PolyU Landmark Architecture: The Red-Brick Campus, Jockey Club Innovation Tower and the Landmark Ensemble

PolyU General Information Database · 05 Campus Module

The spatial logic for "reading" PolyU's Hung Hom campus rests on two foundational motifs, outlined in the preceding article on campus geography: red-brick façades and the elevated podium. Building on that framework, this article tours the campus along its natural circulation routes, cataloguing specific buildings and landmarks through three lenses: how a structure registers as a visual signature (landmark identification), where its name comes from (naming origins), and what makes it architecturally legible (design characteristics). Excluding the letters I, K and O, every PolyU block carries an alphanumeric designation (A–Z); most also bear a donor's name (per the Chinese Wikipedia entry on PolyU). The benefactors behind those names are recorded here as neutral facts. The campus's most striking contemporary landmark — the Zaha Hadid–designed Jockey Club Innovation Tower — receives only a locational introduction here; its design language, seven-year construction history and awards are treated in a dedicated article: Jockey Club Innovation Tower: Zaha Hadid's Only University Commission in Hong Kong.

Editorial note: All factual claims in this article are anchored to sources listed at the end. Construction years, floor counts, floor areas and donor names follow current University records and authoritative references. Block letter codes and coordinates reflect PolyU's official campus map.

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# 1. The First-Phase Red-Brick Ensemble: Blocks CD and Environs

The origin of PolyU's "red-brick city" is Phase 1, completed in 1976 — still the campus core today. According to both the Chinese and English Wikipedia entries, the first phase comprised blocks CD, CF, DE, EF and FJ^※, among others, built on former godown (warehouse) land (per the English Wikipedia). These interconnected structures — clad in red brick and raised onto a podium — were designed by the Japanese-born architect James Kinoshita (木下一) during his tenure at Palmer and Turner (P&T Group), as documented by Zolima CityMag.

• How to recognise it: The red-brick cluster around Block CD represents PolyU's "red-brick university" image in its purest form — red-brick façades, rectilinear massing, footbridges linking blocks at podium level, and courtyards of varying scales tucked between buildings (per Zolima CityMag).
• An extendable lexicon: This "podium + red brick" vocabulary proved flexible enough to absorb decades of subsequent expansion while preserving a coherent campus identity (background in the campus geography article).

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# 2. Jockey Club Innovation Tower (Block V): The Least PolyU-Looking Building on Campus

The campus's most dramatic outlier — and its most instantly recognisable contemporary landmark — is the Jockey Club Innovation Tower (Block V), which officially opened in 2014. Designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Zaha Hadid (扎哈·哈迪德), the building is all fluid curves and absent right angles, standing in stark counterpoint to the sober red-brick modernism that surrounds it. Funded by a donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, it houses the School of Design.

James Kinoshita, the architect who shaped the original campus, was notably sceptical about inserting such a stylistically divergent building, remarking that the University had "chosen the wrong architect" and that the addition would force the campus to "have a different character." This dissenting voice, along with the tower's construction timeline, specifications, internal facilities and awards, is explored in full in the dedicated article: Jockey Club Innovation Tower: Zaha Hadid's Only University Commission in Hong Kong.

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# 3. Donor-Named Academic Buildings

Many of PolyU's principal teaching and research blocks are named after benefactors, mapping the commercial and philanthropic networks that have underpinned the University's growth. The following is compiled from the Chinese and English Wikipedia entries and official sources (block letter codes follow PolyU's official campus map):

• Li Ka Shing Tower (Block M): According to the Chinese Wikipedia entry, Li Ka Shing Tower was completed in 2001, stands 18 storeys tall, and offers approximately 22,500 square metres of floor area^※. It was named following a HK$100 million donation^※ from the Li Ka Shing Foundation in June 2000 (per Chinese Wikipedia). The tower, the tallest on campus, reinterprets the original red-brick aesthetic in a postmodern idiom — a glass curtain wall punctuated by bands of red brick — making it a transitional link in PolyU's architectural genealogy "from red brick to fluid form" (see the "Three Architectural Languages" section in the Innovation Tower article).
• Lee Shau Kee Building (Block Y): According to the Chinese Wikipedia entry, completed in 2005^※, and named after the entrepreneur and philanthropist Lee Shau Kee (李兆基) (per Chinese Wikipedia).
• Ho Iu Kwong Building / Industrial Centre (Block W): According to the Chinese Wikipedia entry, completed in 1992^※, and houses the Industrial Centre (per Chinese Wikipedia).
• Sir Run Run Shaw Building (VA) and Sir Run Run Shaw Sports Hall (VS): Part of Phase 2 and completed in 1978^※, these were named after Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫) (per Chinese Wikipedia; the sports hall as a facility is covered further in the transport and facilities article).
• Chan Lai Ling Building (Block P): According to both the Chinese and English Wikipedia entries, Block P bears the name of Chan Lai Ling (陳麗玲) (per Chinese Wikipedia).
• Block Z (Phase 8): Per the Chinese Wikipedia entry, Block Z was completed in 2013, comprises 15 storeys (including two basement levels and a six-storey podium), and offers approximately 25,600 square metres of floor area^※. It was built on the site of the former Ho Man Tin freight yard, separated from the main campus by Cheong Wan Road (connection details are covered in the campus geography article) (per Chinese Wikipedia).

