Directory of Campus Buildings and Places

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) Comprehensive Information Database · 05 Campus Module

This article lists, as comprehensively as possible and by zone, HKU’s principal buildings, teaching and research blocks, libraries, cultural and sports venues, and major halls of residence and landmarks, accompanied by their English names, year of completion/opening, naming origin (donor/person commemorated), and function. For a narrative reading of landmark topography and architectural character, see the companion piece 〈Iconic Buildings and Landmarks〉, which this article cross-references without duplicating; this article also offers a section-by-section deep read of two buildings not previously profiled in a catalogue narrative—Knowles Building and Robert Black College.

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# I. The Logic of Naming: Why HKU Buildings Are Named the Way They Are

Before listing building by building, it is worth tracing a naming thread that runs through the entire campus. HKU building names fall broadly into several categories:

• Donor-named (the largest category): Named after the principal donor or a person the donor designated to be commemorated. This pattern was set in HKU’s earliest days—the Main Building was funded by Sir H.N. Mody^※, the Tang Chi Ngong Building was funded by Tang Chi Ngong^※, the Fung Ping Shan Building was funded by Fung Ping Shan^※; in more recent times, figures such as Run Run Shaw, Li Ka-shing (who named a building after his late wife, Chong Yuet Ming), Cheng Yu-tung, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club appear.
• Commemorating past luminaries / university administrators: Named after Vice-Chancellors or Chancellors, such as Eliot Hall^※, named after the first Vice-Chancellor, May Hall^※, named after a Governor and Chancellor, and Knowles Building, named after a former Vice-Chancellor (see §III below).
• Named after a “wife” or “mother”: HKU has a tradition of donors naming buildings after their late wives—the most typical case is the Chong Yuet Ming Buildings, established by Mr Li Ka-shing in memory of his late wife, Ms Chong Yuet Ming (see below); the Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building was offered by Mrs Kadoorie in memory of her late husband, Lord Lawrence Kadoorie (see below). The more recent Meng Wah Complex is also a donor-named building—it was funded by the entrepreneur Mr Wong Tsz-ming and his wife; the Wong Tsz Ming Building and Wong Chong Lai Wah Building within the complex are named respectively after the husband and wife (see §IV below).
• Function-named: Named directly after use, such as the Main Library, Graduate House, etc.

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# II. Main Campus Historic Buildings (Declared Monuments / Historic Buildings)

The table below lists the most significant cluster of heritage buildings on HKU’s Main Campus. For monument gradings and detailed architectural character, see 〈Iconic Buildings and Landmarks〉.

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# III. Knowles Building (1973): The Modernist “Rubik’s Cube” Teaching Block and the 1984 Fire

HKU’s old campus is famous for its Edwardian Baroque red-brick cluster (the Main Building, Hung Hing Ying Building, etc.), but the expansion of the 1960s–70s introduced a starkly different modernist architectural language—Knowles Building is its representative, standing in sharp contrast to the Main Campus red-brick monuments.

# 3.1 Naming and Date

According to the HKU Giving page, the building is named after Dr William Charles Goddard Knowles, Vice-Chancellor—he assumed office at HKU on 19 November 1964^※ (succeeding Lindsay Ride); the building was completed in 1973, making it one of the representative buildings of HKU’s 1960s–70s campus expansion.

# 3.2 Form: A Modernist “Rubik’s Cube”

According to the HKU Giving page, the building is noted for its distinctly articulated block massing, its exterior described as resembling a “Rubik's Cube”; its modernist appearance “remains unchanged to this day,” and historical photographs show it was once painted an orange-red. According to research compiled by Docomomo Hong Kong, the architect was Eric Cumine, and the building has a different floor plan for each of its 12 storeys, with a grid of white brise-soleil panels balancing the structural mass^※, and two basement levels without frames or walls to create a “floating” visual effect. This emphasis on exposed structure and sun-shading grilles is consistent with the postwar modernist/brutalist wave and is often discussed within the context of Hong Kong’s modernist/brutalist architecture.

According to public compilations, each floor has a different layout and the internal structure is streamlined, allowing flexible arrangement on every level—from small offices to lecture theatres to a spacious woodwork workshop. This “no two floors alike” configuration has also given the building an urban-legend status on campus for “getting people lost”—many visitors report that corridor layouts differ from floor to floor, making disorientation rather easy.

# 3.3 Use and the 1984 Fire

According to the official history page of the HKU Faculty of Architecture and the HKU Giving page, Knowles Building is the home of HKU’s Department of Architecture. The Giving page records that in 1984, a fire suspected to be caused by an electrical fault broke out in the architecture studio on the third floor, spreading to the third and fourth floors^※; because combustible materials were on site, it took nearly five hours to extinguish. As a result, the Department was relocated for over a year and a half, moving back into Knowles Building in August 1985, where it still operates today.

