The University of Hong Kong started to provide professional education in architecture in 1950. Since then, the teaching of architecture has grown steadily and diversified to include, in 1975, a building programme, which later developed into the current surveying programme. As part of this continuing development, the Faculty of Architecture was established in 1984 from the former School of Architecture .

The Faculty of Architecture is the unit of The University of Hong Kong that introduces students to the life-long process of learning through the lens of professional concerns specific to the education of architects and surveying professionals, while simultaneously extending those areas of knowledge represented within the Faculty into a range of other disciplines. The two Departments, Architecture and Real Estate and Construction, cover the traditional areas of knowledge necessary for designers to practice Architecture in the areas of building design, urban design and planning, conservation and landscape design, and Surveying in relation to the management of land, real estate and construction. The Departments also cover a broad range of topics that are necessary for the well-educated architect or surveyor, such as building technology, the history and theory of architecture, and environmental concerns, real estate valuation project management, construction strategies, cost control and property maintenance, etc. In addition, several areas emerging as integral to current architectural practice are becoming increasingly important within the curriculum: computer-aided design, imaging, and manufacture; international aspects of practice; and new building methods and materials.

The Faculty offers professional programmes that place a premium on the development of analytic and design skills and, at the same time, provide students with a solid foundation in areas of technology and the history and theory of the environment. Moreover, central to the Faculty philosophy is the view that no area of knowledge necessary for the work of a professional should be seen as supplementary to any other; therefore, the two Departments and subsidiary Programmes, with their emphasis on design instruction and its related technical and professional concerns, provide a structure in which design is understood as a mode of knowledge in itself, a synthetic center that joins social, environmental, technical, and cultural questions into an understanding of buildings, cities, and landscapes.

The Department proposes to focus a major share of its research efforts in the medium term on the fields of research listed below, with a view to gradually developing international level expertise.

•  Architectural theory & history, with particular attention to traditional Chinese vernacular architecture.

•  Environmental controls & sustainable building, with particular attention to sustainable construction, daylight & energy efficient design in a high density urban environment.

•  The living environment, with particular reference to issues of housing in a high-density of urban environment.

•  Landscape architecture.

•  Urban design & urban studies.

There are currently over 40 students registered for higher research degrees in architecture.

Hong Kong is the hub of Southern China , as well as a major contributor to the economies of the wider East Asian region. With a rich cultural background, a well-established socio-economic institutional framework, and a new identity as a Special Administrative Region in a growing Chinese economy, Hong Kong benefits from being both at the centre and the head of the rapidly developing Asian economies.

The real estate and construction industries have been major components of Hong Kong 's economy since the 1970s. With continuing commitment from the government, as well as investment from international consortia, demand for more sophisticated real estate and construction services is rapidly increasing as urban development in the city advances. As the economy develops, the real estate and construction industries are also becoming increasingly intertwined with other sectors of the economy. Graduates with backgrounds in these other sectors are finding it increasingly important to equip themselves with value-added knowledge in the real estate and construction fields. The Department of Real Estate & Construction at the University of Hong Kong offers research postgraduate programmes that aim to contribute broadly to the advancement and sustainability of urban society through all aspects of the land conversion process.