Filling in the Holes

According to Hong Kong urban legend, skyscrapers designed with “holes” in them are built with feng shui in mind, allowing for “spirit dragons” to pass through. We debunk the long-standing myth

- Andrea Lo

Every so often in Hong Kong, you spot a highrise with a gap in the middle of an otherwise dense structure. The reason for this unusual design is usually ascribed to feng shui philosophies, a belief that has persisted for years.

The Repulse Bay in the city’s Southside is the most famous example. The luxury residential complex was built in 1986 by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. The company had demolished the iconic, colonial-style Repulse Bay Hotel—constructed back in 1920—to make way for a residential high-rise.

When the new property was completed, revealing the now-famous “holey” façade, it set tongues wagging.

“Legend has it that The Repulse Bay’s exceptional location is enjoyed by a family of dragons that lives in the surrounding hills,” says Martyn Sawyer, Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels’ group director, properties. It was believed that the development was built in such a way in order not to block the path of “the mother dragon and her children” to the ocean, he adds—obstructing their daily ritual of bathing in seawater would bring bad luck to the site.

Sadly for fans of the supernatural, this wasn’t what inspired the distinctive design— even though the architects behind The Repulse Bay did, in fact, take the principles of feng shui into consideration, explains Sawyer.