How Victoria Allan transformed a tong lau into a modern apartment complex

The dense cityscape of Hong Kong, with its mishmash of old buildings against shiny new skyscrapers, is one that captivates both locals and tourists. Of the older structures, many are known as tong lau, which literally translates to ‘Chinese house’.

Tong lau is a term used to describe tenement buildings built from the late 1800s to the 1960s in various regions around Asia, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and southern Mainland China. They were designed for both residential and commercial uses, with the ground level occupied by small businesses like retail shops and food vendors and the upper levels for living in.

Hong Kong’s tong lau encompass both Chinese and Western architectural features, giving them a distinctive look unique to the city. Pre-war tong lau, based on building design from southern China along with neoclassical touches, featured canton floor tiles, granite capped balustrades and decorative urns on the roof. Post-war tong lau, meanwhile, had flat roofs and an open terrace on top, mosaic floor tiles, terrazzo staircases, as well as large windows and even air conditioning units in later buildings.

To better understand these historic structures, we talked to Victoria Allan of Habitat Property, who chanced upon Tung Fat Building in 2004 and took the opportunity to revitalise the aged building. Located in the up-and-coming district of Kennedy Town, Tung Fat Building has since been transformed into a contemporary apartment complex with a minimalist and modern look, whilst retaining some of its original features, such as its curved structure, high ceilings and terrazzo staircase. The once-abandoned tong lau is now home to Mexican restaurant CHINO, as well as a small number of residents, who enjoy the building for its waterfront location and bright design.

Today, most tong lau have been demolished to give way to taller buildings, but throughout the city, a few still stand. If you want to experience this piece of Hong Kong heritage for yourself, you can explore this scenic route, with highlighted buildings including Crafts on Peel, the Gough Street-Kau U Fong Quarter and more.

Check out our interview with Allan to learn how she revitalised Tung Fat Building into a modern loft-style apartment building.