The Victoria Prison – along with the main police station and magistracy – were decommissioned in 2006 and left vacant. For the Herzog & de Meuron firm, that's meant a rare opportunity to reimagine a walled courtyard still standing in one of the world's most built-up cities.

From the beginning, the architects imagined Tai Kwun as a cultural destination filled with art galleries, performance venues and related public spaces. To achieve that vision, they planned to add new smaller-scale buildings to the renovated properties and unite them all in dedication to both past and present. They also were required to protect the pedestrian character and lower profiles of the surrounding area.

Twelve years later, in April 2018, the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts – a project of the nonprofit arm of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the government special administrative district – was ready to open its doors. The building perches atop a winding-road hill, still keeping some of its more formidable tower features but paradoxically opened up to the community too. That's achieved in part by an innovative use of aluminium cladding in a wide-mesh wrap that ties the new to the old buildings.

"The use of aluminium as a material provides a distinctive architectural expression and materiality, setting the new buildings apart as new insertions amongst the collection of historical masonry blocks," the architects explain. While aligning with the existing granite and block masonry, it defines each space with specific patterns chosen for their compatibility with an arts purpose and the environmental need.

A fully solid façade covers areas where no direct light and views are required, such as some gallery spaces or facility mechanicals. "A semi-perforated façade covers areas where some light and views are desired. These would include public circulation and foyer areas and select zones within the galleries," the artists explained. A fully open façade appears where there's no weather enclosure in plant space.

"As a material, aluminium is malleable, lightweight, recyclable and easy to control in manufacturing processes," said Herzog & de Meuron. "This versatility allows the unit to be optimally engineered to address issues such as structural support, sun shading and rain protection in Hong Kong's subtropical climate." At the same time, it filters sun glare and reflectivity in the daytime, while the textured panels screen the building's light at night for an effect that's attractive while reducing urban light pollution.

The Tai Kwun welcomes guests into two courtyards – one of them called Prison Yard – that create prized outdoor open space with an amphitheater-type structure as well. A detailed map of the property labels all 16 heritage buildings, plus the two new ones housing a 200-seat theater and a premier art gallery. Three levels are connected by old restored stairs and pathways, with new lifts and pedestrian walks too.

Inside, some individual prison cells and gates are preserved as part of the décor, but they're embedded in a complex of sweeping sculptured stairwells, the galleries, and restaurant and retail-shop sections. It's a good fit with the neighborhood's antique shops and dining, and with a hole in the prison wall on Old Bailey Street and a new Arbuthnot Road entrance, the Tai Kwun is set up to be a great urban escape.