Sports and social facilities atop Sun Tin Wai Commercial Centre. Photo by Tai Ngai Lung
Sports and social facilities atop Sun Tin Wai Commercial Centre. Photo by Tai Ngai Lung
Sports and social facilities atop Sun Tin Wai Commercial Centre. Photo by Tai Ngai Lung
Chances are you will recall images of tower blocks built close and high, resembling a dense wall of glass and concrete stacked to the sky. Building interiors do not fare better. With one of the densest urban populations in the world coupled with sky-high property prices, most residents contend with compact apartments where outstretched arms could touch two ends of bedroom walls.
By no means uncomfortable, my family of three stays in a 30-square-metre apartment with furniture pieces like bed, dining table and wardrobe taking up most of our quarters. With limited space for our toddler to release her boundless energy, we sought out interesting spots around the city instead of whiling our time at home.
Fortunately, Hong Kong has introduced a slew of interesting public spaces in recent years; partly to address the dire lack of open space in the crammed city, but more so due to the government’s placemaking strategy to create vibrant urban areas. This has created a knock-on effect among private developers to reimagine neglected public areas that could incorporate social messages like zero-waste and active lifestyles.
Interestingly, many spaces, including the four projects featured in this essay, are not considered conventional showpiece projects that use outlandish aesthetics or sophisticated gadgets as gimmicks to attract crowds. Instead, they are small, thoughtful interventions that sought to improve the liveability of their neighbourhood.
Spark City Mong Kok: Creating Splashes of Vibrancy for the City
One recent example is Spark City’s collaboration with Art in Place (AIP), a community initiative spearheaded by Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Hong Kong chapter. It connects artists and real estate developers to contribute back to their community through creative placemaking. AIP starts by identifying underused but potentially impactful real estate for artistic interventions, such as shopfront windows, public foyers and street curbs. By actively involving community groups, such as non-profit organisations and school children, and even curious passers-by, it hopes the participatory process could revitalise neighbourhood vibrancy and foster a more inclusive community identity. RELATED: In Praise of Public Spaces […]
83 KING LAM STREET: Framing the Courtyard with a Borrowed View
Unlike in urban areas where public spaces are provided as common amenities, they are not expected and are rarely found within industrial areas. However, with Hong Kong transitioning from manufacturing to service, high-tech and creative sectors, many scruffy and utilitarian high-rise factories have been given a makeover through building retrofit, adaptive reuse and even redevelopment. Lai Chi Kok, the industrial area developed during Hong Kong’s period of rapid industrial growth in the 1970s, is experiencing palpable change. Several former factories have been converted into upmarket office towers and trendy shopping malls. This has generated higher footfall throughout the week and […]
Revitalisation of Sun Tin Wai Commercial Centre: Recreating a Traditional Village in the City
Liminal spaces often give off a sense of foreboding. Despite the unease they cause, they are still created inevitably in large developments. One reason is the way design and functional planning are parcelled out to different designers. Oftentimes, transitory or service areas are neglected. RELATED: In Praise of Public Spaces Many such leftover spaces are found in Sun Tin Wai Commercial Centre (STWCC), a 42-year-old public housing estate shopping mall. Located on steep sloping grounds, the five-storey-tall building provides an essential connection between the street-level bus terminal and high-rise apartment towers located on top of a quiet hillock in Sha […]
GREEN@WAN CHAI: A Recycling Centre Out of the Ordinary
Recycling has become a transactional task. We would bring used glass bottles, cans and waste paper to the recycling depot, and sort them into the various coloured bins denoting the items each one accepts. It is precisely how convenient recycling has become that recycling centres have become mundane infrastructure—they are seen as uninspiring and no longer demonstrating the important role they play to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution. To address such concerns, the Environment Protection Department (EPD) rebranded its recycling centres under the catchy moniker GREEN@ COMMUNITY and opened new recycling stations across Hong Kong. They are the largest […]
