Purcell appointed to prepare Chinese Temple Committee Practical Guidebook

21 January 2019

Purcell’s Hong Kong studio is pleased to have been appointed by The Chinese Temples Committee (CTC) to lead a pioneering study. Culminating in a Temples Practical Guidebook, Purcell will prepare outline conservation and a restoration strategy that documents how to repair and maintain what are some of Hong Kong’s most important surviving Chinese Temples.

Established in 1928 under the Chinese Temples Ordinance (Chapter153), CTC is a statutory body, overseeing the operation and management of 24Chinese Temples. Four of these are ‘Declared Monuments’, with another 17 classified as Graded Buildings.

Thecare of Hong Kong’s heritage remains an ongoing education. With Purcell’s trackrecord in Conservation Planning and Heritage Management, we pride ourselves intransforming buildings beyond best practices to make them fit for purpose aswell as achieve long term rejuvenation and sustainability. It’s of vitalimportance to maintain the momentum in Hong Kong to retain and preserveheritage.

Ourprocess involves conducting extensive research into the cultural and historicalcontext of a building, to empower the decision-making process such that allfuture change can be managed positively, but sensitively.

— Steve Phillips, Senior Architect, Hong Kong

Key elements of the study will include the following:

  • A in depth academic study on the Hong Kong heritage building conservation framework (guidelines and polices) with cross reference to international charters.
  • Preparation of a contemporaneous record of the existing buildings.
  • Development of a conservation framework and statement of significance for each temple to further an understanding and appreciation of them and to provide a basis for strategic level heritage management.
  • The preparation of a practical building maintenance manual inclusive of details on restoration solutions, workmanship and application standards etc. to inform the day-to-day and long-term management and use of the temples.
  • The addressing of modern standards pertaining to safety, sustainability, ease of construction and economy, detailing procedures in achieving high quality restoration, repair and maintenance, to support any proposed future developments.
  • The compilation of a comprehensive Practice Guideline for Maintenance and Conservation.

This study is representative of the CTC’s progressive approach to conservation. Gary further remarks, “We very much look forward to working with CTC over the next year to deliver this study and are optimistic it will be a catalyst for many other heritage property owners to adopt similar such initiatives to ensure the future repair and maintenance of Hong Kong’s heritage is carried out appropriately.”

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