Oi! on Oil Street in Hong Kong — Former Royal Yacht Club

Oi! is an art space meant for community involvement, especially in being interactive. Standing on Oil Street in Fortress Hill, the building celebrates art, creativity and ideas of sustainable living by offering the space for dialogue, exhibition and respite. At its inception in 1908, the former site of Oi! was the Royal Yacht Club Clubhouse. As such, the building’s location on Oil Street was formerly a waterfront area in North Point. In those times, the venue opened its doors only to the Europeans or otherwise very prominent persons. Throughout its century-long history, Oi! has served as government staff quarters and offices. Eventually, the venue was handed over to the Art Promotion Office for restoration and re-positioning into the current space for arts and community. It being a government-led initiative for restoration, Oi! is quite different from other heritage sites in Hong Kong. In partnership projects, the Hong Kong Government would approve funding for successful applicants (usually NGOs) to conduct the restoration work, after which the NGO would take over the operation and maintenance of the venue for its own use. Oi! has been given the status of a Grade 2 Historic Building. The former Royal Yacht Club Clubhouse was built in the style of Arts and Crafts architecture. First features to note are the fusion of Chinese and western style architecture. The tiled roof and the red bricks are more representative of the Chinese style, but the arched windows, white paint and doorways are western. In the restoration effort, the building was repositioned to imitate the idea of a home. Therefore all the different buildings were renamed in home rooms, such as the kitchen, living room, study, balcony and garden etc. Finally, the different sections of the building shows different heights in its rooftops. One section has a double tiled rooftop as well. This aspect of the architecture provided a textured aesthetics against what used to be hills at the back of the Royal Yacht Club Clubhouse. The Lawn at Oi! features a green urban space. I inquired at the small outhouse, as its appearance seems to suggest that food is sold there. However, Oi! Kitchen does not actually offer food for sale. It is the venue for community cooking classes. On days where classes are not held, anyone is free to bring a takeout lunch to sit in the comfort of a hip kitchen space and eat. #oi! #oilstreet #hongkongheritage #hongkonghistory #royalyachtclub #quarrybay #hongkongisland #hongkong #urbanspace #travel#thingstodo#familytravel#museums