hktdc.com - Architecture

Overview

The quality of Hong Kong's design expertise on a wide range of building types and development projects is comparable with the best in the world.
Hong Kong is a leading expert in high-rise design, slope design, high-density design and designing with space constraints. It is renowned for the high-rise buildings typified by the Central skyline, which showcases the versatility of Hong Kong's architects.
Extensive application of information technology has enhanced design capabilities, quality assurance as well as efficiency in project administration of Hong Kong's architects.
The exports of professional architectural services play a prominent part in Hong Kong's architecture industry - many Hong Kong companies are involved in residential development projects, hotels, commercial centres, and large scale urban planning and infrastructure projects around the region, including especially the Chinese mainland.

Industry Data

September 2008	Establishments	Employment
Architectural, surveying and project engineering services related to construction and real estate activities	1,624	20,517

Sources: Employment & Vacancies Statistics, Census and Statistics Department

Range of Services

Architects perform a diversity of functions which can be broadly grouped under three categories, namely planning, design, and development. Hong Kong firms usually undertake a complete project.

Planning stage

At the outset, a design plan is required to set up the project, commonly referred to as a master plan or concept design. It is the initial creative part of the assignment.

Design stage

Once a master plan or concept design has been devised, detailed design drawings are prepared for submission to the necessary government departments for approval. Construction drawings and specifications are then prepared for construction purposes. Knowledge of local rules and regulations is an important element.

Development stage

This stage is primarily associated with the supervision of construction work. It is usually the longest and most involved part of the project. Hong Kong's architectural firms are renowned for their project management expertise, giving assurance to effective control over quality, cost and project time.

Service Providers

All practitioners have to register with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA). There are 3,431 registered members at March 2009. Most of the firms in Hong Kong are locally owned. Attracted by the business opportunities in the region, a number of foreign architects have come to work in Hong Kong.

Exports

Many overseas projects for Hong Kong architects are assigned by Hong Kong-based companies investing overseas, and the Chinese mainland is the largest export market for Hong Kong's architectural services. In recent years, a construction boom in the Middle East has also attracted many Hong Kong architects to explore the market. For example, leading Hong Kong architectural firms, such as P&T and Aedas, have established presence in the Middle East to tap the market.

Hong Kong's exports of architectural, engineering and other technical services amounted to HK$622 million in 2007, a slight decrease of 1.3% from HK$630 million in 2006.

HK$ million

-	2005	2006	2007
Exports - Architectural, engineering and other technical services	590	630	622
Share of total services exports (%)	0.5	0.5	0.4
YoY growth (%)	12.0	6.8	-1.3

Sources: Report on Hong Kong Trade in Services Statistics for 2007, Census and Statistics Department

Industry Development and Market Outlook

In the 2009-10 Budget, the Hong Kong government outlined its plans to earmark HK$39.3 billion for infrastructure development for the financial year. The government will speed up various infrastructure projects, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the Shatin-Central Link, and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. As a result, a lot of business opportunities are being brought to Hong Kong architects and construction engineers.
In 2009, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) opened a chapter in Hong Kong to serve the professional interests of RIBA members practicing in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. RIBA has about 40,500 members worldwide.
In 2008, HKIA participated for the second time in the Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition to showcase first-class architectural arts of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Pavilion was chosen by an English newspaper, the Guardian (18 September 2008), as one of the ten things not to be missed in the biennale.
In response to the financial tsunami, the mainland government announced a RMB-4 trillion stimulus package in November 2008 to boost domestic consumption. The first two tranches of the fund, totalling RMB230 billion, were allocated by the end of February 2009. Three-quarters of the allocations were on various infrastructure projects, many of which are in rural areas.
There were 482 Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan-funded construction service enterprises operating on the Chinese mainland as at the end of 2007, of which 89 were solely-owned. In addition, there were another 365 foreign-invested construction enterprises operating on the mainland, and 84 of them were solely-owned.
As of September 2008, 412 HKIA members obtained qualifications on the Chinese mainland, and after registration, they can become Class I registered architects. On the other hand, 347 mainland architects are qualified as HKIA members.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has developed a simulation software for construction, based on a similar one used by Boeing in manufacturing aircrafts, and can save up to an estimated 30% of construction costs by identifying discrepancies between architectural design and actual construction. The software is expected to be commercialised in 2013, but it has already been used by some major construction companies in Hong Kong, such as Gammon and China Overseas.
Besides regular businesses, Hong Kong architects are also contributing their expertise in the Chinese mainland's development on a voluntary basis. For example, HKIA has formed a working group comprising Hong Kong, Macau and mainland architects to work on various reconstruction projects in Sichuan after the 2008 earthquake, including designing and building schools, hospitals, and community centres. Wuzhiqiao ("endless bridge"), a Hong Kong charity, mobilises Hong Kong architects and university students to design and build bridges in rural China every year.

