Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron has transformed a collection of historic buildings in Hong Kong into a vast arts complex, for the city's largest heritage conservation project to date.
The Tai Kwun art and heritage centre spans 27,000 square metres across a sloping site, reflective of Hong Kong Island's mountainous terrain.

Herzog & de Meuron combined conservation and adaptive reuse to preserve the city's former main police station, central magistracy, and prison, established by the British after they took control of the territory in 1841.
Most of the city's colonial architecture was not protected, and therefore bulldozed for redevelopment.

The studio has also added two new structures to the site, which was decommissioned and vacated in 2006, bringing the total number of buildings to 16. Overall, the transformation makes Tai Kwun the largest heritage conservation project in Hong Kong. "What we have done in Hong Kong is to transform a former police station into a cultural centre," said Herzog & de Meuron. "In Hong Kong and also in Mainland China this is still a totally new approach to architecture – an unusual thing to do because normally old buildings and entire neighbourhoods are being removed and being replaced by new ones."

Working with British conservation architecture firm Purcell, Herzog & de Meuron preserved the outdoor corridors, arches and pillars of the old brick structures. A series of outdoor stairca...