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CUHK Art Museum’s Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion honoured with “Medal of the Year of Hong Kong” at HKIA Awards 2025
People-oriented and art-inspired design creates distinguished new landmark on campus
The Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion of the Art Museum at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was awarded the “Medal of the Year” by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects Awards 2025 (HKIA Awards). The awards aim to recognise excellence in architectural design. As one of the most prestigious architectural awards in Hong Kong, it fosters public appreciation and understanding of local landmarks. Members of an international jury were hugely impressed by the architectural design from Dr Rocco Yim. Opening in March 2025, the award-winning pavilion is a cantilevered building that perches on a slope, part of the University’s mountainous terrain.
Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, CUHK’s Vice-Chancellor and President, said: “The construction of the Art Museum’s new extension was made possible through the generous support of the Lo Kwee Seong Foundation and the family of Mr and Mrs Harold Lee. The gifts have enabled Dr Rocco Yim to design a state-of-the-art facility that integrates art-making, curating and teaching, which diversify and enrich the overall museum experience. As a new landmark or art and academia, the Art Museum fully embodies CUHK’s commitment to promoting art accessibility. It will help deepen interdisciplinary research related to visual and material culture, facilitates collaborations among academic and cultural institutions, and provide students with high-quality, hands-on training, thereby enhancing Hong Kong’s international standing as a hub for education and the arts.”
The HKIA Awards jury panel commented: “The new museum pavilion is an artful assembly of dramatic, well-crafted spaces that successfully operates on many levels – as an inviting campus connector between the University Mall and lush, lower access road landscape, as respectful addition to the existing museum collecting the bi-level galleries into a single great gallery room, and as a compact expression of interrelated programmes and functions articulated in the iconic cantilevered form. There is a strong human scale within, enabling intimate experiences focused on the art displays, as well as lively communal activity at the cafe, bookstore and function hall. A monumental staircase, exposed to the exterior, reinforces the powerful procession through the building. Carefully configured glazing locations provide thrilling vistas of the surrounding natural landscape. Thoughtful and meticulous detailing with simple materials and strategic design decisions in the interior and exterior has created an elegant architectural statement, despite the limited budget. Light, view and movement have been masterfully considered for all spaces and contribute to a poetic, memorable resource for the University.”
Dr Rocco Yim, Principal of Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd and an honorary professor of the CUHK School of Architecture, used fair-faced concrete with a formliner pattern to underline the unassuming, scholarly atmosphere of CUHK. The new building, built on a slope and hovering above trees, offers visitors a chance to cleanse their minds while exploring cultural relics. Dr Yim envisioned the museum as a seat of learning that “inherits the past and establishes the future”, shedding light on ancient culture while making use of artefacts and objects in contemporary learning and creation.
Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion, Art Museum
With a usable floor area of 1,770 square metres, the new Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion comprises the Harold and Christina Lee Gallery for special exhibitions; the Lee Hysan Atrium, where the cafe and bookshop are located; an artist studio; and workshops. Its form resembles the peaks of the Lingnan region’s mountains and integrates itself into the natural landscape and topography of CUHK. Connecting to the Museum’s original galleries, the University Avenue and the University Mall, it is a new artistic and cultural landmark at CUHK. Its structural, V-column implies the concepts of heritage and support, or “承” in Chinese. The facade was designed using formlining fairfaced concrete, meaning that it was embossed using specially created formwork in a unique pattern, with varying depths and densities of lines and grooves.
The Art Museum was established over half a century ago, with new galleries added over the decades to give it a unique charm that echoes the beauty of CUHK’s architecture. The new architectural tour “From 1971 to 2025: Art Museum Space Odyssey” allows visitors to discover the buildings’ evolution, with a special focus on the Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion and its architectural aesthetic. In the video “Art Museum – Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion”, a dialogue between Professor Josh Yiu, Director of the Art Museum and Dr Rocco Yim allows visitors to deepen their behind-the-scenes understanding of the building’s architecture.
The HKIA Awards
The HKIA Awards aim to recognise outstanding architectural achievements by members of HKIA. They were launched in 1965 and are the most important architectural awards in Hong Kong. For more details, please visit https://www.hkia.net/en/awards-gallery/2/hkia-awards/detail/277.
Dr Rocco Yim, Principal of Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd (middle), Professor Josh Yiu, Director of the Art Museum (5th from right), Mr Li Sing-cheung, Director of the Campus Development Office (4th from left) and the project team receive the “Medal of the Year” at the Hong Kong Institute of Architects Awards 2025 from Ms Winnie Ho Wing-yin, Secretary for Housing (5th from left), and Ms Julia Lau, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (4th from right).
Dr Rocco Yim, Principal of Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd (middle) and Professor Josh Yiu, Director of the Art Museum (2nd from right), share their feelings on receiving the award.
Located on the central campus, the new extension of the CUHK Art Museum opened in March 2025 and represents a new artistic and cultural landmark in Hong Kong.
Located on the central campus, the new extension of the CUHK Art Museum opened in March 2025 and represents a new artistic and cultural landmark in Hong Kong.
Located on the central campus, the new extension of the CUHK Art Museum opened in March 2025 and represents a new artistic and cultural landmark in Hong Kong.
The CUHK Art Museum’s cantilevered Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion of the features a V-shaped column, implying the con-cepts of heritage and support.
The Harold and Christina Lee Gallery has a ceiling height of nearly 5m, allowing it to accommodate a wide range of artworks.
Mega exhibition
CUHK Art Museum presents mega exhibitions at the new extension, including the special exhibition “Yuan Blue and White: New Discoveries from Jingdezhen”, which showcased over 400 Yuan dynasty ceramic treasures. The exhibition was jointly organised by the CUHK Art Museum and the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, and sponsored by Bei Shan Tang Foundation (Lead Sponsor) and Lee Hysan Foundation (Strategic Partner and Sponsor).
Muse Moments
The special “Muse Moments” brought student bands to the Lee Hysan Atrium of the Museum, creating a fun, music-filled vibe for audience.
Music Department x Art Museum Concert
The Art Museum partnered with CUHK’s Department of Music for the first time to celebrate the department’s 60th anniversary, bringing melodious tunes to the museum.
Wellness Yoga
Partnering with CUHK’s Office of Student Affairs, the Art Museum hosted a wellness yoga session, offering students a relaxing and mindful experience.
Museum Summit 2025 (Professional Exchange Workshop)
Professionals from renowned cultural institutions across 17 countries and regions engaged in extensive conversations about the intersection of museums with tourism, technology, sustainability and wellness.
