The project commenced last week in spite of Libeskind’s recent call in Belfast for architects to avoid doing work in China, branding the country a ‘totalitarian regime’.

Considering Hong Kong is classed as a Special Administrative Region of China, the renowned architect has been accused of double standards.

The development came as Amnesty International urged world leaders to speak out against human rights abuses in Tibet and elsewhere in China, ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

However, according to the architects wife Nina, who manages his New York studio, her husband did not consider that taking on work in Hong Kong was a contradiction.

“This is not a dogmatic idea for Daniel,” she said. “It’s a personal thing for him. We’ve seen what has happened in Tibet, but there is a rule of law in Hong Kong that Daniel is comfortable with.”

“This is not just about China. There are many other places, Azerbaijan for example, where foreign architects are making pots of money,” she stated.