Situated on an extremely steep, heritage-protected hillside of Mount Davis at the western end of Hong Kong Island, the design for this new satellite campus was inspired by the site’s challenging topography, its magnificent panorama across the sea, and the scattered remnants of its past as a former military facility and, in later years, a detention centre.
The directive to mitigate disruption of the site’s ecological landscape and historic remnants steered Revery’s design team to the innovative decision of “ floating” the project over its complex surroundings, presenting a curvilinear form that gently weaves the academic program into the contours of the site’s di cult terrain, touching down only at points of least intrusion, and bridging the heritage blocks
to seamlessly reconcile old and new, natural and man-made. Its fluid design, accentuated by generous glazing and rhythmic sun screens, carefully respects the site’s unique setting and abundant foliage.
The move to embrace the existing heritage buildings and repurpose several of them as classrooms and student lounges rather than splitting them o as precious antiquities, immerses the project both culturally and historically into its new Asian context and brings a richness to the project that is architecturally celebrated through the juxtaposition of the new construction’s reflective glass against the heritage buildings’ monolithic white concrete façades.
Nestled among tree canopies and verdant public hiking trails, this contemporary “treehouse of knowledge” works harmoniously within its surrounding context of existing heritage buildings and lush, old-growth trees while offering a magnificent panorama across the harbour.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong is a landmark academic hub for global education that is architecturally unique, environmentally sensitive, and elegantly celebrates the University of Chicago’s international presence and its partnership with the wider Hong Kong community.
Material Used :
1. Guardian Industries: Low-E glass in curtain wall insulated glass unit ‘SunGuard Superneutral SN51/28’
2. Vogl Deckensysteme GmbH: Perforated Acoustic Plasterboard ceiling
3. Holz in Form: Embossed veneered wood cladding - Model 2420 Stone ‘T’
4. Laminam: Porcelain tiles ‘Tredi/ Blend’
5. Marshalls: Granite paver ‘GRA920’ and concrete paver ‘La Linia’
