The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) broke ground on 28 April 2026 on its new Medical Education and Research Complex at the Clear Water Bay campus in Sai Kung District, marking the formal launch of construction for what will become Hong Kong’s third medical school. Designed by global architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in collaboration with local practice Wong Tung & Partners Limited (WTPL), the eight-storey facility will span 6,000 square metres and is funded entirely by HKUST at a cost of HK$2 billion (approximately US$256 million). The university was selected in November 2025 through a competitive government process to establish the city’s third medical institution. Conceived as a jewel-like glass cube, the building’s triple low-emissivity glazed facade is engineered for Hong Kong’s subtropical climate, while a three-storey podium base houses the auditorium, library, cafeteria, classrooms, and presentation spaces. Five storeys above accommodate faculty offices, research labs, and two distinct academic communities. The complex is scheduled for completion by mid-2028, when it will admit the first cohort of 50 medical students. A large amphitheatre overlooking Shaw Plaza, expansive atria on the third and sixth floors, and cascading landscaped terraces complete the programme. The facility is explicitly designed as an interim base ahead of a permanent medical campus planned for Ngau Tam Mei in the Northern Metropolis, where a purpose-built campus and integrated teaching hospital are expected to be delivered between 2033 and 2034.

Where Medicine Meets Ecology on a Living Campus

The HKUST Medical Education and Research Complex arrives at a moment when the university is positioning itself as one of Asia’s most integrated scientific campuses, weaving together medical research, climate science, and biodiversity education under a single institutional vision. In parallel with the groundbreaking, HKUST also launched a new Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions Hub under its Division of Environment and Sustainability, with a new biodiversity core curriculum scheduled for 2027 that will be compulsory across all academic disciplines. The university is the only campus in Hong Kong that manages a coastline, giving it terrestrial and marine environments to serve as a living laboratory for nature-based infrastructure innovation. This dual investment in medicine and ecology positions HKUST ahead of regional peers. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), which operates one of the city’s two existing medical schools, has expanded its own life sciences facilities over recent years but has not yet made a comparable move toward biodiversity integration at this scale. SOM’s portfolio adds further weight to the project’s pedigree: the firm recently delivered the Schwarzman College of Computing at MIT and the Elementum research centre within Singapore’s Biopolis biomedical campus, one of Asia’s most significant science precincts. With Hong Kong’s National 15th Five-Year Plan backing the city’s ambition to become an international hub for high-calibre talent, the Medical Education and Research Complex represents a tangible and timely investment in that goal. The global reach of SOM’s institutional design work is also evident in the new US$190 million Fort Lauderdale Federal Courthouse development in Tarpon, which was likewise designed by the firm and reflects its continued prominence in delivering large-scale civic and public-sector architecture across multiple continents.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: HKUST Medical Education and Research Complex
• Location: Clear Water Bay Campus, Sai Kung District, Hong Kong SAR
• Project Value: HK$2 billion (approximately US$256 million), fully funded by HKUST
• Client / Owner: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
• Building Configuration: Eight-storey structure comprising a three-storey podium and five-storey tower; 6,000 square metres gross floor area
• Key Components: Research laboratories, classrooms, faculty offices, auditorium, library, cafeteria, amphitheatre, atria, landscaped terraces, clinical training centre
• Sustainability Features: Triple low-emissivity glazed facade with operable panels; campus-as-living-laboratory framework integrating biodiversity-positive design and nature-based solutions
• Construction Start: April 2026
• Expected Completion: Mid-2028
• Strategic Purpose: Interim teaching and research base for Hong Kong’s third medical school; transition to permanent Northern Metropolis campus planned for 2033 to 2034
• First Student Intake: 50 students in the 2028 to 2029 academic year; first graduates expected in 2032
• Long-Term Investment: HKUST committed to investing over HK$7 billion in the medical school over 25 years

Project Team

• Client / Owner: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
• Lead Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
• Local Architect: Wong Tung & Partners Limited (WTPL)
• SOM Design Partner: Scott Duncan
• SOM Principal and Asia Pacific Practice Leader: Nicolas Medrano
• WTPL Managing Director: Philip Chen
• HKUST President: Prof. Nancy Ip Yuk-yu
• HKUST Executive Vice-President for Research and Development: Prof. Harry Shum
• Regulatory and Funding Authority: Hong Kong SAR Government; University Grants Committee of Hong Kong
• Government Oversight Body: Three working groups comprising government departments and medical experts, overseeing curriculum planning and financing