A group of designers has proposed keeping at least the facade of the west wing of the government headquarters instead of demolishing the whole structure to make way for a high-rise office tower as planned.
In a proposal submitted to the government, the Institute of Urban Design asks it to keep the facade and allow additional structures to accommodate international non- governmental organisations and public exhibitions.
It also questions the need for the tower and an accompanying underground shopping mall, but says that if these go ahead the government should keep an interest in the historic site instead of handing it over completely to a private developer.
Demolition of the west wing is proposed as part of a plan for Government Hill after the headquarters moves to Tamar. The other buildings would be preserved.
'We shouldn't sell our legacy to a private developer. This is a historic asset of our city,' the chairman of the institute's public affairs committee, Ivan Ho, said.
The site could be managed by the developer for 25 years and then returned to the government, he said.