How seeing I.M. Pei’s Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong changed the life of a Hong Kong artist and architect
One of Hong Kong’s most instantly recognisable buildings, the Bank of China Tower (completed in 1989), with its dazzling facade of soaring triangles, is the work of legendary Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei.
Raymond Fung Wing-kee, Hong Kong contemporary ink artist and the architect behind projects including Sai Kung Waterfront Park, Hong Kong Wetland Park and City Hall Memorial Garden, tells Richard Lord how it changed his life.
Before I.M. Pei did this building, I was one of his fans, dating back to when I was very young. During my childhood, I read books about his work. It started with a book I read about outstanding Chinese in America. I found him to be a very special person, and I felt very attached to him, even though we didn’t know each other.
Even when I was a kid, I would try to visit all his buildings. I’ve seen them in the United States, Doha, Berlin, mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong. So I was very excited when I found out about his project in Hong Kong – in particular, because I worked nearby, in the Queensway government office, above Pacific Place. I passed by all the time, following its progress.
I had joined the government in the late 1980s. I was assigned to the design development unit as a designer. Maybe because I worked very hard, the director gave me a big gift.
He said, “Raymond, I want to give you the chance to study abroad.” I chose I.M. Pei (the architect’s firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, in New York). In those days, he was in his 70s.
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I was not so much learning architecture directly from him as learning his personality, his friendliness with people, how he dealt with clients. I also learned perseverance from him. Another thing I learned is passion – not just towards architecture but society as a whole.
He is my idol. In those days, Hong Kong needed something it could be proud of, and the Bank of China Tower was the next one after the HSBC (Main Building) a few years earlier. It’s still a building Hong Kong is proud of; the government uses it as a landmark.
It was a brave attempt by Pei to do something that has the merits of both Eastern and Western architecture. He was trying to mingle both the traditional and the contemporary in one, which is not easy.
I get most annoyed by superstitions about building forms (the Bank of China Tower has been criticised for failing to adhere to feng shui principles); I think this is total nonsense. It annoyed Pei, too – I asked him about it.
It’s still impressive in terms of precision in architectural details. That precision was the first thing I learned from him. It changed my practice.
Back in those days, I didn’t see any architects in Hong Kong who were so focused on details; even today, I teach at Chinese University of Hong Kong and I still take my students to see it. It’s still my most beloved building in Hong Kong, it’s still a landmark and it’s still the most important building in my life.
