Ida & Billy Architects Complete Choi Kai Yau Hostel at Chinese University of Hong Kong

Ida & Billy Architects have completed the Choi Kai Yau Hostel, a 125-bedroom dormitory for United College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The 6,343 sqm building sits within the 1970s modernist masterplan by Szeto Wei. Designed with three principles—connection to nature, spatial diversity, and dialogue with architectural heritage—the hostel features two courtyards shifted to accommodate the topography, serving as focal points for male and female dormitories. The facade uses flat slabs, shear walls, and vertical GRC fins for solar shading, echoing the campus library with strong horizontal lines. Public amenities face the campus square, while private bedrooms offer distant landscape views. Shared spaces include step seats for outdoor cinema, pantries, an open-air reading gallery, and a roof terrace. The ground floor colonnade and open-ended corridors enhance visual and spatial penetration. An ivy screen wall in the southern courtyard purifies air. The design respects the semi-open courtyard masterplan, stepping back to preserve the library's visual prominence.