A Review of Hong Kong Public Sector Office Building Designs and Energy and Economic Implications

This paper presents the findings on the envelope designs and building services provisions of 41 office buildings built from the 1950s to 1990s in the government sector. The thermal performance (in terms of the overall thermal transfer values) of this building stock was surveyed and analysed. General design features, such as appearances and orientations of the buildings, building materials used for the facades, the overall fenestration area and solar shading provisions were investigated. Attempts were made to find out the general techniques used by designers to minimisesolar heat passing through the building envelopes. The internal facilities for lighting, air-conditioning, electrical equipment and lift services were also studied to establish the power load density and electricity consumption index. A general description of the economic influences on the building industry during that time span is also presented.