Architecture in Hong Kong

Introduction

Hong Kong use to be a fishing village in the late 19th century it later evolved into a military port of strategic importance and eventually an international financial center, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world after the engagement of Imperial China and the British Colony in the territory.

Nowadays Hong Kong has over thousand skyscrapers, the architecture of Hong Kong features great emphasis on contemporary architecture, accent Modernism and Functionalism. The high density and tall skyline of Hong Kong's urban area is on grounds that lack available sprawl space, which increases requirement for crowded, high-rise housing and offices.

As a result, few older buildings persist and the city is becoming a centre for modern architecture. Due to the 156 years (From 26 January 1841 to 30 June 1997) of British colonial rule, you can still find a few old Western buildings show the big influence the British Colonial period had in Hong Kong Island (Southern part of Hong Kong). An example could be the ‘Old Supreme Court Building’. It is one of the oldest Western buildings that still remain from the early 19th century.

The initial construction of the building began in 1900 and finished in 1912. It was opened by the then Governor, Sir Frederick Luggard on 15 January (Hong Kong Architecture Aesthetics Of Density 1993:132). The Old Supreme Court has been in Central (the main business district of Hong Kong and where most of the government and important buildings are located) for over a century, which indicates the importance of the building to Hong Kong....

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...rneath it (Legislative Council Secretariat 2003:3). Also, the figure of Mercy (Clementia) and Truth (Veritas) are placed next to the British Royal Coat of Arms.

Two traffic circles on both sides of the window, ‘E’ on the right and ‘R’ on the left, is the short form of Edward Rex and the bronze Tudor crown (imperial crown) on top of the dome, are symbols to show that the building was own by the emperor of King Edward VII. These could show how were political factors affected the building and also the status of it. “When Victoria has ceased to be a city, when the harbor has silted up, when even the Hong Kong club has crumbled away, this building will remain like a pyramid to commemorate the genius of the Far East…” said, Chief Justice Sir Francis Piggott in 1912 (Old Supreme Court, 2014). It once again identified the status of the Old Supreme Court in Hong Kong.