The Transposed Monument: Murray House and the Paradox of Preservation

"In preserving architecture, there are many possible approaches-ranging from treating a building as a static monument, meticulously restoring it in situ to the point of limiting public access, to more adaptive strategies that reprogram and modify interior spaces while retaining key architectural elements such as materiality and structural form. Yet one method stands apart, both in ambition and in controversy: to deliberately dismantle a building-brick by brick-meticulously label and document each part, and store it until a new site, purpose, or narrative emerges."

"Originally constructed in 1846 as officers' quarters for the British military in Central, Murray House was one of the earliest examples of neoclassical architecture in Hong Kong-a unique and enduring trace of the city's colonial past. Its robust granite colonnades and symmetrical façade stood as a symbol of classical permanence. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1941, the building's function was repurposed as the command center for the Japanese military police."

Preservation strategies range from treating buildings as static monuments to adaptive reuse that modifies interiors while retaining materiality and structural form. A contested preservation method involves dismantling a building piece by piece, labeling and documenting components, storing them, and later reassembling the structure at a new site for different uses, prioritizing transformation over original context. Murray House, built in 1846 as British military officers' quarters in Central, exemplifies neoclassical colonial architecture with granite colonnades and a symmetrical façade. The building served as a Japanese military police command center in 1941, survived the war, and later accommodated government departments in the postwar decades.

Read at ArchDaily