For most of its history, the Central Police Station in Hong Kong was a walled compound off-limits to most people, a void at the heart of a hectic, dense metropolis. Begun in 1841 by the British colonial authorities, the multi-building complex eventually included not just the main police station but the Central Magistracy, Victoria Prison, officers’ quarters, and police barracks—all arranged around a trio of outdoor spaces spilling down a steep site on Hong Kong Island. In the 19th century, it sat at the edge of the town’s colonial core but, fast-forward 175 years, and it stood as a crumbling relic surrounded by skyscrapers and some of the priciest real estate in the world.
In 2006, years after the police moved out, the city finally decommissioned the complex. As part of a larger effort to expand arts facilities, the local government agreed to convert the low-rise 19th-century structures—listed as historic monuments—into a cultural center. The city entered into a joint venture with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the philanthropic arm of the company that runs horse racing and gambling operations and uses those revenues to fund nonprofit groups. The idea was to turn this dark hole in the urban fabric into the bustling Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage & Arts. Herzog & de Meuron and conservation architects Purcell soon began work on the $484 million project, which takes its name, Tai Kwun, from the colloquial term “Big Station.” The difficult site, arduous approvals process, and precarious condition of some of the buildings stretched the planning, design, and construction of the project to a dozen years.
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