Lok Fu, Hong Kong, 2000.

A congregation of Christian Hongkongers in the Kowloon district of Lok Fu asked us to design a new spiritual home for them through competition—a place not just of worship, but of community and fellowship, with facilities to house extensive educational and outreach programmes, as well as permanent space for the congregation’s many musical groups. Like many architectural projects in densely-packed Hong Kong, space was rare, so we decided to build up, that is, to stack the church’s different elements upon one another: A covered assembly ground, an assembly hall, a chapel, classrooms and finally, offices.
The church itself is conceived as a giant “bookshelf”—a basic architectural framework that houses structural supports, building services and means of circulation—articulated vertically and horizontally by transfer structural zones and the church’s functional elements. Every effort is made to capture a deep sense of spirituality in the design of symbolic details to enrich the religious experience. Windows are arranged and coloured to create spaces of spiritual solace and contemplation—spaces that are intentionally luminious, alluding to the radiance of the Holy Spirit. Rainbows of light invoke the Christian value of tolerance. In the chapel, 142 pieces of stained glass were designed by Tao Ho and specially installed by artisans from the studio of Indonesian glass artist, Yaputra; the panels depict the six days of the Creation according to Genesis. The church is very much a reinterpretation of a familiar historical model: the Christian house of worship. And it follows in this tradition in a way that is uniquely tailored to its modern Hong Kong environment.
For our design, we were honoured with an HKIA Merit Award, given by Hong Kong’s architectural community for design schemes that have made a significant and worthwhile contribution to Hong Kong’s built environment.