Tai Kwun – Herzog & de Meuron
The former Central Police Station, the Central Magistracy and the Victoria Prison is a walled compound of heritage buildings at the commercial centre of Hong Kong Island. Established by the British after 1841 as the colony’s main police station, magistracy, and prison, the site is one of Hong Kong’s most important remaining historic monuments. Following its decommission in 2006, the entire compound was vacated, leaving a set of open grounds and a collection of unique buildings.
From an urban perspective, the compound is a rare “courtyard” in the middle of one of the densest cities in the world. What once stood on the hillside as a prominent symbol of law and order with commanding views to the harbour has now inversely become an urban oasis of openness and calm within a forest of commercial and residential high-rises. The compound is defined and structured by two large courtyards: the Parade Ground and the Prison Yard. Our goal is to preserve the openness and distinct character of both and to re-activate them for public use as a new type of urban found space. These spaces will define the site physically and programmatically as places of gathering, cultural exchange, leisure, and respite.
