Ho Tao (; 17 July 1936 – 29 March 2019) was a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

architect born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. He was the designer of the

Bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and Jo ...

emblem, and also of the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Background

Born in Shanghai in 1936 to Ping Yin Ho & Chin Hwa, Ho grew up with elder brother Chien and younger sister Diana. He graduated from

Pui Ching Middle School The Pui Ching Middle Schools () is a system of Baptist secondary schools first founded in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China and later Hong Kong and Macau. Located at Peizheng Road in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Pui Ching Middle School is a s ...

and went on to receive a BA in art history with a minor in music and theology at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Then, he studied for his MArch at Harvard's Graduate School of Design under the tutelage of

Josep Lluís Sert Josep Lluís Sert i López (; 1 July 190215 March 1983) was a Spanish architect and city planner. Biography Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Sert showed keen interest in the works of his uncle, the painter Josep Maria Sert, and of Gaudí. He s ...

Sigfried Giedion Sigfried Giedion (sometimes misspelled Siegfried Giedion; 14 April 1888, Prague – 10 April 1968, Zürich) was a Bohemian-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture. His ideas and books, ''Space, Time and Architecture'', and ''Mechaniza ...

, and

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in conne ...

, the latter of whom hired Ho upon graduation as his personal assistant at

The Architects Collaborative The Architects Collaborative (TAC) was an American architectural firm formed by eight architects that operated between 1945 to 1995 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The founding members were Norman C. Fletcher (1917-2007), Jean B. Fletcher (1915-196 ...

. In 1968, four years after Ho returned to Hong Kong, he founded TaoHo Design Architects. Early projects include the

Hong Kong International School Hong Kong International School (HKIS) is an international private school with campuses in Tai Tam and Repulse Bay, Hong Kong. The school was founded in 1966. Today, HKIS spans from reception one to the twelfth grade. Its Lower and Upper Primar ...

and the

Hong Kong Arts Centre Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC; ) is a non-profit arts institution and art museum established in 1977. It promotes contemporary performing arts, visual arts, film and video arts. It also provides arts education. Its rival is the government-managed ...

, whose designs heralded the arrival of the Bauhaus to Hong Kong. Within his broad portfolio of works are the Hong Kong Pavilion at the 1986

World Expo A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in Vancouver, the renovation of Hong Kong's Governor House for Lord

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...

, the award-winnin
Wing Kwong Pentecostal Church
the first panda pavilion at Ocean Park and the revitalization of the

Western Market :''Western Market is also a former name for Plaza Miserere.'' Western Market is one of the oldest structures in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The current structure, built in 1906, was the North Block of the original Western Market ...

in Sheung Wan. Tao also designed Hong Kong SAR's Bauhinia emblem, its

and the ceremonial pen used at the handover signing ceremony in 1997. An advocate of heritage conservation and cultural development, Ho conceived of an arts district for the city that is now the West Kowloon Cultural District. He enjoyed sharing his views on “TaoHo on Music” (樂論滔滔在何弢) for

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he was one of the four regular hosts of “Free As The Wind” (講東講西), discussing his views on cultural and social issues. He served as president of the

Hong Kong Institute of Architects Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA, ) is a professional body for architects in Hong Kong with approximately 1500 full members, 300 associates members and graduate members.

from 1994 to 1998. As president, he criticised the proposed controversial design for the new Hong Kong Central Library. This was controversial because the HKIA code of conduct stated that members should not criticise other members' work unless they inform that party in advance. Ho responded that absent criticism, architects may suffer from "narcissism".

Designs

He designed the

in 1977. A hanging piece created by Ho, entitled "Synergy of Dynamic Energy," is installed in the West Hall of the

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...

passenger terminal. Ho also designed the

emblem and the

of the

Awards

In February 1997, Ho was awarded the Crystal Award by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

Davos, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Reg ...

, honoring him as a leading international artist and architect and for his contribution to bridging the cultures of the East and the West.

Personal life

Ho was debilitated by a stroke in April 2002 while on a business trip in Wuhan, China. Ho died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on 29 March 2019 at age 82, three days after being admitted to

Ruttonjee Hospital Ruttonjee Hospital is a district general hospital in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is affiliated with the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Hong Kong, and provides clinical attachment opportunities for the u ...

Projects

, Hong Kong, 1977 * Office and ticket branch interior, Japan Air Lines Office, Central, Hong Kong, 1980 *

Pacific Centre Pacific Centre (officially CF Pacific Centre since 2015) is a shopping mall located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is owned by Cadillac Fairview, the Ontario Pension Board, and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and is manage ...

, Central, 1990 * China Construction Bank Headquarters, Beijing, 1997 * Everbright Centre. Shanghai, 1999

Gallery

File:Hong_Kong_Arts_Centre.jpg, Hong Kong Arts Centre File:Flag_of_Hong_Kong.svg, Flag of Hong Kong SAR File:Regional_Emblem_of_Hong_Kong.svg, Emblem of Hong Kong SAR

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Tao 1936 births 2019 deaths Hong Kong architects Williams College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Artists from Shanghai Flag designers Hong Kong designers Deaths from pneumonia in Hong Kong