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New York architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien are known for creating beautiful buildings characterized by a serene simplicity, and that is especially true of their sole Hong Kong project. The duo have turned a steep, jungled hillside opposite the British consulate into an inviting home for the <a href="https://asiasociety.org/hong-kong?DestinAsia">local chapter of the Asia Society</a>, a non-profit organization founded in 1956 to foster engagement between the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. From the entry pavilion, a double-decker footbridge zigzags through the dense subtropical greenery to a series of 19th-century structures where munitions were once made and stored by the British Army. One has been converted into a 100-seat theater; another hosts exhibitions with an emphasis on Hong Kong artists and photographers, Chinese painters, and regional masters. The juxtaposition of old and new is striking: covered walkways held up by stainless steel columns float past colonial-era cannons found during excavation work and hand-chiseled boundary stones.
Look out for the permanent installations dotted around the complex, like Another Time XX by acclaimed British sculptor Antony Gormley; Korean artist Eddie Kang’s cartoonish Big City Life; and Long Island Buddha by Zhang Huan, a giant in the contemporary art world. Descend the stairway from the lobby and you’ll see a small cascade formed by a gully running through the site, before arriving at Italian-Japanese restaurant Ammo and the Asia Society’s well-curated gift shop. Entry is free. —James Louie
<a href="https://asiasociety.org/hong-kong?DestinAsian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asiasociety.org/hong-kong</a> 
+852 2103 9511 
<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/phCzKkd25HGUaR2o8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9 Justice Dr., Admiralty, Hong Kong</a>

A covered walkway connects the restored heritage buildings at Asia Society Hong Kong Center.

Asia Society Hong Kong Center: Intriguing Heritage