Opinion | Why conservation of State Theatre is a landmark project for Hong Kong

Name: Hong Kong’s iconic State Theatre to be preserved under multibillion-dollar redevelopment plan
Uploaded: 2020-10-13T20:15:11.000Z
Duration: 1 min 22 s
Description: Hong Kong’s iconic State Theatre to be preserved under multibillion-dollar redevelopment plan

While the government has focused on preserving buildings from before 1950, protecting Hong Kong’s post-war architecture is also a matter of urgency

The nuanced approach taken to protect the North Point landmark, marrying conservation with urban renewal, is also commendable

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State Theatre, a Grade 1 historic building with a distinctive parabolic roof truss, is to be restored. Photo: Winson Wong

Ho Puay-peng

Published: 4:15am, 14 Oct 2020Updated: 5:51am, 14 Oct 2020

The bold decision by New World Development’s Adrian Cheng Chi-kong to keep, restore and revive the mid-century State Theatre is worthy of celebration in the community. More importantly, it has wide-ranging implications for the future of heritage conservation in Hong Kong.

First, an internationally unique piece of Hong Kong architecture, distinguished by the concrete arches rising over the building, will be kept and celebrated. State Theatre will return to carrying out its founding purpose as a cultural hub.

Opened in 1952 as Empire Theatre, the North Point landmark was Hong Kong’s premier music venue in the post-war years and a forerunner of City Hall. In the decades that followed, it served as a community focal point, hosting a popular cinema as well as music troupes from Taiwan and Japan.

Second, New World Development has chosen a nuanced approach to the redevelopment of the King’s Road site. By keeping and integrating State Theatre with a residential tower on the site, the developer sees value in marrying the old and the new, not only to develop the potential of the land lot, but also to benefit the neighbourhood around the building.

The conservation of the 90-year-old Capitol Theatre in Singapore offers a good regional comparison here. The historic theatre was restored and reopened in 2015 alongside modern flats suitably blended into the city centre site. These initiatives to fuse the past and the present for the future can promote urban sustainability.

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Hong Kong’s iconic State Theatre to be preserved under multibillion-dollar redevelopment plan

Third, the heritage conservation journey of State Theatre is unprecedented in Hong Kong. In the keenly watched process, community advocacy was aligned with the Antiquities Advisory Board’s decision to raise the building’s heritage grade, the compulsory sale of the property, and the developer’s enthusiastic willingness and commitment to go the extra mile by engaging a host of specialists to guide the project.

Opinion | Why conservation of State Theatre is a landmark project for Hong Kong

While the government has focused on preserving buildings from before 1950, protecting Hong Kong’s post-war architecture is also a matter of urgency The nuanced approach taken to protect the North Point landmark, marrying conservation with urban renewal, is also commendable

While the government has focused on preserving buildings from before 1950, protecting Hong Kong’s post-war architecture is also a matter of urgency

The nuanced approach taken to protect the North Point landmark, marrying conservation with urban renewal, is also commendable