ROCCO YIM:

I've always believed that an architect's work is the best in a place that he knows best. Especially for artists working in cities as most contemporary architects do. Because for me, architecture is never about just your own building. It's part of a bigger puzzle. You should ask the city what it likes its building to be before you start, because the city comes first and then comes to the architecture.

PRESENTER:

That’s Rocco Yim, the architect behind Hong Kong’s government headquarters. He shared what it was like designing such an important landmark that links with the very fabric of the city.

ROCCO YIM:

This project has a particular focus that we need to pay attention to: it's a government headquarters. Now, not every building is a government headquarters! We need to think how the image could be appropriate to represent what we aspire a government for Hong Kong should be.

We set out aiming not so much to create iconic architecture. We set out to create an iconic place, which is why we have this simple conceptual statement: it’s a project that signifies the door being always open, and the land is always green, and people are always connected.

Door always open actually meaning that it represents one of Hong Kong's key attributes. It is an open society that welcomes people and culture from all over the world, that it assimilates external influence. But also, it's an aspiration that our government should always be open and open-minded, and therefore transparent. So that's this openness.

The land always green, meaning that the key design elements in this complex is actually the green carpet that goes through the high-rise building in the centre. Linking the centre of the city with the future harbour front. Being green, of course, again is our aspiration to a sustainable future.

People always connected, because the physical connectivity provided by this green carpet ensures a fluidity of movement. You can easily walk from the city to the water’s edge; whether you're using the building, visiting the building, or not; you could do it twenty-four hours a day. Enjoying the space and taking the view of the surrounding, hopefully, impressive structures that house the different branches of government.

So, the door always open, the land always green, and the people always connected. So, both civic significance and actual urban intentions.

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