There are some buildings that simply divide opinion. And this is one of them. Its divided opinion so well that I am now completely confused about whether I like it or not. I simply cannot make up my mind.
Built in 1967 and rising to 22 storeys this was one of around 160 different projects that the architects P & T Architects & Engineers Limited have been involved in. Many of the their later buildings are spectacular, pushing boundaries and making use of modern contemporary materials and I guess for this reason alone I probably should like this building. In 1967 was a 22 storey building that hides inside a concrete shell pushing the boundaries? I guess it must have been. But for some reason I am just not sure.
I actually don’t know what I think about this building. Which is odd as I see it almost everyday. So perhaps the best thing I can do is give you a list of some other buildings that were completed in 1967. We can then judge the winner and perhaps help me reach a conclusion about this one. 1967 appears to have been good year for building completion so lets start in Montreal, Canada with preparations for the 1967 world fair.
This building known as Habitat 67 was designed by Canadian architect Moshe Safdie and while is shares a concrete block design that to me at least has echoes in the AIA building somehow the jumble of blocks looks more interesting and exciting. So at this point in time the AIA building comes a distant second. But, and it is driving me mad now, I am still not sure. Lets take another look at the building highlights of 1967.
Well here’s one from Russia and I have to say that there are some startling similarities to the AIA building. Indeed lay the building on Stubbs Road on its side and squint from a distance of around 500 miles and they look pretty similar. And any hotel built in the heyday of communism has to be something to aspire to. So perhaps the AIA building is simply Hong Kong’s bow to Russian communism. Obviously nowadays Hong Kong only has to look at the rest of the country to see how building should be done and I suspect its a lot better for that.
This building is the Rossiya hotel and interestingly its 21 storeys tall. Which makes it only one less than the AIA building and that confuses me as there is no need to lay one on its side to decide which looks better. Although I still think that a 500 mile squint is probably sensible. The building was demolished in 2006 and so for those of you that can’t stand 1967 concrete buildings here’s is the youtube video about its demise. I’m glad its gone.
At this point its a draw – Stubbs Road is better than a communist hotel now demolished and yet not as fun or interesting as something built for the World fair in Montreal. So what do I offer as the tiebreaker?
Barfly tower shown below is about as good a decider as possible because it is the most horrific building ever built. It is described as being built in the ‘Brutalist Style’ and for once architecture has found the right words. Although I am not sure Brutalist is strong enough.
I leave you here to make up your own minds but I think I have decided to like the AIA building. At least for the rest of today
The Burble 