The Consulate-General building

Designed to mark the beginning of a new relationship between Britain and Hong Kong following the Handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to Mainland China in 1997, the Consulate-General building, together with the neighbouring British Council, emphasise Britain's continuing strong commitment to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The architect for the HK$290 million project was determined by a limited competition between six mostly local architects. British architects Terry Farrell and Partners were eventually selected.

Farrell's ability to create 'well-tailored' yet individual buildings, such as the British Government's MI6 Headquarters at Vauxhall Cross in London, was an important consideration in swaying the decision his way.

However, inspiration for the Consulate-General building came not from patriotic pride but from Hong Kong itself. Farrell saw this building as the continuation of a long line of governmental architecture in Hong Kong. He is admired for the post-war institutional architecture in Hong Kong, such as City Hall. The pale Chinese granite of City Hall was adopted for the exterior cladding of the Consulate-General buildings, as was the low linearity and the difference between treatment of front and back.

Farrell's low linear approach proved decisive in awarding the design contract as it made the best use of the site. Not only did this solution create a street facade for the project, it also allowed for a landscaped garden at the steep rear portion of the site.

The two public blocks of the building are symmetrical and highly ordered. The Consulate-General block has an additional semi-circular volume at its centre but otherwise the two are almost identical. They lie side by side about a central axis and are linked only by a security lobby and basement parking access at ground level. The gap above reveals some of the garden at the back of the building.

Internally, offices throughout the complex are simple but sophisticated with plenty of openness and natural light.

The Consulate-General building was first occupied in October 1996. In what is one of Britain's most important overseas buildings, Farrell, rather than creating a vestigial symbol of Britain's colonial presence, has instead created a facility fully integrated into Hong Kong's historic and urban context.