Believe it or not, it’s not all just residential high rises in Hong Kong. Our city is home to some of the world’s most unique and sustainable pieces of contemporary architecture — and these are the best of the best.

TGIF! Don’t ask how I know, but this weekend is going to be a good one, with restaurants now open until dinner time and other restrictions finally getting out of our hair. Couple that with the warmer weather, and it’s a recipe for the perfect day out.

If you’re looking for something different to do aside from the usual hike or shopping mall, well, may I suggest checking out these great pieces of architecture in Hong Kong? From the futuristic Jockey Club Innovation Tower by starchitect Zaha Hadid to the self-sustained ecological facility T-Park, these photogenic contemporary architecture structures will have you racking up the likes on the ‘gram in no time.

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Perhaps the most high-profile contemporary architecture building on this list, the Jockey Club Innovation Tower was designed by Pritzker-prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and is her first work in Hong Kong. Home to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design, the 15-storey tower houses design studios, workshops, exhibition spaces, lecture theatres and communal lounges.

Taking on Zaha Hadid’s signature style, the Jockey Club Innovation Tower features a more fluid composition of a typical tower and podium. Additionally, the tower’s circulation routes and communal spaces help establish a connective research culture between different design disciplines.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

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An academic building on the campus of the City University of Hong Kong, the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre was designed by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind and completed in 2011. The nine-storey building houses the university’s School of Creative Media, with a design that accommodates a range of flexible spaces for research and experimentation.

Each space in the crystalline building is unique, with a dramatic central staircase that spirals upwards and cuts through unexpected gathering spaces. Sets of asymmetrical windows allow for natural light to reach even the inner-most rooms of the complex. The corridors are more expansive than traditional passageways, encouraging impromptu exchanges between students, professors and visitors.

18 Tat Hong Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

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A design school in Tseung Kwan O, the Hong Kong Design Institute was conceptualised by French architects Coldefy & Associés, Architectes Urbanistes (CAAU) and opened in late 2010. Founded by the Vocational Training Council, it offers a range of design programmes at higher diploma, academic degree and continuing education levels.

The building features a glazed glass box raised seven levels above ground and four lattice-steel towers resting on a sloped grass podium. The glass box is topped with an urban park, while the podium contains a range of spaces including four auditoriums, a gallery, a sports hall and a cafe.

3 King Ling Road, Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong

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In 2018, The University of Chicago opened a new site of restored heritage buildings in Hong Kong, collectively called The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex or The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus. The campus ground is home to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students and hosts academic workshops, conferences and public lectures throughout the year.

Designed by Revery Architecture, the new campus balances modern functionality with the preservation of the site’s history. One of the heritage buildings, Block A, features a restored timber staircase and rustic stone fireplace that are now integrated into the student lounge design. Meanwhile, Block B has kept detention cell marks from the past on the walls and ceilings to showcase the building’s previous usage. Exterior elements include a disused battery gun and emplacement and ancillary structures, which are made accessible to visitors on the public hiking trail on Mount Davis.

168 Victoria Road, Mount Davis, Hong Kong

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West Kowloon Station is the terminus of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link and connects to Mainland China’s HSR network. Originally scheduled to open in 2012, it finally welcomed the public in 2018 before being closed again in early 2020 due to the pandemic.

The new contemporary architecture landmark, designed by Andrew Blomberg at Aedas, has a strong civic element whilst introducing over three hectares of green space to the site. The structure is ground-hugging, a contrast to Hong Kong’s vertical city orientation, bringing on a sense of fluidity between the ground and the building. The interior hall takes inspiration from a forest, with leaning steel columns and 4,000 glass panels, and visitors are encouraged to walk on the station’s green rooftop where they can access a different view of the city.

West Kowloon Station, Jordan, Hong Kong

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Hong Kong’s aptly named Zero Carbon Building showcases the newest zero carbon technologies and aims to raise awareness of sustainability in Hong Kong. Opened in 2012, the building combines passive design measures, green active systems and on-site generation of renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality.

An exemplar contemporary architecture project and the first of its kind in the city, the Zero Carbon Building achieved the BEAM Plus Platinum rating, the highest rating for excellence in building environmental performance in Hong Kong. It was also awarded the Grand Award (New Building) in the Green Building Awards 2012.

8 Sheung Yuet Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong

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Located in Nim Wan, Tuen Mun, T-Park is a unique self-sustained facility housing a range of recreational, educational and ecological features. The “T” in T-Park stands for “transformation”, referencing the building’s main function: transforming waste into energy by treating sewage sludge and turning it into inert ash and residues, ultimately reducing the pressure on landfills.

Designed by the late French architect Claude Vasconi, T-Park is not only functional, but also beautiful to look at, with a streamlined and wave‐form structure inspired by the surrounding sea and hills. It’s a bit out of the way, but accessible via land and sea, and visitors are encouraged to use its multi-purpose spaces, which include a gallery as well as three spa pools with different temperatures.

25 Nim Wan Road, Tsang Tsui, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong

(Hero image: Rawpixel, Featured image: @hongkongpolyu/Instagram)

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