Note: Beyond their formal names, PolyU buildings are predominantly referred to in everyday parlance by their letter codes (e.g., Block CD, Block M, Block V). Some blocks (such as those named after the industrialist Chiang Chen) appear under varying names across different sources; this database records only those names verifiable against reliable sources and omits the rest pending further corroboration. Benefactor Chiang Chen (蔣震, 1923–2022) was the founder of the Chen Hsong Group, received an honorary doctorate from PolyU, and long promoted industrial talent development through the Chiang Chen Industrial Charity Foundation (per Chinese Wikipedia entry on Chiang Chen).

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# 4. Library and Cultural-Performance Landmarks

• Pao Yue-kong Library (Block L): The PolyU library was founded on 1 August 1972^※ and was formally named on 20 December 1995^※ in honour of the late shipping magnate Sir Pao Yue-kong (包玉剛) (per Chinese Wikipedia). It is the intellectual hub of the campus (details on holdings, study seats and other facilities are covered in the transport and facilities article).
• Jockey Club Auditorium: Situated between Blocks S and T and completed in February 2000^※, the auditorium combines a contemporary exterior with neoclassical interior motifs, including a sweeping staircase in the foyer. The two-tier auditorium (stalls and balcony) seats 1,084 people^※ (per the Chinese and English Wikipedia entries) and serves as the University's principal venue for performances and ceremonial occasions.

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# 5. The Main Entrance: A Contemporary Gateway in Red Brick and Colonnade

PolyU's most prominent recent entrance landmark is the redesigned main entrance, unveiled in 2022 for the University's 85th anniversary. Located on the Cheong Wan Road side of Block A, the design "integrates PolyU's signature red-brick architectural style with a classical colonnade^※," as the official announcement puts it. The gateway is flanked by a vertical green wall rising above a reflective pool and emblazoned with the PolyU logo (per PolyU press release on the main entrance unveiling). The entrance was formally inaugurated on 24 August 2022^※, with the Chairman of the University Council (title used in lieu of a name) officiating (per PolyU press release; SCMP).

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# 6. Off-Campus Landmark: Hotel ICON — A Teaching and Research Hotel

PolyU's landmark buildings extend beyond the Hung Hom campus. Located at 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hotel ICON (唯港薈) is a teaching and research hotel wholly owned by PolyU, integrating teaching, research and hospitality services — a self-described "first-of-its-kind" model^※, as cited in the Chinese Wikipedia entry.

• Investment and completion: According to the Chinese Wikipedia entry, Hotel ICON was built at a cost of approximately HK$1.3 billion^※ and was completed in June 2011^※ (the English Wikipedia entry for PolyU records a grand opening on 21 September 2011) (per Chinese Wikipedia; English Wikipedia — PolyU).
• Scale: The hotel rises 28 storeys and contains 262 guest rooms and 26 suites^※, per the Chinese Wikipedia entry.
• Design: The building was designed by architect Rocco Yim (嚴迅奇). The lobby's living wall was created by French botanist and artist Patrick Blanc (帕特里克·布蘭克), covers approximately 230 square metres and stands roughly 18 metres tall^※, and was one of Asia's largest vertical gardens at the time of completion (per Chinese Wikipedia).
• Awards: According to the Chinese Wikipedia entry, Hotel ICON received the 2011 Hong Kong Institute of Architects Annual Award^※, among other honours.

Hotel ICON also serves as the teaching and research base for PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) (for the School's academic affiliation, see the Academics module). There is an appealing symmetry here: just across the harbour, on the Hung Hom campus, hospitality students train in real commercial hotel settings, while Hotel ICON itself regularly features on travel-magazine lists of "design hotels" — research, teaching and commercial identity mesh almost seamlessly within a single building.

