Private Sector Heritage Conservation: The State Theatre
Hong Kong’s 68-year-old State Theatre, located at King’s Road, North Point, is the oldest cinema remaining after the post-war era and is classified as a Grade 1 historic site. As Hong Kong continues to develop at a rapid pace, many aspects of the city’s old heritage sites have been replaced with the influx of new modern development. The State Theatre was also expected to receive such treatment, but instead has been announced by ‘New World Development’ to undergo complete architectural conservation to retain the original structure and spatial qualities, and revitalise the landmark into a new centre for culture and arts.
To commemorate the space before the conservation, ‘Culture for Tomorrow’ a non-profit organisation under the New World Group, opened up the theatre and introduced the event “Discover the State Theatre in All of Us” to allow the public to immerse themselves in a curated exclusive walkthrough tour of the theatre.
The tour consisted of a detailed and nostalgic journey through the state theatre, including exhibitions showcasing the collection of films previously screened in the space, the story of the founder Harry Odell, memorabilia of the interiors such as the cinema seating and the hand-painted posters and, of course, a personal trip to the iconic parabolic roof trusses.
But what makes the theatre so special? The State Theatre has not only become a symbol of nostalgia within Hong Kong but also a significant metaphor for the old intertwining with the new. The face and structural skeleton of the building being retained keeps the basic foundation and integrity of the building while also allowing for a fresh transformation internally that will appeal to the newer generation and trends of Hong Kong.
While an option would have been to restore the entire building once again, the original programme of the building would not have been suitable in the modern age where there are already many more established and thriving cinema franchises. New World Development Company’s proposed design to enhance the cultural richness of the area by creating an immersive historic cultural exhibition space along with revitalised spaces for old traditional arts and cultural artefacts is the sensitive and humanistic approach necessary for successful conservation to occur.
The state theatre acts as a cultural anchor for the people in north point and pioneered international contribution to the arts and culture scene in Hong Kong while also embracing several traditional elements that made the Hong Kong state theatre the unique entity that it is. The conservation of this building is the first step in creating a new way of adaptively reused building for the future which will allow developers to utilise the existing features of heritage buildings without needing to design completely new structures from scratch.
