Hong Kong City Hall

Hong Kong City Hall

Hong Kong City Hall is located in the reclamation area of Edinburgh square, central, Hong Kong. It was completed and opened in 1962. It is the first multi-purpose cultural and entertainment center built for the public in Hong Kong. It is dedicated to official activities and ceremonies, covering an area of 11000 square meters.

The Hong Kong City Hall complex is composed of two buildings (high block and low block) and a memorial garden. Its design adopts Bauhaus style and emphasizes practicality and simple lines. Two parks with square boxes, one high and one low, have become a model of modernism in Hong Kong.

On December 18, 2009, the Hong Kong City Hall was identified as a first-class historical building in Hong Kong.

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Evolution of construction

The old city hall of Hong Kong was built with public funds. It was completed in 1869 and put into operation until it was completely demolished in 1947. During the period of post-war reconstruction in Hong Kong, the people felt the need to revive culture, so the idea of rebuilding the Great Hall came into being. In 1950, the government set up a committee to rebuild a new cultural and artistic site for the Hong Kong community.

In 1956, the construction of the Hong Kong city hall began. It was designed by British Architects Ronald Phillips and Alan Fitch and cost HK $20 million.

In 1960, the Hong Kong City Hall was completed.

On March 2, 1962, the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong City Hall was presided over by the then governor of Hong Kong, Sir Robert Barkey.

On March 5, 1962, the Hong Kong City Hall Public Library was officially opened. It is the first public library in Hong Kong.

In 1993 and 2010, Hong Kong City Hall was renovated to keep pace with social changes and the development of culture and art. The renovation works not only retained the original Bauhaus architectural style of the hall, but also added a sense of the times to the appearance of the building.

Architectural pattern

overview

The Hong Kong City Hall is composed of two independent buildings (high and low) and a memorial garden. There are concert hall, theatre, exhibition hall, exhibition hall, concert hall, two conference rooms and many restaurants.

 

Between the high and low blocks of the Hong Kong Lobby is a memorial garden. In the middle of the garden is a 12 sided monument with a list of martyrs. In addition, there is also the first public library and the earliest public museum in Hong Kong.

 

The Hong Kong Museum of art, the predecessor of the Hong Kong Museum of history and the Hong Kong Museum of art, was originally located on the 10th and 11th floors of the high block of the city hall. The Hong Kong Museum of fine arts later split into two and moved to Tsim Sha Tsui.

 

Main facilities

The concert hall is the largest indoor facility of Hong Kong City Hall, with 1434 seats. On the stage, there are chorus seats for 60 singers. It is suitable for symphony and chamber music performance, solo, jazz, opera, chorus and solo performance. It can also be used for dance, drama and opera performance.

 

With 463 seats, the theatre is suitable for small stage production. It is the main venue for professional and semi professional troupes to perform, and is also a popular site for music programs. The theater is also equipped with a large screen to show films, which can be turned into a cinema at any time.

 

The exhibition hall is located on the first floor of the low block, with an area of 590 square meters. It can view the view of Victoria Harbour. It is often used to hold various kinds of visual art exhibitions, ceremonies, cocktail parties, industrial and commercial fairs, etc. it has exhibition lighting system, audio-visual system, multimedia projector and screen, and can be divided into two parts by using exhibition boards, so that two different types of activities or different themes can be held at the same time Exhibition.

 

The semi-circular concert hall has 111 seats, equipped with professional stage lighting system, sound equipment, LCD projector, slide projector and overhead projector. It is suitable for holding small music, dance and drama performances, as well as holding seminars and lectures.

 

Located on the seventh floor of the high block, the exhibition hall covers an area of 260 square meters. It is suitable for holding medium-sized visual art exhibitions, displaying Chinese and Western painting, calligraphy, photography, sculpture, ceramics and other works.

 

The two conference rooms on the seventh floor of the high block can accommodate 40 people each. They are equipped with projector equipment and basic facilities for holding seminars or conferences. They are suitable for holding conferences, seminars and interest classes.

