Landmark Buildings and Public Art — The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

A university founded in the name of "science and technology" chose, as its very first piece of public art at its entrance, a crimson steel sundial honouring 39 ancient Chinese scientific and technological achievements — a statement of "interpreting the present through the past" that set the tone for the landmark ensemble across HKUST's Clear Water Bay campus. This article works through the campus's most representative landmarks and public art installations according to their spatial sequence: from the Red Bird Sundial at the Entrance Piazza and the replica armillary sphere, onward to the Central Piazza, the Shaw Auditorium, and a series of named buildings — including those honouring Lee Shau Kee, Cheng Yu Tung, and Martin Lee Ka-shing — with the donation background and design details of each.

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# I. The Red Bird Sundial ("Circle of Time")

# Status and nomenclature

The Red Bird Sundial is HKUST's most recognisable landmark and the number-one visual symbol within the University's brand system. Its official name is "Circle of Time"; it is popularly called the "Red Bird" because its silhouette closely resembles a bird in flight^※. "Red Bird" later became the University's unofficial mascot and appears in the names of several student organisations (such as the Red Bird Racing Team). HKUST's Brand Guidelines state unequivocally that the sundial is 「大學品牌體系中最突出的標誌」("the most prominent brand icon") within the University's brand system, and that the official Chinese name "紅鳥日晷" and English name "The Red Bird Sundial" are the sole formal designations^※; neither may be substituted or abbreviated in official contexts.

The name "Red Bird" stems from two sources. The first is visual: the steel arc at the centre of the sundial, viewed from the side, traces a line suggestive of wings in mid-flight, and it is popularly called the "Red Bird" because of its resemblance to a soaring bird^※. The second is colour: red symbolises auspiciousness and protection in Chinese culture, and the steel structure is painted in a vivid red^※, creating visual tension with the campus's predominantly grey-and-white building palette. The commemorative logo for HKUST's 20th anniversary was built around the motif of the "Red Bird in flight", and the University's official description of this symbol was 「大學的招牌日晷，即通常所稱的『紅鳥』，以活力與優雅翱翔」("the University's signature sundial, commonly known as the 'Red Bird', soaring with vigour and grace")^※.

# Creative background and commissioning

The installation was commissioned and funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club^※ as part of its donation programme during the campus construction phase. The sculpture was created by the Irish-born Australian husband-and-wife sculptors Charles Walsh-Smith and Joan Walsh-Smith, who were then based in Perth, Western Australia^※, and was officially installed on 8 October 1991^※ — squarely between HKUST's formal opening on 2 October 1991 and its inauguration ceremony on 10 October 1991^※. That is, six days after the University opened and two days before the official opening ceremony. This means the sundial came into existence in lockstep with the University itself, not as a later addition: when the first cohort of roughly 560 undergraduates and 140 postgraduates^※ stepped onto campus, this 8.5-metre red steel sundial already stood at the centre of the Entrance Piazza — the "first public artwork" to greet HKUST's founding generation. Over the three decades since, through successive campus expansions, the sundial has never moved from its original position, and its symbolic status has never been displaced.

Joan Walsh-Smith was born in Ireland in 1946, graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin (1971), and met her husband Charles Smith at the college^※; the two subsequently devoted themselves to large-scale public sculpture. The couple moved to Western Australia in 1984, founding Smith Sculptors in Gidgegannup^※, a studio specialising in major public commissions. They were awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in 2001^※; Joan Walsh-Smith additionally received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2024^※. "Circle of Time" is Smith Sculptors' best-known work in Asia. According to the project background page on the Smith Sculptors website^※, the commission was awarded after an international art competition; the gnomonics — the time-telling scheme — were designed by gnomonist Dr Margaret Folkard of Sundials Australia, embodying a collaboration between art and science.

# Physical specifications

The sundial stands 8.5 metres tall, fabricated from steel, on a stepped plinth in the centre of the Entrance Piazza, surrounded by a flowing-water pool^※. Extending along the side of the plinth is a bas-relief mural 7.0 metres long and 1.5 metres high^※ (some sources put the full relief extension at around 9 metres), which records ancient Chinese scientific and technological achievements in sculpted form. The creators explicitly invested the flowing water with the metaphor of "the passage of time" — the water represents "the flow of history".

