Hong Kong Art Deco: Theatre buildings and a hybridised design approach during the interwar years

From the 1920s to 1941, numerous new theatres opened throughout Hong Kong. The demand for these new facilities, as a derived demand, due to the growth in demand for entertainment, indicated growing affluence in the city. During these two decades, these facilities experienced a transition in architectural expression from previous period revival or neoclassical to modernist style. Most of these theatres are now demolished, but a socio-cultural history of entertainment and theatre buildings in Hong Kong is still missing. This paper argues that certain theatres in interwar Hong Kong were characterised by a decorative and hybridised architectural style that shifted away from revival or neoclassical forms to signify a modern era in theatre design. This has been observed and researched in other global cities such as Shanghai, Mumbai, Vancouver, Los Angeles, etc., but seldom studied in Hong Kong. It also traces the intercultural exchanges among architects of the time, which contributed to the evolution of modern Hong Kong theatre, by delineating the socio-historical context of Art Deco, investigating the development of the local cinema industry during the early 20th Century, and analysing the reasons behind the transformation of theatre design during the interwar years. Copyright © 2023 The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors.