諮藝 Design Consultants Limited

the university was intended to be of international character, as a true university should be, using a multi-lingual medium of instruction. the project commenced in 1978 and the development of this virgin 11 hectares of land as a campus for an arts, social science and business oriented new university is still ongoing to meet the expanding needs of the community. feasibility studies and masterplan were completed in 1978, the first academic and residential buildings were occupied in 1981.

the concept of this school is to identify an educational system for the french community in hong kong. the design was made up of separate building blocks linked together in the form of a pinwheel generating a skylit central court with an umbrella structure symbolically covered the whole school under one roof.

the headquarters and the extension share similar curvilinear vocabulary in response to the curve of the road. a well lighted glass tower act as a vertical focus, making reference to the nearby police station watch tower. the spacious entrance enables easy access and connection to the parking areas for handicapped use.

sam tung uk was a typical example of walled rural village. with the rapid development in tsuen wan, surrounding structures of the village were demolished. the village was restored to its original form and converted to a folk museum displaying the life style and character of it in the past.

1989 hong kong institute of architects certificate of merit
1990 american association of school administrators / american institute of architects citation award for school buildings, usa
2002 best landscaped slope award
the design of the campus reflected the unique approach to education that students do not have fixed stations.. the buildings followed the shape of the hill forming a circular plaza in the middle with arcades as a circulation system to connect the functions and for students to seek their own course of activity.

1996 hong kong institute of architects certificate of merit
while the flow of accommodation was better suited to a low-rise building, the site constraints required a vertical organisation of spaces, resulting in a uniquely hong kong design challenge. classrooms are clustered around a faculty specific common workspace which replaces the typical corridor. visual access also encourages outside interest in classroom activities.

the design was driven by five primary objectives:
– to combine primary and secondary school functions;
– to address the need for an australian system of education for local students;
– to utilize the site efficiently for an outdoor pitch;
– to produce a cost effective and sustainable building; and
– to make it “australian”

barren land of the site was turned into garden, for exhibition, gathering as well as education, also as a connection path and pedestrian entrance of hkbu with disabled access. the fence wall served as a display screen of the valuable bonsai and it also enclosed a quite and comfortable space.

the design of the annex aims to maintain a strong identity to reflect visual & performing arts activities and in harmony with existing cis campus. with the vision of providing efficient, flexible and cost effective design, there is minimum demolition with complimentary usage of existing corridors, stair and lift provisions.

in order to reduce running costs and promote a sustainable environment, use of the internal circulation atrium permit a free flow of air though the building to provide effective natural cooling. natural lighting for the circulation space is also provided through the skylight at the roof, where photovoltaic panels are installed and connected to the city grid to provide supplement for the daily air conditioning and lighting consumption.