When strolling through Hong Kong Park, have you ever noticed a centennial building near the children's play area? It was once the married quarters of the Royal Navy and now a practising field for local art lovers. The building reflects a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity.

The Cassels Block of the former Victoria Barracks was originally the home of a British regiment in the 1840s. It was turned into married quarters in 1900 and served as accommodation and training reinforcement after the Second World War.

Old and new: The Visual Arts Centre comprises the centenary Cassels Block and a modern new annex with a glass roof on a metal frame spine, making it a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity.

Conversion idea sparked in 1985

Arts Promotion Office Curator Lesley Lau said the idea to convert the Victoria Barracks into the picturesque Hong Kong Park came in 1985.

"In the past, there were many barracks scattered around on the hillslope of today's Hong Kong Park. Many of them were demolished in connection with the construction of the park in the late 1980s. Some of them have been retained and converted into the present day Visual Arts Centre, the Museum of Tea Ware and the Marriage Registry," she said.

The Cassels Block, with graceful arches in a garden setting, is an elegant 19^th century building. To rejuvenate the building while preserving its architectural merit, the former Urban Council modernised its interior, added specialist equipment and built a modern annex with a metal frame spine and glass roof to create a visual arts centre, the first of its kind in Hong Kong.

Well-equipped studios, facilities on offer

The centre now runs nine well-equipped studios for artists practising sculpture, print-making and ceramics. A lecture theatre, an exhibition hall and a multi-purpose room are also available for exchanges of ideas and experiences among local and overseas artists.

Ms Lau noted the building, which serves as a training ground for local artists, is an artwork in itself. While it retains the 19^th century Western building style, it enjoys the benefits of modern architecture - including contact with nature through the modernistic glass roof on a metal frame spine.

"In fact, the centre itself is more than just an historical building. It is a combination of traditional and modern architectural design. The old and new parts are connected by beautiful skylight structures. The centre, the park and the museum and also other facilities form a cluster of recreational and cultural facilities for the public," she said.

Award-winning architecture forms heritage trail

The centre received a certificate of merit in the 1992 Hong Kong Institute of Architects Annual Awards. In October 1997, it was included in the Central Heritage Trail, which covers Flagstaff House (Museum of Tea Ware); Rawlinson House (Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry); St. Joseph's College North & West Blocks; 28 Kennedy Road (Hong Kong Design Centre); Hong Kong First Church of Christ, Scientist; St. Paul's Co-educational College; Hong Kong Zoological & Botanical Gardens; the Helena May Main Building; and Peak Tram Terminus.

For a virtual tour of the Visual Arts Centre, click here. For more details about the centre, click here.