Hong Kong has no need of iconic buildings but simply architecture that takes care of people's needs, says Japanese master architect Arata Isozaki, who is working with the Urban Renewal Authority to revitalise the historic Central Market.
Isozaki, 82, one of the world's most-sought after architects, recounted his changing impressions of the city over the past 50 years during a trip to Hong Kong last month.
When he first visited half a century ago, the hills around the city, even The Peak, were dotted with squatter huts, and the sea with boatpeople. He witnessed the rapid change in the cityscape on later visits in the 1980s.
'The HSBC building by Norman Foster was built. It represented a new form of architecture in the world. I thought this city was a good testing ground for architecture,' he said.
Thirty years on, Isozaki, having created influential projects around the world such as the Team Disney Building in Florida, the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, and the Museum of Contemporary Art at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, is leaving a footprint at Central Market.
He said the city no longer needs iconic architecture as in the past, as the population and the built areas have rapidly increased.