The architect of Queen's Pier has thrown his weight behind the campaign for its survival.
Ron Phillips, who came to Hong Kong in 1956 to design the City Hall development, said the pier and the public open space around it were sacrosanct and their loss would be 'a disaster'.
The pier and the adjoining waterfront promenade will be replaced by a four-lane highway under the Central reclamation project. The pier is set to be rebuilt in one of four locations after it was listed as a Grade I historic building, for which preservation is not obligatory.
Speaking from his home in Britain, Mr Phillips, 80, said the whole development had one unified design that aimed to provide an appropriate setting for the arrival of visiting dignitaries as well as open space and public access to City Hall for pedestrians.
'With my good friend and partner Alan Fitch, I was charged with designing the City Hall, the City Hall car park and Star Ferry concourse as a total development primarily related to pedestrians,' he said.
'As an integral part of this, the City Hall entrance was sited to be on the centre line of Queen's Pier which would, together with the waterfront piazza, provide the necessary background and sense of occasion for visiting dignitaries.
