Modern History On The Hill

We discover a modern European masterpiece on Shouson Hill.

- Rebecca Simpson

Shouson Hill rises steadily from the beach at Deepwater Bay, stretching into Hong Kong’s blue skies in all its green glory. Named after a Qing Dynasty official, the hill played a role in protecting residents during the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941. More recently, it fetched a record-breaking real estate price of US$755 million for a luxury modern residential site. In short, this is a beautiful neighbourhood with a fascinating history.

That sentiment is directly transferred to this expat home, which is a stylish contemporary property with an interesting past. Looking around this modern space, it’s hard to imagine that a mere two years ago, it was a bona fide time capsule from the 1970s.

The current owners bought the home from the original owner who had lived on site since 1974. That family had maintained the property without renovating. The space remained virgin, with all its original 70s fixtures and fittings. It was a time-warp of tight rooms with small borrowed windows (to keep the monkeys out). The retro garden hosted a wooden bridge over a koi pond with a rock formation where 50-year-old bonsais nestled. What a glorious design delight it must have been to explore!

Changes galore

But all that 70s bliss was short-lived. A new era was about to dawn in this fabulous home, created under the tasteful eye of a new owner. Within a year, the site had been gutted down to the studs. What remains of the original structure is merely a two-storey box. Even the stairs were relocated from the centre of the home. A new, modern vision was created.