North Kowloon Magistracy
- Address: No. 292 Tai Po Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon
- Gross Floor Area: 7,530 m2
- Year Built: 1960
- Grading: Grade II
- Possible Uses: Educational institute, training centre, antiquities and art gallery
Selected Project :
SCAD Hong Kong Campus by SCAD Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited
- Capital cost: Not required
- Government subsidy required for operation of social enterprise: Nil
- The renovation work was completed in July 2010. The project has started operation since 13 September 2010. For details of SCAD Hong Kong Campus, please click the following link.
http://www.scad.edu/hong-kong/
General Project Description
To establish a branch campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) providing 1,500 student places at tertiary level with a view to:
- Establishing Hong Kong and North Kowloon Magistracy as a pre-eminent site for the study of digital media in Asia;春的文物及建築特色;
- Offering globally recognised digital media programmes and increasing educational diversity and opportunities to Hong Kong;
- Supplying synergizing power to the development of creative industry in Hong Kong; and
- Setting up of a facility to provide important cultural resources to students and new professional opportunities for talents.
How to reflect or bring out Historical Significance of the Building
- The project will retain the facade, which is an important and distinguishing exterior element and help maintain the original character of the building.
- Parts of the building will remain open to the public and a gallery will be set up to display the history of the North Kowloon Magistracy building.
- The project will host a website showcasing the original North Kowloon Magistracy building in comparison with the new SCAD-Hong Kong campus.
- It will produce a conservation documentary to capture the entire conservation process of the building.
Technical and Design Aspects
- The project house approximately 40 classrooms, 1 lecture hall, 1 digital studio, 16 faculty and staff offices, 1 library, 1 art gallery, 2 computer laboratories, student office, administrative facilities, etc.
- The conversion of two original court rooms into Digital Studio and Lecture Hall can make good use of the high head room.
- The project will retain as many as possible the original walls, finishes, fixtures and significant architectural features. It will also adopt a neat and simple approach of circulation for the public and the users, while common areas will be placed with artistic works.
- It will implement a variety of greening measures such as use of high efficiency lighting and fixtures fabricated from sustainable materials.
Social Benefits
The project will:
- Promote Hong Kong as a regional art and design educational hub and improve Hong Kong’s global competitiveness in digital media and creative industries;
- Achieve synergy with the nearby Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre;
- Engage the local community through the offering of summer programmes to local students;
- Add an international dimension to the Sham Shui Po district; and
- Bring in 1,500 local and overseas students to the district which will help revitalise the old community.
Selected Organisation
- The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), founded in 1978 in Georgia, is a renowned art and design institution in the United States. It is a non-profit-making corporation. To represent its presence in Hong Kong, it established SCAD Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited in May 2008.
- Currently, SCAD has over 7,700 students and 1,500 staff on its main campus in Savannah, Georgia. It has a branch campus in Atlanta with 1,600 students and a residential study abroad location in France. In total, SCAD has over 9,300 students.
- SCAD has rich experience in organising art and design programs as well as providing volunteerism and public service in the United States. Many buildings of the SCAD campuses are converted from heritage buildings with a history of more than 100 years.
Way Forward
- The selected organisation has to:
- Complete the detailed project design;
- Complete the required administrative procedures;
- Carry out the renovation work (anticipated renovation period: around 15 months);
- Apply for licences (where applicable) for intended operations; and
- Sign with government agreements on operations of the social enterprise and preservation of the historic building.
- Anticipated Commissioning Time: 13 September 2010 (Classes commenced)
- Anticipated Breakeven Time: Year 3