# The 39 ancient Chinese scientific and technological achievements on the plinth relief

The 39 achievements documented on the plinth relief span from the 6th century BC to the 13th century AD^※, covering agriculture, transport, astronomy, metallurgy, navigation, printing, medicine, and mathematics:

The above list is published in full on the website of HKUST's Campus Management Office (CMO)^※ and serves as the authoritative textual record of the narrative etched into the plinth relief. The selection ranges across practical technologies, precision instruments, foundational science, and cultural creation; a few entries (such as the hexagonal snowflake structure and the yin-yang symbol) carry suggestively cross-disciplinary, philosophical–scientific readings.

# Function and creative concept: a sundial, a sculpture, or both?

In functional terms, the "Circle of Time" is indeed a functional sundial^※ — on sunny days, the steel structure casts a shadow onto specific markings and, in principle, the time can be read. However, accurate reading requires clear weather and a downward view through a window from an upper floor (roughly the 3rd floor and above)^※; a view from the piazza at ground level is not sufficiently clear for direct time-telling, owing to parallax and the scale of the shadow.

The artists themselves expressed a clear awareness of this. According to the CMO website^※, the Walsh-Smiths' artist statement reads: 「我們選擇創作一座沉思性的『時間之環』，在大學繁忙的矩陣之中，成為一處綠洲」("we chose to create a contemplative 'Circle of Time', an oasis within the bustling matrix"). The creators deliberately eliminated scale references, allowing forms to overlap in flux so as to evoke what they called 「歷史的意識流」("a historical stream of consciousness") — the relief narrative is not laid out linearly; it surges and ebbs like historical memory. 「陰影扮演不可分割的審美與功能角色」("Shadow plays an integral aesthetic and functional role"). The sculpture's core declaration is that it is 「它是一座實際運作的日晷式雕塑，也是一座雕塑式日晷」("a sculpture which actually functions as a sundial, and a sundial which is also a sculpture").

The University's official brand narrative further invokes the principle that 「一件物體的實用性無法脱離其藝術性而獨立存在」("the utility of an object cannot be separated from its artistry")^※. At the symbolic level, the designers fused the circle, flowing water, and moving shadow into an allegory of time's passage; the bird-form's ascending posture has been interpreted by the University as echoing both the Chinese phoenix and the Western mythical bird of rebirth, signifying perpetual renewal. In the context of a university of science and technology, this idea is itself a founding manifesto: science and art are not parallel tracks; they are the two banks of the same river of time.

# How should a visitor appreciate this installation?

Visitors may step onto the stepped plinth for photographs, but are prohibited from climbing the sundial's main structure^※; in practice, however, according to student accounts, graduates or new students occasionally still ascend to the top tier for a commemorative photo, and such behaviour is not always immediately discouraged. To appreciate the relief mural, it is recommended to walk a slow circuit around the plinth: some panels reveal deeper shadow definition under slanting midday sunlight, in line with the sculptors' intention that light and shadow become part of the narrative. Should one wish to try reading the sundial's time, the best effect is obtained on a clear day by looking down through a window from an upper floor (roughly the 3rd floor and above)^※. The Entrance Piazza sits at the heart of HKUST's main building cluster; it is open to the public year-round with no appointment or ticket required.

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# II. Armillary Sphere: ancient astronomy brought to campus

Beyond the Entrance Piazza, another public art installation with ancient Chinese astronomy as its theme forms an intriguing counterpart to the Red Bird Sundial: the sundial uses the sun's shadow to measure time, while the armillary sphere uses ringed frameworks to measure the positions of celestial bodies. Both are among humanity's earliest scientific instruments, and both have been installed by HKUST simultaneously as functional devices and as public art, translating "ancient Eastern science" into campus landscape. Together they form a latent thematic thread in the University's spatial narrative.

The armillary sphere is a cast-bronze sculpture weighing roughly one tonne, approximately 1.41 metres in diameter and 1.525 metres in height, sited at the start of Fong Shu Chuen Promenade, in the small garden between Undergraduate Halls I and II^※. Its prototype is the Ming-dynasty armillary sphere preserved at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, which is over 570 years old; the HKUST installation is a scaled-down, half-size replica^※. The armillary sphere was a key instrument in ancient China for determining the positions of celestial bodies, with origins traceable to the Western Han period.

