Beyond Hong Kong’s high-rise landscape, approximately three-quarters of its territory remains rural. Within the cluster of villages in Sha Tau Kok region, Lai Chi Wo village stands out as the largest and best-preserved due to various revitalisation efforts (read more in FuturArc 2Q 2023). With the increasing popularity of Lai Chi Wo, the new Lai […]
In the heart of Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong District, The Kwun Tong City Centre Temporary Free Space and Playground is located close to the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station, a key hub in the city. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) had the aim of creating a gathering point in the new centre to strengthen urban […]
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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 […]
Read More… from GREEN@WAN CHAI: A Recycling Centre Out of the Ordinary
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 […]
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. […]
Read More… from 83 KING LAM STREET: Framing the Courtyard with a Borrowed View
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 […]
Read More… from Spark City Mong Kok: Creating Splashes of Vibrancy for the City
Think about Hong Kong. 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 […]
Hong Kong’s first permanent indoor market, called the Central Market, was built in 1939 in the Bauhaus Streamline Moderne style. It had underwent a partial renovation in the 1990s before being abandoned in the early 2000s. Despite being listed as a Grade 3 historic building and is one of the only two Bauhaus-style buildings remaining […]
Read More… from The comprehensive revitalisation of Central Market in Hong Kong
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF VULNERABLE GROUPS IN HONG KONG Siu Lam Integrated Rehabilitation Services Complex is built as part of a special initiative with the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to strengthen support for persons with disabilities and their families. It provides 1,700 places for one-stop services with two types […]
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The residential developments of Queens Hill Estate (comprising seven public rental housing blocks) and the adjacent Shan Lai Court (comprising six subsidised sale flats blocks) are situated in the rural area of Hong Kong, at Queen’s Hill, Fanling in the New Territories. The site used to be part of an abandoned military camp before the […]
Read More… from Public Housing Developments at Queen’s Hill, Fanling
Maggie’s Centres were one of the early pioneers of salutogenic design. They were the brainchild of Maggie Jencks, who, like so many others before her, felt the psychological toll of the hospital environment during her battle with cancer. In her memoir, A View from the Front Line, she wrote, “Simply finding your way round is […]
ADAPTING TO SITE CONTEXT While many places in the world are still using fresh water for toilet flushing, Hong Kong has been extensively adopting seawater for flushing since the 1950s, covering about 85 per cent of its population.1 This allows the precious fresh water to be preserved for potable purposes. However, such a system is […]
