About the CPD Talk

Haw Par Mansion was built in 1936 as a Chinese Eclectic style family house for Mr. Aw Boon Haw, a prominent Burmese Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist. It was accorded as Grade I Historic Building in 2009 and included in the Batch III of the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme in 2011. Since April 2019, the Mansion has been opened to the public as Haw Par Music – a unique centre for cross-cultural exchange through music, heritage and arts, with a social initiative. Haw Par Music aims to provide visitors exposure of a diversity of cultural happenings and educational programmes with participants’ spiritual wellbeing in mind – programmes that are intrinsically connected with not only the Chinese Eclectic Style of the building but also Mr. Aw Boon Haw’s vision and philanthropic legacy.

The speakers will share the challenges in conserving the building while upgrading it to meet the current statutory standards and functional needs for music performance, and explore how a deeper connection between the design of the Hardware (the building) and the Software (programmes) is forged through an
understanding of the Spirit of the Place – the Haw Par Ethos.

About the Speakers

Roger Wu
Roger is currently the Executive Director, Project Development of Haw Par Music Foundation Limited (HPMF), a not-for-profit organisation set up to oversee the operations of Haw Par Music. Roger was also the Chief Curator of the 2019 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (Hong Kong) and is also actively involved in both the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA), where he is a member of the Heritage & Conservation and Education Development & Accreditation Committees.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in the United Kingdom, Roger has worked as an architect for a number of practices in both markets on large-scale master planning, commercial and mixed-use developments across the globe. With extensive experience leading complex restoration projects in the UK, China and Hong Kong, Roger has put his knowledge, experience and interest in the regeneration of historic buildings, including Peter Jones Department Store, Kings Cross Station and the Royal Military Academy in London.

Henry Lo
Henry practiced at the Centre for Architectural Heritage Research (CAHR) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for 14 years prior to establishing Henry established his own company, Ptah Heritage in 2016. He participated in more than 100 different projects across the architectural heritage spectrum including research, consultancy projects, public education, etc.

Henry has worked on a wide variety of architectural conservation projects, ranging from traditional Chinese vernacular structures, to colonial buildings, to constructions of the modern era. The projects span all scales. Examples include conservation of Chik Kwa Study Hall in Pat Heung, Fat Tat Tong in Sha Tau Kok, Old Tai Po Police Station, Former Supreme Court, and many more. The project “Revitalisation of Old Tai Po Police Station into a Green Hub” received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2016.

Raphael Ying
Graduated from Australia, Raphael is a registered architect and authorized person in Hong Kong. He is also a graduate of MSc in Conservation at the Division of Architectural Conservation Programmes of the University of Hong Kong and currently a director of Design 2 (HK) Ltd. As a practicing architect in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, he has participated in a wide range of conversion, alteration, and extension projects, strengthening his understanding and knowledge on the constraints, technical demands, and implications on statutory issues that are often associated with interfacing between new and existing works. The knowledge was well applied in heritage conservation project of the shophouses at 202 and 204 Prince Edward Road West in 2012, the Haw Par Mansion revitalisation project in 2013 and the renovation of the Former French Mission Building.