It was generously donated by the Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation and the Fong's Family Foundation, represented at the inauguration ceremony by their chairman, Dr Fong Yun Wah. The then Vice-Chancellor and President, Paul Chu, also attended and addressed the gathering, urging the University community to draw inspiration from the wisdom of ancient Chinese scientists^※. The inauguration ceremony was held on 3 September 2008^※. The then Vice-Chancellor and President remarked in the press report that this replica armillary sphere 「本身即是一件華美的藝術品，為校園之美增添了一重新的維度」("This replica of the Armillary Sphere is a glamorous work of art in its own right and brings an added dimension to the beauty of our campus.").

Fong Shu Chuen Promenade is one of HKUST's most important outdoor pedestrian axes, linking the residential area with the sports precinct; the promenade extends to the seafront, with an open prospect directly facing Port Shelter, and is a well-known route on campus for morning runs and leisure walks.

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# III. "One-World Fountain"

Located outside the LG7 canteen (student dining area), the "One-World Fountain" was designed by Austrian sculptor Professor Hans Muhr and is his first symbolic water-themed sculpture created in Asia^※. It was installed around the University's tenth anniversary. The installation consists of natural stones sourced from the five continents; the Asian stone sits at the centre, with the stones from the other continents arrayed around it, linked by flowing water, symbolising "the harmony between people and nature, and the resonance of technology and global communication". According to reports, the installation was commissioned and donated to the University by Dr Helmut Sohmen, then a member of the University Council and Chairman of World-Wide Shipping Agency^※.

Hans Muhr (1934–2022) was an Austrian sculptor born in Graz, known for his water-fountain designs; his works are widely distributed across Vienna, Berlin, Budapest, Chicago, Leipzig, and other cities, often employing a combination of natural stone and flowing water. The "One-World Fountain" at HKUST is his first work of this kind in Asia; no record of a later commission of the same type exists, lending the installation a certain geographical significance within his career.

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# IV. Central Piazza and Atrium: the campus "living room"

The geographical character of the HKUST campus is inseparable from its overall setting of "backing onto the hills and facing the sea": the main campus is located on the Clear Water Bay Peninsula in Sai Kung District, a peninsula that separates Junk Bay from Port Shelter^※. The land occupied by HKUST lies at the boundary on the Port Shelter side^※ and therefore faces Port Shelter, a relatively sheltered inner bay^※, rather than the open sea. According to HKUST's careers website^※ and the 30th anniversary feature^※, the campus is a seaside ensemble built into the hillside, overlooking Clear Water Bay^※. This vertical drop — from the hilltop down to the sea — defines the key node of campus circulation: the Central Piazza and the Atrium, set among the academic building cluster, with the Red Bird Sundial standing at the Central Piazza.

# Architectural character

The Atrium is the central concourse of HKUST's academic building complex, roofed by an expansive glass skylight canopy that allows natural light to flood down, creating a bright, airy indoor public space^※. According to student descriptions, the canopy is not fully sealed, and occasional water ingress occurs during the rainy season. Per a campus guide^※, the Atrium is a constant stream of people — the central space where students and staff intersect, congregate, and where everyday activity unfolds.

# Function

The Atrium links the academic corridor, the library, and the canteen area; it is the campus's principal large-scale event venue, typically used for Orientation, Alumni Day, garage sales, and various student exhibitions. Because of its position on the campus's central axis, the wind-tunnel effect is pronounced, and gusts can be keenly felt by those who pause there. The Atrium, Central Piazza, and seafront promenade together form a tripartite sequence of public space — indoor, semi-outdoor, and waterfront — that hosts the most frequent episodes of campus life: freshman induction, graduation photographs, society stalls, and the like. The lower edge of the campus hugs the shore of Port Shelter; there is a seafront promenade where staff and students can walk and look out over the bay. For a university founded on science and technology, this promenade — pulling people from the academic buildings towards the coast — offers a juxtapositional experience: a single step between the most advanced laboratory and the most elemental seascape.

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# V. Shaw Auditorium

# Naming and donation background

The auditorium is named after "Sir Run Run Shaw" and honours Sir Run Run Shaw and his wife, Mona Shaw^※. The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong donated HK$150 million towards the project^※. The Shaw Foundation has long supported the construction of university auditoriums, hospitals, and educational facilities in Hong Kong and mainland China; HKUST's auditorium is one of its Hong Kong higher-education grantees.