 

Memorial Garden

The memorial garden of the Hong Kong City Hall is located between the high and low blocks. It is built to commemorate the people and soldiers who died in defending Hong Kong during the Second World War. In the center of the garden, there is a 12 sided Memorial niche, in which there is a list of the dead and a wooden plaque engraved with the name of the dead team. On the wall, there are eight words: "the spirit of heroes will never die, and the spirit will last forever.". The two copper doors at the entrance of the garden are inlaid with the military insignia.

 

library

The Hong Kong City Hall Public Library is located in the high block of the Hong Kong City Hall, providing lending and reference library services for the public. In addition to the adult library, children's library, reference library, newspaper reading room, multimedia information center and computer information center, the public library of the city hall also has special reference libraries and special collections such as the industrial and commercial library, the creativity and innovation resource center and the basic law library. In mid-2014, the central and Western District Cultural and historical resources corner was set up to provide information on central and western district culture, history and community development.

 

Marriage registry

The marriage registry of Hong Kong City Hall is located on the first floor of the high block of the city hall. It only handles wedding ceremonies.

 

Architectural features

overview

The city hall of Hong Kong adopts modern architectural style design, which breaks through the traditional Victorian architectural concept. It is a typical Bauhaus style building with concise and pragmatic design ideas.

 

 

Detail features

< I uniform size combined windowsill < / I

One of the characteristics of modern architectural design is the combination design of repeated use and simple style. As the exterior wall of the hall is thin, the concrete grid design is used to match the exterior of the main entrance. And all the window frames are sunken, which can block the sun and rain. This is another function of grid design.

 

< I rectangular appearance < / I

The high block of the Hong Kong city hall adopts a simple rectangular plan with stairs on both sides, making the building look like a simple box. This design clearly reflects an important principle of modern architectural and industrial design in the 20th century - "function first in appearance design".

 

< I asymmetric high and low block building design

The Hong Kong City Hall is a modern building, which is also a typical example of the idea of "function first in appearance design". Therefore, it can be seen that the internal function of the hall lays the foundation for the appearance of the building. According to this principle, the shape of the building does not have to be symmetrical or regular.

 

< I decorative materials near the main entrance

The imitation marble decoration materials near the entrance of the main entrance of the Hong Kong City Hall form a strong contrast with the pure tone inside and outside the building. The heavy and solid texture of the material also brings visual contrast with the adjacent glass door. This design is similar to the famous Barcelona Expo in Spain.

 

Important events

The 24th to 28th governors of Hong Kong were all sworn in at the Hong Kong City Hall. Every time the royal family and the new governor arrive in Hong Kong, there will be a guard of honor in front of the Hong Kong City Hall.

 

In 1964, Professor Yang Zhenning, the first Chinese Nobel Laureate in physics, delivered a speech at the newly built Hong Kong City Hall at the invitation of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

 

The early Hong Kong Festival, the first Hong Kong Arts Festival (1973), the first Asian Arts Festival (1976), the first Hong Kong International Film Festival (1977) and the first international variety show Carnival (1982) were unveiled at the Hong Kong City Hall.

 

Outstanding Hong Kong and overseas artists and troupes who have performed in the Hong Kong City Hall include cellist Yo Yo Ma, the late violinist Elsie stone, the New York Symphony Orchestra, Vienna children's Choir, German stuga ballet, China National Theatre, Hunan Hunan Opera Troupe, pianist FU Cong, singer dikanawa, Fei Mingyi, young Fengming Cantonese Opera Troupe and Hong Kong Opera Troupe Industrial art troupe, etc.

 

Honors

On December 18, 2009, the Hong Kong City Hall was designated as a class I historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Committee.

 

 

Value significance

The city hall of Hong Kong is designed in a simple modernist architectural style, which may not be unusual nowadays. However, in the 1960s, when Victorian architecture was popular, it was a bold and innovative work, which had a far-reaching impact on the development of architectural art style in Hong Kong.

 

< I (Hong Kong Tourism Board) < / I

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Da Hui Tang