Context statement: A modernist teaching block, an academic department devoted to ‘design’, and a fire that gutted its studio—in the story of Knowles Building, the architecture is both container and protagonist. The post-fire reconstruction and return is itself a footnote to the Department’s life of ‘dwelling with the building’.

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# IV. Main Campus Teaching and Academic Buildings (Postwar to Contemporary)

Note: The namesake of Knowles Building, Dr W.C.G. Knowles, is recorded by HKU Giving as “succeeded Sir Lindsay Ride as Vice-Chancellor on 19 November 1964,”^※ and previously served as General Manager of Swire & Co. and Chairman of Cathay Pacific (per HKU Giving). The Meng Wah Complex, according to the HKU Giving page, was funded by Mr Wong Tsz-ming, co-founder of the Stelux Group, and his wife, Mrs Wong Chong Lai Wah, and opened on 15 December 1995^※. Located at the south-eastern corner of the Main Campus, the twin towers are respectively named “Wong Tsz Ming Building” and “Wong Chong Lai Wah Building”; this complex and the commonly invoked “Meng Minwei Building” represent two different naming attributions for the same site. This table includes both, with the official HKU Giving page “Meng Wah Complex” as the standard and the “Meng Minwei” attribution noted as “to be verified,” pending additional sources.

# 4.1 Three Donation Stories: Haking Wong, Chong Yuet Ming, and Mrs Kadoorie

The completion of the Haking Wong Building (1983) resolved the predicament of the Faculty of Engineering being “scattered at various points along Pokfulam Road” at the time. According to the HKU Giving page, the building was opened on 6 October 1983, bringing the departments of Civil, Mechanical, Industrial, and Electrical Engineering together under one roof for the first time^※. The donor, Dr Haking Wong, in addition to supporting HKU’s engineering research and postgraduate residential facilities, served long-term as a director of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and Po Leung Kuk, and funded a namesake “Haking Wong Technical Institute” in Cheung Sha Wan (opened 1977); he was awarded the OBE in 1968 and appointed to the HKU Council in December 1978.

Behind the naming of the Chong Yuet Ming Buildings (1994) lies a private emotional history. According to the HKU Giving page, the buildings were officially opened on 13 December 1994 by then Vice-Chancellor Professor Wang Gungwu and Mr Li Ka-shing^※. Ms Chong Yuet Ming was herself a 1961 Arts Faculty graduate of HKU. After her death in 1990, Mr Li Ka-shing donated HK$35 million to establish a fund, naming the Physics Building, Chemistry Building, and Amenities Centre after his late wife—this building is therefore not just an abstract instance of “donor commemorates late wife,” but commemorates a graduate who once genuinely walked the HKU campus. The Chong Yuet Ming Buildings, located at the north-eastern corner of the Main Campus, have long been a landmark of the Faculty of Science and a hub of student activity.

The Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building (2000) continues the same “wife honours a family member” thread, but in the opposite direction—funded by Mrs Kadoorie in memory of her late husband, Lord Lawrence Kadoorie. See the section on collections and ecological education in 〈Museums and Campus Ecology〉 for details.

The Run Run Shaw Building and Runme Shaw Building (collectively the Shaws Buildings, 1985) form another landmark cluster left by the Shaw brothers in the heart of HKU’s teaching and research area. According to the HKU Giving page, this pair of twin buildings was officially opened on 14 October 1985, presided over by the then Chancellor, Sir Edward Youde, Sir Run Run Shaw, and the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rayson Huang^※. Sir Run Run Shaw’s donations to HKU did not stop there—the Run Run Shaw Tower and Run Run Shaw Heritage House on the Centennial Campus also bear his name (see 〈Centennial Campus〉); the name “Run Run Shaw” thus appears at HKU in two different eras and on two different campuses, forming a clear thread of the Shaw Foundation’s support for higher education at HKU.

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# V. Robert Black College (1967): A “Guest House” for Visiting Scholars and the Mandate of Vice-Chancellor Lindsay Ride

Unlike HKU’s other halls, which are student-facing, the Robert Black College serves visiting academics—it is not an undergraduate hall but a “guest house” for international scholars.

# 5.1 Function: A Residence for “Guests”

According to the Wikipedia entry on HKU accommodation, this residential Robert Black College was opened by the Vice-Chancellor in January 1967^※, housing overseas (and later mainland Chinese) visiting scholars and a selection of postgraduate students together. This arrangement of “visiting scholars + postgraduate students” was intended to foster daily interaction between international academics and HKU’s young researchers, a concrete vehicle for the University’s early internationalisation.