# Architectural design

The auditorium was designed by the Danish architectural practice Henning Larsen Architects (lead designer: Mr Bøjer Godefroy)^※, working with engineering consultant WSP. The building is a four-storey elliptical volume^※; the cantilevered design allows the balcony overhangs to block over 70% of solar heat during the cooling season^※, reducing air-conditioning energy use, and the building has achieved BEAM Plus NB V1.2 Platinum certification from the Hong Kong Green Building Council^※.

# Capacity and flexibility

The main hall is equipped with a rising stage and a retractable seating system supporting around ten different layout configurations: approximately 850 seats in concert mode, and over 1,300 in flat-floor mode^※; the space can also be arranged for exhibitions, banquets, or symposia. A 360-degree cyclorama projection screen^※ supports panoramic multimedia performances. The rectangular floor plan brings the audience and the performance area into close proximity, fostering an intimate atmosphere for performances.

# Acoustics and materials

The auditorium's acoustic consultant, Marshall Day Acoustics, provided a full suite of acoustic design services covering architectural acoustics, mechanical-and-electrical noise control, sound isolation design, and vibration control^※; all building services equipment was installed to separation, vibration-isolation, and noise-reduction standards. The exterior cladding uses renewable bamboo panels; the white façade is finished with mineral paint, and the acoustic absorption panels are Norwegian wool^※, balancing environmental considerations with acoustic performance. On the strength of these designs, the auditorium won the Hong Kong Institute of Acoustics Gold Award in Architectural Acoustics 2023, along with a CIBSE Hong Kong Region Award 2023 and an AIA Hong Kong Honour Award^※.

# Opening and surroundings

Shaw Auditorium was officially opened on 17 November 2021, coinciding with HKUST's 30th anniversary^※. Outside the auditorium lies Mona Shaw Plaza, which can be used for outdoor performances and public gatherings. One side of the stepped plaza is planted with a cluster of Hong Kong hawthorn (locally known as "spring flower"), reportedly arranged by an anonymous donor in memory of Dr Tse Yuen Man, a physician who lost her life during the SARS outbreak, with the wish that younger generations remember her selfless dedication^※.

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# VI. Lee Shau Kee Campus and the named building complex (South Campus)

# Lee Shau Kee Business Building (LSK)

The Lee Shau Kee Business Building is a seven-storey structure located on the Lee Shau Kee Campus on the southern side of the main campus. Together with the Lo Ka Chung Building and the Conference Lodge, it was officially opened on 10 September 2013^※. The Lee Shau Kee Campus was constructed with a donation of HK$400 million from Dr Lee Shau Kee, Chairman of Henderson Land Group, through the Lee Shau Kee Foundation; Dr Lee is also a founding member of the University Court and holds an honorary Doctor of Business Administration from HKUST^※. The Business Building houses a 200-seat lecture theatre, fully equipped classrooms, and multi-function conference rooms, primarily serving the Business School's postgraduate programmes.

# Lo Ka Chung Building and the Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

The five-storey Lo Ka Chung Building is the dedicated home of the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)^※, situated at the hilltop portion of the Lee Shau Kee Campus. The IAS building project commenced in 2009, jointly funded by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; the architectural design was a collaboration between Woods Bagot and Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers. It formally entered operation in June 2013^※. The building's exterior is regarded as one of the most iconic designs on campus: the façade incorporates the letters "I" and "A" (echoing the abbreviation for "Institute for Advanced Study") as a visual motif running through the full building height, and a central open atrium spans all five storeys, symbolising the convergence across different backgrounds of those who use the space^※.

The IAS was formally established in 2006, with Professor Paul Chu as its inaugural Director; it moved into the Lo Ka Chung Building on 17 June 2013, simultaneously acquiring the "Jockey Club" prefix in its name^※. The IAS invites world-leading scholars for visits and holds multiple cutting-edge academic lectures and workshops each year; it is an important node of academic exchange on campus. Over the years, many Nobel and Fields laureates have maintained scholarly ties with the IAS as Visiting Professors or Senior Visiting Fellows (see also Top Scholars^※ and Honorary Doctorates, Fellowships, and Visiting Professorships^※).

