Tai Kwun Conversations — Invisible Innovation: Revitalising the Central Police Station Compound

Charles Kung is the Director of Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and joined the Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd in 1997. He brings expertise spanning both detail design development and project management and has been the team leader in various projects across Hong Kong and China. He has extensive experience in managing complex projects with diverse stakeholder inputs, which includes IFC development, hotel ICON and Central Police Station Revitalisation Project. He has been a member of the Building and Lands Committee of HKIA from 2016 to 2019 and has contributed to every project with his wealth of government liaison knowledge to ensure smooth approval process.

Gabriel Yam graduated from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 1995 and obtained his Master of Science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 1999. Gabriel joined Arup as an Associate in 2008 and has worked on the Tai Kwun project since 2009 until its opening in 2018. He was the project manager and led a team of multi-disciplinary engineers in Hong Kong and collaborated with international heritage experts and world-renowned architects for the conservation and revitalisation work of the former Central Police Station compound. Innovation solutions were achieved using a balanced design approach between modern-day regulations and preservation of historic fabric. The Tai Kwun project was recognised for its technical excellence by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and won the grand award in both Structural and Fire Engineering in 2019.