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# 7. Behind the Names: Benefactors and Naming Conventions

Landmark naming on the PolyU campus follows two broad logics. Once you can read both, you can decode a good portion of the University's history:

1. Alphanumeric functional designations: Every building is assigned a letter code from A to Z (I, K and O are omitted), which conveys its position and makes navigation within the elevated podium-and-footbridge network straightforward — a distinctive "block-code culture" unique to PolyU (per Chinese Wikipedia — PolyU).
2. Donor naming: Li Ka Shing Tower, Lee Shau Kee Building, Pao Yue-kong Library, the Sir Run Run Shaw Building and Sports Hall, the Jockey Club Innovation Tower, the Jockey Club Auditorium — all are named after benefactors or those they wished to commemorate, recording the contributions of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, Sir Pao Yue-kong, Lee Shau Kee, Sir Run Run Shaw, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and others who have powered PolyU's growth (individual donation figures and years are recorded in the sections above).

It is telling that even the Innovation Tower — the campus's most potent contemporary symbol — carries both layers: it is at once a work of architecture (by Zaha Hadid) and an act of named philanthropy (by the Hong Kong Jockey Club), yet it is still referred to daily as "Block V." This is the PolyU dual naming system — block code plus donor name — in microcosm.

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# 8. Research Institutes and Named Special-Purpose Spaces

Beyond teaching blocks, PolyU hosts a growing cohort of research institutes and special-purpose spaces named after benefactors, many established in recent years following major gifts:

• Poon Lok To Otto SCRI Sustainable Cities Research Institute: Funded by a HK$100 million donation from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation^※, the institute was established in 2021 (per PolyU media release), with the gift endowing two research institutes — SCRI (Sustainable Cities Research Institute) and RISE — and two named professorships (per PolyU media release, 2021).
• Otto Poon Research Institute for Climate Resilient Infrastructure (RICRI): Established further in April 2025^※, per a PolyU media release of that year.
• Chiang Chen Theatre: The industrialist and philanthropist Chiang Chen (蔣震, 1923–2022) supported PolyU for many years through the Chiang Chen Industrial Charity Foundation. A theatre/performance space named after him stands as one of the key legacies of that relationship (per Wikipedia — Chiang Chen). Chiang Chen received an honorary doctorate from PolyU during his lifetime.
• Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI): A specialist research and service-design unit housed within the Innovation Tower (Block V), established with funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club. In 2025, its STEAMS education programme received HK$16 million in funding over five years from the Shaw Foundation^※ (per PolyU media release, 2025).

The specific physical locations of named research institutes should be confirmed against PolyU's campus map and individual institute websites. This article records only the naming facts.

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# 9. Complete Block Directory: The A–Z System

PolyU campus buildings are designated with letter codes from A to Z (omitting I, K and O), forming a distinctive "block-code culture" (per Chinese Wikipedia — PolyU):

Note: The letters I, K and O are not used (per Chinese Wikipedia). The function and completion year of some blocks await further verification against PolyU's official campus map. A dash (—) indicates that data is currently unavailable.

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# 10. Squares and Outdoor Public Spaces

Beyond the individual blocks, PolyU's campus features a number of distinctive squares and outdoor spaces:

• Ho Iu Kwong Square: According to the official PolyU naming ceremony announcement^※, the square adjacent to Block W (Ho Iu Kwong Building) is named after Ho Iu Kwong (何耀光). With a total area of approximately 1,300 square metres, it was formally dedicated at a naming ceremony on 14 October 2014 (per PolyU's official donor appreciation page).
• Podium courtyards: The core campus is knit together by the elevated podium, and the spaces between blocks are occupied by courtyards of varying sizes — enclosed in red brick, planted with greenery and furnished with seating. These are the principal outdoor break spaces for students and were deliberately conceived as the campus's "breathing spaces" by the Phase 1 architect, James Kinoshita.
• Podium green walls: The campus features several green-wall installations. The most prominent is the vertical green wall beside the reflective pool at the 2022 main entrance (see §5).

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# 11. A Deeper Reading of the Architectural Language: Brick Modernism

The core architectural vocabulary of the PolyU campus can be characterised as Brick Modernism:

• Red-brick façades: Pervasive across the campus. At a time when 1970s Hong Kong was seeing widespread use of fair-faced concrete and glass curtain walls, PolyU's insistence on red brick gave the campus a distinctive sense of "gravitas" (per Zolima CityMag).
• Elevated podium: The primary public realm is raised above street level and linked by footbridges. This "podium urbanism" was a common strand in Hong Kong planning thought during the 1960s and 1970s (visible in areas such as Kowloon Tong and Tuen Mun), but its execution on a university campus with this degree of thoroughness is a PolyU hallmark.
• A unified face across successive expansions: From Phase 1 in 1976 to Block Z in 2013, campus expansion spanning nearly four decades largely maintained the red-brick and podium vocabulary, giving the campus a cohesive formal identity (the Innovation Tower being the conspicuous exception).
• Dialogue with the Innovation Tower: When the Jockey Club Innovation Tower opened in 2014, its white curvilinear form shattered the rectilinear red-brick consistency. This kind of "heterogeneous juxtaposition" — inserting a signature architectural statement to attract attention — is a familiar creative strategy in contemporary campus planning and, equally, prompted the defence of visual coherence articulated by James Kinoshita (see §2; further reading in the Innovation Tower article).
• LEED certification: Recent buildings (e.g., Block Z) have pursued green-building certification, introducing sustainable-design elements within the red-brick framework (see the green campus section in the transport and facilities article).