The China market

Since the late 1970s, Hong Kong architects have begun to design hotels, offices, shopping malls and residential housing on the Chinese mainland. Currently, in the high-end housing market, Hong Kong architects are the key players.

The common practice of Hong Kong architectural firms entering the mainland market is to cooperate with local design institutes. The mainland design institutes assist the Hong Kong partners in understanding and complying with the planning and building approval processes.

On the other hand, Hong Kong architects provide input on advanced building design and technology. Hong Kong architects also have expertise in contract management and preparing tender documentations in accordance to international practices.

As most Hong Kong architectural firms are relatively small, it is costly to establish offices on the Chinese mainland while having to comply with a number of professional requirements. Therefore, most Hong Kong firms are operating on the basis of applying for individual project licences.

The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between Hong Kong and the Mainland (CEPA)

Under CEPA, construction professional services comprise architectural services, engineering services, integrated engineering services, urban planning and landscape design services (except overall urban planning services).

In February 2004, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) reached an agreement with the National Administration Board of Architectural Registration on mutual recognition of qualification by examination. According to the Agreement, Hong Kong's architects with a minimum of 5-year experience can obtain the mainland's Class I registered architect qualification after attending a 14-hour training session, and passing a test and an interview. The first examination for Hong Kong architect took place in Shenzhen in May 2004, and as of September 2008, a total of 412 Hong Kong architects had been awarded the qualification.

Currently, foreign-owned construction and engineering design enterprises can set up wholly-owned or joint venture entities on the Chinese mainland. As stipulated under Article 15 of Decree No. 114 of the Ministry of Construction (MoC), i.e., Regulations on Administration of Foreign-Invested Construction and Engineering Design Enterprises, however, there are strict requirements on the number or proportion of Chinese-qualified architects, engineers and technical staff with relevant design experience on the staff of these enterprises (for a wholly-owned construction and engineering design enterprise, foreign service providers who have been qualified as certified architects or engineers in China shall not be fewer than 1/4 of the total certified professionals under the qualification grading criteria; for a joint-venture enterprise, the requirement is at least 1/8). CEPA offers more relaxed access conditions for Hong Kong service suppliers (HKSS) by allowing them to employ mainland-registered professionals to fulfill the requirements.

Further, in assessing the qualification of construction and engineering design enterprises and urban planning service enterprises set up by HKSS, the performance of the enterprises both in Hong Kong and the mainland will be taken into account.

For joint-venture construction and engineering design enterprises, there is currently a requirement that the proportion of the total capital contributed by the mainland partners to the registered capital should be no less than one-quarter. Thanks to Supplement V to CEPA, this restriction has been removed since January 2009, thus offering HKSS greater flexibility in partnering with their mainland counterparts.

For urban planning and landscape architectural services (except general urban planning), in assessing the qualification of a joint-venture urban planning service enterprise set up by two or more HKSS, the performance of all individual enterprises both in Hong Kong and the mainland will be taken into account.

Currently, foreign professional and technical staff employed by a foreign-invested construction and engineering design enterprise or urban planning services enterprise must reside on the mainland for a cumulative period of no less than six months in a year. This residency requirement for Hong Kong professional and technical staff has been relaxed under CEPA, treating their period of residence in Hong Kong as their period of residence on the mainland.

Additionally, Supplement V to CEPA also enhances the participation of Hong Kong professionals who have obtained the mainland's supervision engineer or urban planner qualification in the concerned services sectors in Guangdong Province, as they will be allowed to register and practise there, regardless of whether they are registered practitioners in Hong Kong or not.

As at end-January 2009, there were 67 approved HKSS in the sector of construction professional services and construction and related engineering services, out of a total of 71 applications.

Hong Kong Industry Profiles