Post-war buildings deserve a place in Hong Kong’s architectural history

Ho Puay-peng says the lack of protection for the iconic Garden Company headquarters, and many other examples of the city’s landmark architecture from the post-war era, points to a gap in our conservation efforts that should be plugged before it’s too late

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The Garden Company building in Sham Shui Po, built in the 1950s, has a clock tower and the clean, bold lines that epitomise mid-20th-century aesthetics. Photo: Handout

Published: 11:09am, 28 Mar 2018Updated: 7:51pm, 28 Mar 2018

This month, the Antiquities Advisory Board announced that it is proposing a Grade 2 historic building status for the headquarters of the Garden Company in Sham Shui Po. Since a Grade 2 status is awarded to buildings of “special merit” that should be “selectively” preserved, we can be sure that the decision means the modernist landmark is now set to meet the wrecking ball.

Distinguished by a handsome clock tower and the clean, bold lines that epitomise mid-20th century aesthetics, the building’s owner had earlier applied to redevelop it into a 25-storey commercial and office tower. While it is no legal protection from demolition, a Grade 1 rating would, at least, have enabled the government to discuss preservation options with the owner.

The iconic 1950s building was originally designed to be the factory for the well-known Garden bread and confectionery brand. It has been denied a higher grading because the Antiquities and Monuments Office dismissed its architecture as functional, hence ordinary.

The Shaw Studio compound in Clear Water Bay. The 7.8-hectare site, seen as a cradle of Hong Kong’s film industry, will be turned into a private residential and commercial development. Photo: Felix Wong

Such misguided remarks about landmark post-war architecture are nothing new – they have been heard before in the grading debates over the Shaw Studio compound and North Point’s State Theatre – but they do highlight systemic weaknesses in the protection of these precious buildings.

The State Theatre in North Point. Conservationists have called for the theatre to be given a higher historic grading so it could be better protected from demolition. Photo: K. Y. Cheng