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# 12. Visiting and Guided Tours

The PolyU campus is an open campus without controlled gates; members of the public may generally enter and look around. Common visitor itineraries include:

1. Main Entrance (Cheong Wan Road entrance, Block A) → Jockey Club Auditorium plaza → Pao Yue-kong Library (Block L) → podium level of Li Ka Shing Tower (Block M)
2. Innovation Tower (Block V): Access is easiest by heading east from the Block Y / Block W area. The ground floor of the Innovation Tower, home to the School of Design, has open exhibition spaces.
3. Hotel ICON: Located in Tsim Sha Tsui East, not on the main campus. It is roughly a 10-minute walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.

Before visiting, it is advisable to check the "Visitors" section of the PolyU website for current opening arrangements. During special events (congregation ceremonies, major exhibitions), access to some areas may be restricted.

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# 13. Building Timeline: A Synopsis of Campus Expansion

Integrating the expansion history covered in the campus geography article, the timeline below records the principal architectural landmarks:

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# 14. Architecture and the Culture of Giving: The "PolyU Model"

The naming system for PolyU's buildings reflects a distinctive "PolyU model" of university architectural philanthropy in Hong Kong:

1. Led by business and industry: The principal donors are drawn overwhelmingly from the upper echelons of commerce and industry — Li Ka-shing (founder of Cheung Kong Holdings), Sir Pao Yue-kong (World-Wide Shipping), Lee Shau Kee (Henderson Land), Sir Run Run Shaw (entertainment and media), Otto Poon (ATAL Engineering Group). This differs markedly from the alumni-giving model that predominates in British and American universities.
2. The role of the Hong Kong Jockey Club: As an institutional donor, the Jockey Club has repeatedly funded named buildings and projects at PolyU (the Innovation Tower, the Jockey Club Auditorium, JCDISI, among others) and is one of the University's most significant institutional funding sources.
3. Extension to research institutes: From the 2020s onward, naming has expanded from physical blocks to research institutes (Otto Poon, the Shaw Foundation, etc.), reflecting the strengthening of the University's knowledge-transfer function.
4. National-level named units: PolyU also hosts State Key Laboratories (the National Engineering Research Centre for Electric Vehicles, the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials and Modern Textiles, etc.), some of which have physical space on campus. These national-level designations exist in parallel with the commercial naming system described above.

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# 15. Q&A: Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where does the nickname "Red-Brick City" come from?

A: It springs from the visual impression created by the extensive use of red-brick façades across the Phase 1 buildings (completed 1976), which together form a contiguous swathe of red-brick architecture. Compared with other Hong Kong university campuses of the same era — the white modernism of CUHK, the grey stone tones of HKUST — PolyU's red-brick hue is especially vivid, hence the popular moniker "Red-Brick City."

Q: Why does the Innovation Tower use the letter "V"? Were some letters skipped?

A: The PolyU block-coding system deliberately omits the letters I, K and O (per official records). Composite codes such as VA and VS belong to a separate naming set for the Sir Run Run Shaw Building and Sports Hall. Block V itself is a recent designation, assigned specifically to the Innovation Tower; given the staggered history of campus construction, some earlier letters may already have been used or reserved, with the result that the Innovation Tower received the letter V.

Q: Is Hotel ICON student accommodation?

A: No. Hotel ICON is a fully operational commercial hotel (28 storeys, 262 rooms), wholly owned by PolyU, that simultaneously serves as the teaching and research base for the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM). It accepts paying guests from the public and is not a student hostel.

Q: Where is the main entrance, and how do I walk there from the MTR?

A: The main entrance is located on the Cheong Wan Road (Chatham Road South) side of Block A, roughly a five-minute walk from Exit C of Hung Hom MTR station. The entrance is marked by a red-brick colonnade and a vertical green wall, and was completed in 2022.

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# 16. Recommended Further Reading

Data current as of: June 2026. Building information is based on PolyU's official campus map and individual unit websites. This article is a compiled index; figures cited draw on the sources listed in the "Sources" section below.

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# Appendix: Summary of Building Benefactors

"Undisclosed" or "Not publicly available" indicates that the donation total is not recorded in a verifiable source, not that no donation was made. All figures are drawn from the official materials cited in the "Sources" section of this article.

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