Hong Kong’s Blue House wins top UNESCO award

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Hong Kong’s Blue House Cluster won a top international award for heritage conservation, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said in a press release on Wednesday.

Blue House Cluster is located in Wan Chai, Hong Kong's busy commercial area filled with office workers and shoppers.

It is the first time a built heritage conservation project in Hong Kong has received this award.

"The award not only recognizes our efforts in heritage conservation, but also proves that our adaptive re-use of government-owned historic buildings is up to international standards," said a spokesman for the Commissioner for Heritage's Office of the Development Bureau of the HKSAR government.

The Blue House Cluster (BHC). /Photo via heritage.gov.hk

The Blue House Cluster comprises three tenement buildings constructed from the 1920s to the 1950s - the Blue House, the Yellow House and the Orange House.

The compound has been revitalized into Viva Blue House, a multi-functional complex providing residential accommodation and community services.

The jury of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation selected Blue House Cluster as the winner of the Award of Excellence from 43 submissions.

Spacial graph of the BHC. /Photo via heritage.gov.hk‍

Launched in 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation aim to recognize and encourage conservation and restoration projects under private initiatives and public-private partnership in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency