Raymond Fung, architect-artist who created much of Sai Kung’s beauty

12 July 2025 rmedcalf COMMUNITY 0

^{Raymond Fung with a painting from his “Qi Shi” exhibition Photo: 3812 Gallery}

Sai Kung owes much of its beauty to Raymond Fung Wing-kee. The architect designed Waterfront Park and promenade, Man Yee Square and the five bell towers sited diagonally through the town leading the sea goddess Tin Hau from the pier to her temple. Each bell represents a Sai Kung temple. Raymond also created the paper boats, iron sea birds and newspaper cuttings about Sai Kung heroism during the Japanese occupation.

^{Fuk Man Road public toilet and paper boats were designed by Raymond Fung}

Seven houses at Hebe Haven and Po Lo Che were designed by Raymond. The “Flower Box” at Hebe Haven is his. It’s a dramatic re-imaging of an ordinary three-storey house. Raymond’s own house is Archvilla near Habitat at Pak Sha Wan.

^{The Flower Box: House at Hebe Haven designed by Raymond Fung}

If Raymond wasn’t retired from the Architectural Services Department, still at the height of his powers, and was listened to by bureaucrats at Lands, Transport and Home Affairs Sai Kung would be vastly improved. Raymond says the bus and mini-bus terminuses should not be at the waterfront; they should be moved inland. Waterfront areas should be for the public as parks and walkways. Doubtlessly he would also say the Kau Sai Chau Golf car park should not have the most scenic location in Sai Kung. That land should also be a park, so too the Lee Siu Yam Memorial School. Thirty years old, the school should be rebuilt with modern facilities and big playgrounds for our children on the waste land a few hundred yards inland.

^{Lee Siu Yam Memorial School on its waterfront site}

Raymond’s artistry extends from concrete, steel and glass to ink. His Chinese ink paintings, described as a “utopia of the spiritual”, have been exhibited at Harvard, Paris, Beijing, New York and Avignon as well a other cultural centres. He is a board member of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, a member of the West Kowloon Cultural Authority development committee, and author of The Untold Story of Hong Kong Architecture, plus seven other books on culture and architecture.

Raymond Fung Wing-kee has transformed his hometown for the better and deserves greater recognition than his Justice of the Peace award.