Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Limited (HCF), the operator and steward of the UNESCO-awarded Tai O Heritage Hotel, has been honoured by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Hong Kong Chapter with a Citation Award on Friday, 14 November 2014, in recognition of its contributions to heritage conservation in Hong Kong.
Founded in 2008 by Ng Teng Fong Family as a non-profit charitable foundation, HCF upholds its primary objectives to revitalise and maintain heritage buildings, as well as to promote the conservation and appreciation of heritage and historic places and their importance in community life. In 2009, HCF was selected by the Hong Kong SAR Government at Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme to conserve and revitalise the Old Tai O Police Station, the 112-year-old Grade II historic building, into Tai O Heritage Hotel, a nine-room boutique hotel with a Heritage Interpretation Centre and a glass-roofed open view restaurant Tai O Lookout.
The AIA Hong Kong Honors & Awards Ceremony 2014 took place at The Rotunda, Exchange Square, Central on 14 November 2014, where about 100 architects, urban planners, designers and conservation professionals gathered to celebrate the achievement in the industry.
The AIA Hong Kong Citation are awarded to individuals or organisations for their achievement in promoting the value of architecture in society and for fostering public awareness of issues related to the built environment. Mr. Daryl Ng, Director of HCF, received the honour from Dr. Sujata S. Govada, President Elect of AIA Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Limited has been awarded in recognition of its contributions to promoting public awareness of the physical and cultural heritage of Hong Kong by converting the former Tai O police station into the Tai O Heritage Hotel, thereby preserving a colonial-style, late 19th century building in an elegant, adaptive re-use of this historic site,” says Mr. Peter Basmajian, Chairman, AIA Hong Kong Chapter 2014 Nominating Committee, at the Ceremony. HCF is one of the four winners of the AIA Hong Kong Citation Awards in 2014.
“We would like to thank the Hong Kong SAR Government wholeheartedly for the valuable opportunity to partner with them in order to conserve the 112-year-old historic site and revitalise it into a heritage boutique hotel to serve the public. Without their guidance and support, we would not have been awarded with this honour,” Mr. Ng remarked.
This latest award bestowed on HCF and the Hotel is among the 16 honours received since the Hotel’s opening on February 2012, recognising its devotion in heritage conservation, service excellence and corporate social responsibility. In September 2013, the Hotel has been awarded by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with the Award of Merit at the 2013 Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The UNESCO award bestowed on the hotel is the highest honour a participating project has ever received under the current Hong Kong SAR Government Development Bureau’s Batch 1 of Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme.
Tai O Heritage Hotel is committed to engaging the community to the appreciation towards heritage conservation, tourism and green living. The award-winning hotel also contributes to the sustainable development of Tai O tourism through a series of tailor-made eco-tours and cultural experience tours. The Hotel has received over 509,000 visitors from the end of February 2012 to 17 November 2014, surpassing the yearly target of 66,000 visitors set by the Government.
As a non-profit social enterprise, all proceeds of the Hotel deducting operational costs would go to support heritage conservation and the Tai O community. The Hotel is committed to engaging the public in bolstering Tai O's local economy, achieving synergy with local communities, and promoting heritage conservation, tourism and green living.
