Case Study Three - Restoration of Kom Tong Hall
Kom Tong Hall, Hong Kong’s first steel-frame mansion, was built in 1914, as the private residence of Ho Kom-tong, the younger brother of Hong Kong magnate Robert Hotung. In 2004, this historic building narrowly escaped being demolished and its site redeveloped into a luxury apartment complex. The Hong Kong SAR Government decided to purchase it with the intention of preserving and modifying it into a museum commemorating Dr Sun Yat-sen.
Kom Tong Hall is an exemplary building representing early 20th century architecture in Hong Kong. This four-storey Edwardian building encompasses Greek-style granite columns flanking the top floors of the façade, and is decorated with stained glass windows, wall tiled verandahs, and teak staircase and panels which are well-preserved and in good condition. The essence of restoring Kom Tong Hall lied in reinstating the structure’s original appearance while integrating all the essential contemporary facilities in the building without destroying it authenticity.
The restoration programme took nearly three years. The building houses exhibition galleries, reading room, video rooms, interactive room and activity room. Various facilities are designed to cater both for convenient access for the public and for the preservation of the heritage structure.
Key measures taken during the restoration of Kom Tong Hall included:
- A comprehensive background research and investigation of this historical building structure to examine the existing fabric, and substantiate design assumptions. This study served as the foundation for developing the most sustainable and feasible plan for restoring the building.
- An extensive consultation and trial tests conducted for the addition of lift and fire services installation system based on the thorough study of various strategies on fire escape and fire resistance construction to minimise potential construction risks.
- Modern building services fixtures such as air-conditioning and plumbing cleverly concealed in the existing fireplaces and chimneys, so that new piping required minimum openings through slabs and walls.
- Corroded steel columns and deteriorated brickwork were sensitively repaired to minimise further damage.
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The reinstatement of the building structure to its original appearance. Conservators adopted various paint removal methods, e.g. chemical stripping method to remove the deteriorated varnish coating on the brick walls, corncob blasting technique to remove the old paint vanish on the surface of wooden structure, sand-blasting to remove old paint and corroded iron from the balustrades.
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The careful restoration of existing mosaic flooring, ceramic dado wall tile, timber louvre door, brickwork and bamboo planters. For example, glazed balcony wall tiles were no longer available for sale and therefore the specialists retrieved intact tiles from concealed areas to make up for the damaged ones.
- The detailed investigation and numerous trial repairs of broken stained glass windows which were faithfully restored. The corroded metal window frames were also treated and protected by a durable coating.
- The repaving of the street outside Kom Tong Hall with stone, as it once was, and the stone walls were again topped with wrought-iron balustrades. In this respect, historical accuracy took precedence over the design creativity of the architect.
After renovation, Kom Tong Hall will not only be an ideal place for people to learn about Dr Sun Yat-sen and the history of modern China, but also a meaningful place to explore and study this historical building of Hong Kong.
