HKU Bulletin September 2007 (Vol. 9 No. 1)

40 41 Planning the Future with a Little Help from the Past T he only surviving plans of the University’s flagship building have been serendipitously returned to Hong Kong, after almost 95 years. To the delight of the University, the original plans of the Main Building, which were presented to Lord Lugard in 1912 at the end of his five-year spell as governor, were gifted to the University by his great-niece, Mrs Shelagh Meade, at the end of last year. “We have never had an original set of plans detailing what the architect’s idea for the Main Building was, so this is very significant and hugely valuable,” explained Dr Peter Cunich, Associate Professor of the School of Humanities. “The interesting thing is that the building, as constructed, is different from the building, as planned. There are some small differences, mainly in terms of decoration, possibly for financial reasons,” he adds. The main benefactor of the bui lding, Sir Hormusjee Mody, died very soon after the foundation s t one was l a i d and cos t s increased during the construction forcing Mody’s executors to pay more than originally agreed. “So all sorts of things were left out,” said Cunich. “The clock in the clock tower, for example, was a gift in memory of Sir Paul Chater in 1930, and the standard of the finishing wasn’t quite what had been expected. In the original plans there are statues on the building. I think what (the Committee) went for in the end was economy; a sleeker style without the originally intended flourishes.” The plans, drawn up by architects Leigh and Orange and beautifully-rendered in ink and water colour, show what is now the northernmost half of the building. “What a lot of people don’t realize,” said Cunich, “is that the back part was built after the Second World War. Now, for the first time we have an idea of what the original back of the building was like.” What the plans reveal is a deep verandah that ran along the rear of the structure and a domed apse behind the Great Hall, now the Loke Yew Hall. Despite their age the plans are remarkably well-preserved. Rolled tightly and stored in a tin capsule they are thought to have spent decades in the English home of Lord Lugard, and latterly that of his great-niece. The eight sheets, preserved in a faux-leather cover, show the north and east elevations of the Main Building, the ground and first floors, as well as plans of the long-demolished Professors’ Houses and the Principal’s home. The collection is currently in the care of University Archivist, Ms Stacy Gould, who is relaxing the formerly rolled pages. “These may not have been opened since they were presented to Lugard,” she said. “And apart from some slight foxing (brown moisture spots), some exposure to light and a tear in one of the pages they are in pristine condition. “Wha t ’s r ea l l y bad f o r preserving paper of this age is fluctuations in cold and wet, hot and dry, and exposure to light. I would say, judging by thei r condition, that they were kept in a warm room at a pretty constant temperature.” Gould will seek the services of a conservator and finally place each drawing in an acid-free folder, before storing them in a map drawer. Both Cunich and Gould are of the view that the drawings could be reproduced for sale to friends of the University. “They can also be used as a basis for all construction work that takes place on the Main Building,” said Cunich. “These plans are of incalculable value, and given the level of interest in preserving our cultural heritage this is an area in which the University can take a lead and show the community what’s possible.” In 2012 the bui lding wi l l celebrate its one hundredth anniversary, and will be vacated by the Faculty of Arts, which will relocate to the new Centennial Campus. “Now that we know the original intentions of Mody, Lugard, and Leigh and Orange, there is an argument that preservation is not just about keeping what we’ve got, but it may well be that we could complete the building according to the plans one hundred years after they were first drawn,” said Cunich. HISTORY