Hong Kong Art Deco Architecture：Unveiling the Hidden Heritage

A definitive guide to Hong Kong Art Deco architecture in the fullest scope and meaning of the style
The Art Deco movement since the 1920s is often neglected at the peripheries of architectural history of Asia and Hong Kong. This book is the first study relating Art Deco architecture in the city with local socioeconomic and political contexts, adopts the theoretical lens to examine how they framed practices of everyday life, and narrates how Art Deco became part of the modern Hong Kong ethos via such architectural typologies as public and institutional sites, residential properties, commercial, industrial, and utility buildings.
As surviving Art Deco buildings are hidden treasures and portals to forgotten marvels and little-known history of interwar Hong Kong, Prudence Lau and Vanessa Yeung show us how Art Deco heritage bears witness to the city’s societal progress in various aspects, early efforts at modernization before the postwar era, and its aesthetic connections with the international stage.

Prudence Leung Kwok Lau is Associate Professor at the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, The Education University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on modern architecture and cultural heritage, particularly Hong Kong’s architectural modernity from the early to mid-20th century, as well as heritage conservation and urban studies.

Vanessa Winghei Yeung works at Historic Environment Scotland. She holds an MSc in Conservation from the University of Hong Kong and is a member of DOCOMOMO Hong Kong and DOCOMOMO Scotland. She has worked in international relations in Rome, as well as antiquarian book trading and community outreach in Hong Kong. Her other published writing explores the intersections of art, cities, history, and languages.

“
This book encourages readers to see Hong Kong’s Art Deco legacy not just as an architectural style, but as a reflection of the bold individuals, like my grandfather, who built bridges between worlds.

—Jennifer Wong
Family Historian, granddaughter of architect Liu Jipiao