Calcutta was the Canton delta’s major external trading partner for more than a century; for the merchants and traders of various ethnicities who made their homes and lives on the China coast for nearly three centuries before the establishment of Hong Kong and the treaty ports, the Portuguese territory of Macau was their home-away-from-home. It was to these two cities, and their practical building styles that Hong Kong’s early European residents looked for guidance, inspiration and a comforting sense of the familiar in a new and untested place.

In both Calcutta and Macau, deep balconies and verandas helped create shade and shadow. Walls not in direct sunlight remained cooler, as did the interiors they enclosed. Judiciously planted shade trees – many, such as the early bauhinia varieties, were imported from Calcutta – along with vines trained on pergolas, trellises or wires, were vital; greenery effi­ciently absorbs heat from sunlight. Window shutters allowed light and breezes to enter, yet kept out glare, and afforded some privacy from the world outside.

To the modern eye, fireplaces are of little point beyond a nostalgic nod to “the Old Country”, yet for nine months of the year, chimneys performed a cooling function; their open jaw provided a hypocaust – known from Roman and Persian times – which allowed still, hot air from the room to rise through the chimney and disperse above the roof. Altering the flue allowed prevail­ing breezes to be directed downwards, creating a pleasantly welcome draught in rooms below on hot summer days.

Pastel colours added brightness to interior and exterior walls, and these pigments were intended for preservation as well as decoration. Indigo mixed with whitewash added a potent insecticide to the primary mould-inhibiting function of lime wash. Sulphur added to the same base ingredients (also to repel insect pests) created the delicate lemon yellows common­place in Macau and the richer ochre shades seen across Indochina. Sulphur/whitewash proportions varied with the volume of wood to be protected. Pinks and reds were usually derived from iron-rich ox blood.

Decorative features, such as fanlights, were also borrowed. Carved plasterwork and other ornamental designs were made from lime plaster, with skills transplanted by Indian craftsmen, and techniques originally acquired in Goa and Cochin, gradually migrated to Macau by way of Malacca.

All of these features were colonial adaptations to existing metropolitan building styles. Each lent something different to early Hong Kong, which in time evolved its own vernacular architectural styles.