# 5.2 Architecture: Szeto Wai’s Modern Chinese Courtyard

According to Hong Kong architectural history sources, Robert Black College was designed by architect Szeto Wai and completed in 1966, purpose-built to host overseas visiting scholars in oriental studies. According to the citation for Szeto Wai in HKU’s list of Honorary University Fellows, the building “is a skilful blend of modern building techniques and the unassuming style of traditional Chinese dwellings”^※, featuring a courtyard and employing simple geometries to echo the layout of a traditional Chinese compound house. Szeto Wai was one of postwar Hong Kong’s most significant Chinese architects/engineers, appointed from 1963 as the master planner for The Chinese University of Hong Kong, overseeing its overall development blueprint and buildings such as the Science Centre; Robert Black College is his representative work at HKU, and one of only a handful of works he designed for institutions other than CUHK.

# 5.3 Naming: Governor Sir Robert Black

According to public compilations, the College is named after Sir Robert Black, Governor of Hong Kong during the 1950s–60s. Naming campus buildings after serving or former Governors was common practice in HKU’s early period (e.g., May Hall named after Governor May); this reflects both the colonial-era relationship between the University and government and a tradition of acknowledgement.

# 5.4 Lindsay Ride’s “Mandate” and the Benefactors

The most human aspect of Robert Black College is its connection to postwar Vice-Chancellor Lindsay Ride. According to the Wikipedia entry on HKU accommodation, the College is recorded as a “mandate” left by Ride to his successor, a tangible testimony to a personal friendship between the Vice-Chancellor and the principal benefactor of the College^※. According to public compilations, benefactors included Hong Kong philanthropists such as Sir Tang Shiu-kin (for the ties between the Tang family and HKU, see also the Tang Chi Ngong Building in 〈Iconic Buildings and Landmarks〉).

Context statement: Lindsay Ride was the Vice-Chancellor (1949–1964) who led HKU out of the ruins of World War II and completed its postwar reconstruction. As an extension of his vision for the University, Robert Black College inscribed “international academic exchange” into HKU’s physical space—a Vice-Chancellor who commanded ambulance units during the war and rebuilt the University in peacetime left behind not only academic buildings but a “guest house” where scholars from around the world could find a home.

# 5.5 The Swire Scholars: A Parallel Thread of Benefaction

In the same year Robert Black College opened (1967), the Swire Group (John Swire and Sons Limited) also donated funds to establish the “Swire Scholarships,” supporting postgraduate students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees on condition that they reside in Robert Black College—currently about nine Swire Scholars live alongside short-term visiting overseas scholars in the College. According to scholars’ organisation materials, through daily contact with visiting scholars from different countries, Swire Scholars enhance their communication skills, learn about diverse cultural traditions, and broaden their horizons through cultural and academic activities within the College; over the years, many Swire Scholars have gone on to become community leaders in Hong Kong society. This binding arrangement of “scholarship + room” is a direct continuation of Vice-Chancellor Lindsay Ride’s original intent when founding the College, “to have international scholars and postgraduates live and interact together.” It is sustained to this day by the Swire Scholars Association, which held a commemorative dinner for the College’s 50th anniversary in 2017.

# 5.6 Location and Today

According to public compilations, Robert Black College is situated on the HKU Main Campus (towards Bonham Road), adjacent to early buildings like May Hall; it continues to serve as a residence for visiting scholars and a venue for academic activities. For specific facilities and redevelopment arrangements, refer to the latest information from the HKU Estates Office.

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# VI. Centennial Campus (2012)

According to the HKU Estates Office, the Centennial Campus comprises three academic towers, accommodating the Faculties of Arts, Law, and Social Sciences, and opened in September 2012^※ (per HKU Estates·Centennial Campus). The names and codes of the three towers, according to the Centennial Campus Coding Plan:

Note: The three Centennial Campus towers are part of the same project phase, opening in 2012; for their green building certifications (LEED/BEAM Platinum) and slope-cutting works, see 〈Architecture and Sustainability〉; for detailed donation amounts, internal facilities (moot court, map library, etc.), and the engineering narrative of the three towers, see the dedicated article 〈Centennial Campus〉. The name Run Run Shaw appears at HKU on both the Main Campus (Run Run Shaw Building, 1985) and the Centennial Campus (Run Run Shaw Tower, 2012); these are distinct buildings, and this table differentiates them accordingly.

