A SYNERGISTIC MIXED NEW TOWN

Quality of Life (QoL) is an important measurement for cities’ liveability and habitability, and is highly related to people’s living conditions. Although the planning strategies of Hong Kong’s New Towns are improved step by step, shortages could be found in the existing New Towns, such as the job-living inbalance and lack of cultural and community vitality.

The two projects show here take Tin Shui Wai and Hung Shui Kiu (HSK) as a case study, as it is felt that the existing planning of this site still exhibits planning assumptions that may results in function segregation, car dominance and a lack of collaboration with villages. The projects aim to create a synergistic ‘New New Town’, which could provide new live and work patterns by creating a different function-mix model and enhance regional synergy through shared infrastructures and job opportunities as well as an active local economy, which could improve residents’ Quality of Life and enhance social integration and the sense of community.

This study of the existing planning framework for the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area shows a new civic hub being planned at the southern end of the area. Relocating this civic hub to the interaction zone between Tin Shui Wai and Hung Shui Kiu would provide much stronger benefits to the surrounding urban residents, taking advantage of the existing river and planned light rail route to activate pedestrian oriented landscapes.

To design a programmatic brief for the function mixing in the new civic centre area, research on the essential and optional activities of everyday life is done. Optional activities such as socialising, and engaging in culture and community support activities, can be bundled together with essential activities in a temporal and spatial manner.

To meet the need of mix of live, work and play, a new social infrastructure network is designed, to enable people to easily find facilities such as a shared office spaces or cafe within a 15 mins walk. Living and working areas would not be seperated but are integrated, to offer flexibility to residents with a wide range of live-work and lifestyle requirements.

At key intersections in the pedestrian and cycling networks, multi-level level pedestrian spaces create a platform for circulation, or cultural events such as art shows or weekend markets. These spaces serve local residents and could also attract people from wider community.

This urban design vision include some speculation on innovative architectural block typologies, which could be made to adhere to performance criteria relating to the amount of street frontage, roof terraces and interaction with the pedestrian network. The resulting urban porosity is in contrast with the typical architecture of private development and would stimulate views, social engagement and collaboration across multiple levels.

This project includes the planning of different civic institutions and important cultural facilities and social infrastructure, such as a community hall, collaboration hall, art venue and other facilities at close proximity to residential blocks.