ConnaughtPlace CentralPostOffice JardineHouse

HK Connaught Garden Henry Moore sculture Double OVAL

Connaught Place () is a

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

(and adjacent roadway) near

Jardine House Jardine House (), formerly known as Connaught Centre (), is an office tower in Hong Kong. The building is located at 1 Connaught Place, Central on Hong Kong Island. It is owned by Hongkong Land Limited, a subsidiary of Jardines. At the tim ...

in Central,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

and Exchange Square have Connaught Place addresses. Opened in December 1977, the square is home to a statue by

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

entitled ''Double Oval''. The square and the surrounding buildings are all built in a 20th-century

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

architectural style.

History

In 1976,

Hongkong Land Hongkong Land (HKL) is a property investment, management and development group with commercial and residential property interests across Asia. It owns and manages some 850,000 sq. m. of office and retail property in Asia, principally in Hong K ...

, the developer of the adjacent Connaught Centre (now Jardine House), approached the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

and offered to help fund construction of the square. The company procured a preliminary layout plan and selected the Henry Moore sculpture. On 17 September 1976, the council agreed to proceed with project on a joint venture basis with Hongkong Land. Hongkong Land funded about 25 per cent of the project and retained ownership of the sculpture, while the council covered the remaining cost and managed the space following completion. The square was completed in December 1977. The square and the sculpture were both formally unveiled on 20 December 1977 by Urban Council chairman

A. de O. Sales Arnaldo Augusto de Oliveira Sales (; 13 January 1920 – 6 March 2020) was a Hong Kong-Portuguese sports figure who was chairman of the Hong Kong Olympic Academy and president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, ...

Features

The focal point of the square is a sculpture by English artist

titled ''Double Oval'', one of two casts from a 1966 mould. Upon its unveiling in December 1977, it was dedicated to Vernon Roberts, former director and general manager of the Hongkong Land company, who had died on 21 October of that year. Other features include planted areas, seating, and two large pools with fountains.

References

External links

Google Maps of Connaught Place
{{Coord, 22.2830, 114.1594, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Central, Hong Kong Squares in Hong Kong Urban public parks and gardens in Hong Kong 1977 establishments in Hong Kong Roads on Hong Kong Island

History

Features

See also

References

External links