Hong Kong – including the cutting down of ancient trees to make way for luxury label stores, or even preventing public engagement unless an entrance fee is paid – this latest conservation project is, by the looks of it, doing far better than those.

But, perhaps most importantly, it’s the vision both Asia Society and the architects have for the site which is crucial. As vice-chairman of Asia Society New York Center Jack Wadsworth recalls, it’s about doing the right thing at the right time... He’s right – given Hong Kong’s track record, the chances are high that the immensely valuable site could easily have been flattened to make way for yet another bunch of ‘luxury’ high-rises and yet another shopping mall which we don’t need. His observation describes vividly the unfaithfulness we seem to have for our old architecture.

The clock is ticking fast towards the unveiling next February; as Williams proudly notes, that nothing has been removed from the original site, so the excitement of finally seeing it is intense.