# Conference Lodge

The Conference Lodge, adjacent to the south gate at the highest point of the campus, offers 130 guest rooms, the "UniQue" restaurant (118 seats), three named private meeting rooms (Sage, Thyme, Lemongrass), and a rooftop terrace^※. Owned by HKUST and managed by Nina Hospitality, it caters to conference delegates, visiting scholars, postgraduate students, and University guests, commanding a 180-degree panorama of the South China Sea.

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# VII. Cheng Yu Tung Building (CYT)

The Cheng Yu Tung Building is an eight-storey structure with a gross floor area of approximately 10,000 square metres, officially opened on 23 February 2016, during HKUST's 25th anniversary year^※. The building was designed around an open-plan, highly flexible layout^※, intended to encourage interdisciplinary research collaboration. It houses the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Displays and Optoelectronics Technologies, the Robotics Institute, and the WeChat-HKUST Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence Technology (WHAT LAB)^※.

The building honours Dr Cheng Yu Tung (Dato' Dr Cheng Yu Tung), founder of New World Group and Honorary Chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group; since the 1980s, the Cheng Yu Tung Fund has donated over HK$2.2 billion cumulatively to education, healthcare, and charitable projects in Hong Kong and mainland China^※. The central chiller plant capacity-upgrade programme was initiated in connection with the construction of this building (see the section on seawater cooling and the central chiller plant system in Green Campus, Ecology, and Expansion History^※).

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# VIII. Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building

Located near the south gate of the campus, the Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building is designed as an eight-storey building with a net operational floor area of approximately 5,100 square metres (of which around 3,500 square metres is laboratory space)^※. It features an open-plan layout, shared collaborative spaces, and an exhibition workshop, and is connected to the Lee Shau Kee Campus by a skybridge and to the Cheng Yu Tung Building by a link bridge, improving the pedestrian network between the north and south parts of the campus.

HKUST held a groundbreaking ceremony in November 2022, with construction expected to be completed in 2025^※. The naming recognises a HK$150 million donation from Dr Martin Lee Ka-shing, Chairman of Henderson Land Group^※. Green-building design features include passive external shading, Low-E insulating glass, a district cooling system connection, rooftop photovoltaic panels, smart lighting, and low-carbon concrete.

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# IX. Fok Ying Tung Sports Center

HKUST's seafront sports complex is named after Henry Fok Ying Tung; the naming ceremony was held on 12 December 2008^※, commemorating the business leader and major University benefactor. The centre includes a full-size artificial-turf football pitch and a 400-metre, eight-lane athletics track^※. At the entrance stands a cast-bronze commemorative statue, 2 metres tall and weighing 600 kg, created by Chu Tat Shing, depicting Henry Fok in a footballing pose^※ — a sports stance rather than the conventional business-attire portrait, in keeping with Fok's public image as a long-time sponsor and promoter of the Hong Kong Football Association. It is one of the few commemorative sculptures on campus that presents a benefactor in an athletic gesture rather than a static portrait.

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# X. Mr & Mrs Ho Ting Sik Visitor Information Center

The Visitor Information Center, located on the south-eastern side of the Entrance Piazza, showcases HKUST through the latest interactive display technologies, welcoming prospective students and their families, alumni, and visitors from home and abroad^※. The centre also houses a souvenir shop selling HKUST-branded merchandise.

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# Supplementary Notes and Unverified Items

• "Fire Bird" sculpture: After repeated searches, no official documentation of a separate "Fire Bird" installation distinct from the "Red Bird Sundial" was found on the Clear Water Bay campus. Available materials indicate that "Red Bird / Fire Bird" all refer to the same "Circle of Time" sundial sculpture; the Guangzhou campus (HKUST-GZ) has a separately named "Firebird" sculptural installation at its entrance piazza, but that belongs to a different campus. This note records no independent "Fire Bird sculpture" found.
• Simon Kwan design details: Simon Kwan & Associates was the master planner for the HKUST campus; detailed design rationales have been accessioned into the M+ museum, but no fully public exposition is yet available, so a few details of individual architectural styles are noted as "incomplete documentation".
• Orientation and dimensions cited in this article (such as the diameter and weight of the armillary sphere) follow the figures given on the source pages; the specific locations of campus installations may be adjusted as the campus evolves. Before citing, please verify against the University's latest information.

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