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# VII. Contemporary Landmark Buildings

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# VIII. Sports Facilities (Including the New Campus West of Sassoon Road from 2027)

According to HKU sources, sports facilities are distributed near the Main Campus and in Sandy Bay:

The Flora Ho / Lindsay Ride Sports Centre, together with the adjacent Pokfulam Road area (including the staff quarters at 13–21 Pokfulam Road), is the site of the new Pokfield Campus. According to an HKU press release, a farewell ceremony was held for the Flora Ho Sports Centre (along with the Lindsay Ride Sports Centre and the Stanley Smith Swimming Pool) on 8 January 2023, marking its official cessation of service^※; the site will be redeveloped as part of the Pokfield Campus—the new sports facilities to be built will include an indoor heated pool with adjustable depth and multiple multi-purpose activity rooms. According to the same press release, the Flora Ho Sports Centre opened in 1984 and was long supported by the late Dr Ho Sai Kwong and the Ho family^※, serving several generations of HKU students. This moment marks a concrete juncture where the HKU community bids farewell to a sports hall in service for nearly forty years and welcomes a new campus precinct; see 〈Architecture and Sustainability〉 for more. For external service and usage arrangements of sports facilities, see 〈Transport and Facilities〉.

Also, according to the HKU Estates Office, the Prince Philip Dental Hospital was officially opened by Prince Philip on 24 March 1981^※, located in Sai Ying Pun; the site was formerly the Government Civil Hospital, which opened in 1849, later used as the Sai Ying Pun Infectious Diseases Hospital after 1937, and was closed in 1978 for demolition and reconstruction—construction began at the end of 1978 and was completed in early 1981, where the Faculty of Dentistry is now situated.

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# IX. Halls of Residence and Off-Campus Facilities (Excerpt)

The full Hall system falls within the scope of 〈../10-colleges/〉; this directory lists only those related to “campus buildings/landmarks”:

Each of these two “off-campus facilities” in the New Territories and outlying islands has a founding story distinct from that of the Main Campus. The Kadoorie Centre was not established by HKU itself but was founded through a donation from the Kadoorie brothers (Lord Lawrence Kadoorie and his brother Sir Horace Kadoorie) in June 1986, located in the Shek Kong/Pak Ngau Shek area. Initially, its mission centred on agricultural extension and helping local residents and retiring Gurkha soldiers stationed in Hong Kong to acquire livelihood skills; from the 1990s onwards, it gradually transitioned into an organisation focused on nature conservation, organic farming, and environmental education. The origin of the Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) is more closely tied to one scholar’s personal vision: according to the HKU Faculty of Science, the Institute was first conceived by Professor Brian S. Morton, gained support from the Swire Group, and was officially opened in 1990 by the Chairman of Swire and the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wang Gungwu^※, initially with only three academic staff, two postdoctoral researchers, and a dozen or so postgraduate students; with growing demand for marine science research, it was expanded in 1994 and renamed “The Swire Institute of Marine Science,” and underwent a major extension and refurbishment of its main building in 2021 with further support from The Swire Group Charitable Trust.

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# IX(a). A Summary of a Naming Thread

Viewing the naming stories unfolded section by section in this article side by side, several recurring logics in the history of HKU building naming can be discerned: donor self-naming (Haking Wong Building, Run Run Shaw Building), donor commemorating a late wife or husband (Chong Yuet Ming Buildings, Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building), commemorating a Vice-Chancellor or Governor (Knowles Building, Robert Black College, May Hall), and corporate/institutional naming (Swire Institute of Marine Science). The name of the same donor or family also frequently appears on campus across different buildings and different eras—Run Run Shaw, the Kadoories, and the Swire Group are all examples. Understanding this naming thread helps to read HKU’s seemingly scattered list of buildings as a campus history stitched together from dozens of donation stories.

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# X. Unverified / To-Be-Verified Entries

• Whether “Meng Minwei Building” and “Meng Wah Complex” represent two naming attributions for the same building: The official HKU Giving page clearly records the “Meng Wah Complex” as funded by Wong Tsz-ming and his wife, opening in 1995; there is also a “Meng Minwei Building” attribution in common parlance. This table lists both, taking the official page as the standard, with the “Meng Minwei” claim noted as “to be verified,” pending additional sources.
• A complete list of benefactors and donation amounts for Robert Black College: Public compilations mention Sir Tang Shiu-kin and others; for a full list and amounts, the HKU donation archives need to be consulted, see ../08-finances/benefactors-and-donors.md.
• The exact date of the opening of Robert Black College: Wikipedia records “opened by the Vice-Chancellor in January 1967”; the exact date should be confirmed against HKU archives.
• The exact number of floors in Knowles Building: Different sources give slightly different numbers (10 floors / 12 floors); this article adopts the 12-floor figure compiled by Docomomo, without forcibly anchoring to a single number.
• Some teaching and research buildings (such as recent new buildings for various specialized schools and faculties) have not been individually listed in this table: this table is limited to principal landmarks and teaching and research cores, not exhaustive of all HKU buildings; it may be expanded as needed in the future.

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