A building in the hills : an undocumented chapter of Hong Kong art deco architecture

Abstract

The research for this dissertation was initiated by a personal heritage discovery process. In my adolescence and university years, I devoted some of my time to wandering in the city with my camera. As early as 2010, Jessville in Pokfulam caught my attention, thanks to a book, and I eventually walked on the serpentine path leading to the mansion in 2014 and saw the barking mongrels. Apart from books, property websites can give art and architecture enthusiasts some of the greatest surprises. One November day in 2017, the author searched the keywords ‘Art Deco architecture Hong Kong’ for fun and a rental listing of a pre-war Art Deco building located on the westside of Hong Kong appeared, and this building is the focus of this dissertation. Considering the obscure location this Art Deco residence in the Mid-Levels, it is highly probable that there are many historic buildings in Hong Kong which remain undocumented – all of them deserve to be thoroughly documented and assessed for significance before making any decision to alter or demolish them. It is only recently revealed that the Art Deco building is one of the 8,803 historic buildings on the previously undisclosed list of territory-wide survey of historic buildings, which was done by the Antiquities and Monuments Office from 1996 to 2000.1 Sources relating to the Art Deco house and the family that commissioned the construction is extremely scarce. This dissertation will investigate this undocumented chapter of Hong Kong Art Deco Architecture, and reveal its heritage significance through the ICOMOS Burra Charter’s Statement of Signifance. It is hoped that this research will contribute towards the recognition and conservation of Hong Kong’s diminishing Art Deco architectural heritage.