The Hong Kong Heritage Discovery is housed at S61 and S62 of the then Whitfield Barracks built in 1910. The barracks had once accommodated the Hong Kong Museum of History up to 1998, when it moved to a new building in Tsim Sha Tsui East. The Barracks are refurbished to become an interesting public space and the accommodation of the Antiquities and Monument Office (AMO). The Centre now stands elegantly by the major walking path of the Park.

According to records, the barracks were constructed to accommodate rank and file soldiers in the early years of the last Century. Despite that the materials used were just common red bricks probably produced locally, the detailing of the buildings was unexpectedly exquisite.

The design aims are to liberate the space, and to resurrect the original architecture. The entrance block on the side of main path was removed and replaced with an outdoor cafeteria corner. The arch-shaped windows and verandah were restored and the blockages removed. The walls fronting the courtyard were removed and replaced with clear glass curtain wall. The ceilings of the walkway linking the two barrack blocks and the extension blocks were also replaced with glass panels letting in sunlight.

The interiors were refurbished with wood paneling to accommodate three exhibition halls, a lecture room for a hundred people, a conference room and a reserved library. A sand pool is provided for the education of interested youngsters to learn curative excavation in a simulated environment. Floors of the verandah were recast with classic tiles, and old-fashion-shaped faucets were installed in the washrooms. The semi basement floor and the two upper levels are linked up by staircases, an escalator and two machine roomless lifts to facilitate able bodied and disabled visitors. Making use of the extension block at the rear as the machine room, the upgraded main switch can now provide adequate supply of electricity for air-conditioning and feature lighting. The most amazing installation was the pair of brass gates weighing more than three tons at the Ground Floor exhibition hall. The brass gates were actually the guardian of the old Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Headquarters. It was re-installed to the residence of the Bank's Taipan at the Peak when the old HSBC building was torn down. The Bank subsequently donated the brass gates to the AMO.