Location: Central
Category: Govermental

Architect: K. M. Tseng, Hong Kong Public Works Department
Project year: 1976

Overshadowed by towering skyscrapers and beautiful colonial structures, Central Post Office is a seemingly forgettable office building.  The modernist building was built in 1976 by local architect K.M. Tseng.  K.M. Tseng worked for the Architectural Services Department and was in charge of designing multiple government buildings around Hong Kong, including the Queensway Government Offices. The post office is strategically located by the former waterfront of the Victoria Harbour. The basement of the building was built as a sheltered berth for mail ships.  Walking inside the building, you may notice the tiny holes on both sides of the floors.  These tiny holes are installed as a part of the now-defunct central vacuum system. It was the first central vacuum system in Hong Kong and is a thoughtful design rarely seen around public buildings in Hong Kong nowadays. Dust and dirt particles through this hole will be collected through tubes installed inside the walls. The exterior of the building is divided into different sections visually. The different sizes and alignments of the windows create a subtle yet lively pattern. The design is mostly for functional purpose. For examples, the floors dedicated to machineries will be windowless while the floors for office buildings will have a smaller rectangular windows. Scheduled to be demolished to make way for more office buildings, Central Post Office is a text-book example of modernist architecture ethos “form follows function” documenting an era of the city.