Industrialization: KWUN TONG

INDUSTRIALIZATION:

KWUN TONG

ARCH2058 Modern Architecture ASSIGNMENT 3: GUIDEBOOK

觀 塘

| Fall 2021

Industrialization: Industrial Era of Kwun Tong Chan Ka Yu (3035820306) Iu Shing Chun (3035794492) Ju Wai Hang (3035797834)

KWUN TONG WALKING TOUR The reclamation of Kwun Tong’s seafront was completed in 1957, creating one of the largest industrial districts in 20th century Hong Kong.

Although most traces of Kwun Tong’s industrial past have disappeared in recent decades as Hong Kong’s economy converted from industrial to commercial, this walking tour will cover few remaining sites that capture three different key aspects of the Kwun Tong’s industrialisation process: 1. Kwun Tong Industrial Centre, located in the industrial area where manufacturing and productions took place within the cluster of factories.

2. Kwun Tong Public Pier that once transported factory workers, raw materials and manufactured goods, needed for industrial operations.

3. The Wo Lok Estates, one of the earliest rental public housing that provided accommodation for such workers in the industrial district.

1 KWUN TONG INDUSTRIAL CENTER Within a minute of walking from the Kwun Tong MTR station, the 4 blocky Kwun Tong Industrial Centres can be seen. The Kwun Tong Industrial Centre is one of the 256 remaining industrial buildings in Kwun Tong industrial district. Although it is very different from the purposely built factories that existed in the past, it was still a large project that was built during the industrialisation era.

The Kwun Tong Industrial Centre is separated into four phases, with the first one reaching completion as soon as 1979. Each phase consisted of a 13 storey building, with units ranging from 1000 to 2000 square feet, currently leased to individual businesses as office spaces or to provide other commercial services instead of the production of goods.

Elevators

Communual Bathrooms

Leased Units of Different Sizes

KTIC Phase 1&2 Layout

Stairs

Leased Units of Different Sizes

KTIC Phase 3&4 Layout

2 KWUN TONG FERRY PIER Kwun Tong Ferry Pier is located at the southern corner of Kwun Tong along the sea. The Ferry Pier was part of the tri-dock which made up of the Kwun Tong Pier, the Kwun Tong Ferry Pier, used now for ferry lanes traversing between Kwun Tong and North Point, the Vehicular Pier, used for transporting cars and dangerous goods vehicles, and the Kwun Tong Public Pier, used for ferry lanes traversing between Kwun Tong and Sai Wan Ho. The piers are connected to the more modern Kwun Tong Promenade and a bus terminal nearby. Parts of the pier are reserved for vehicle driving training offered by a driving license company.

However the pier had long past its golden ages since the establishment of MTR stations as well as the construction of the Kwun Tong Bypass, very eye-catchingly and unrelentingly built across the piers. Since then the pier had seen less usage and became more crowdless. Although the Ferry Pier and Vehicular pier are still operating, the frequency of use has declined considerably. Currently, the Public Pier is a popular stay among the homeless.

Vehicular Pier

Kwun Tong Bypass

Public Pier Vehicular Pier Dock

3 WO LOK ESTATES A 15-minutes’ walk from the MTR station brings us to 11 rectangular, flat roofed concrete blocks - Wo Lok Estates, 1 of the 12 earliest Public Rental Housing Estates developed by the Housing Authority in Kwun Tong. The Estates is of concrete shear wall-and-slab structure, completed in 1966, 12 years after the development of Kwun Tong as an industrial new town. With a rent lower than market price, the Estates was developed to house low-income households, especially workers and their families, who worked nearby at the industrial buildings or manufacturing factories of Kwun Tong. The households live in flats subdivided from the elongated, rectangular plan of each floors. 8 of 11 blocks are 7-storied and 3 are 22-storied, with 41 units of 24 to 32.6 m2 flats per floor. In each unit, the internal finishes, windows and services are standardized, as well as the recessed balcony that allows adequate light and ventilation, and as brise-soleil for regulating the tropical climate of Hong Kong.

THE RISE AND DECLINE OF KWUN TONG FACTORIES KA YU, CHAN

Rise of Factories in Post-War Hong Kong Manufacturing has been part of Hong Kong’s economy since the early 20th century, mainly consisting of the production of boats and shipping related industries, and the production of rubber products and patent medicine. However, as most factories were taken over by Japanese authorities and all trades and economic activities were strictly regulated during the Japanese occupation in 1941-1945, the growth of these industries were halted. Following the end of the war, the investments and technical insights from ShangHai industrialists, along with the cheap labor force made possible by the 690,000 refugees created a massive boost in the progress of Hong Kong’s industrialisation.1 Hong Kong’s manufacturing capabilities have grown exponentially, although industries that

prevailed pre-war such as rubber and patent medicines began to decline, industries such as textiles, garments, plastics, watches and electronics gradually replaced them. In the few years after the war, one of the main markets for Hong Kong manufactured goods were the British Commonwealth, as Hong Kong products are able to enter British territories on preferential tariffs due to the 1932 Ottawa Agreement.4 Southeast asian countries were also a large market for Hong Kong products, due to the geographical proximity, and the existing chinese population in these countries, which gave Hong Kong manufactured products a cultural edge.4 In the late 1950s, manufacturers reached out to Europe and America as their markets opened to Hong Kong. In particular, the United States has become a main destination for Hong Kong manufactured plastic goods, larger factories even collaborated with American clients as Original Equipment Manufacturers. By the 60s, Hong Kong had become the export center for manufactured goods in East Asia, as well

as a manufacturing base for foreign brands.² Industrialisation of Kwun Tong Kwun Tong had a long history of industrial use, it served as one of the biggest salt-beds in Dongguan Province until the salt industry disappeared in the 17th century, it was then used as a dumping site from the 1930s to the start of the second world war. After the war, as industrialists and refugees came to Hong Kong in search of industry related opportunities, the Hong Kong government began reclamation on Kwun Tong’s seafront in 1954, creating 140 acres of land for industrial, housing, resettlement and commercial purposes.

The Kwun Tong reclamation was completed in 1957, and the land was planned for manufacturers to build factories on. The land lots were auctioned at large sizes up to 200,000 square feet, at costs as low as HKD5.60.³ As a result of reclamation, new land in Kwun Tong was an optimal place for industrial development; The land that factories were built

on was flat and low-lying, isolated from residential buildings but within reasonable distance from the Kowloon urban area, one of the main labor forces at the time.4 Furthermore, as all factories were centralized, it also meant that the government could control and monitor the industries more efficiently.³ The factories of Kwun Tong played a critical role in the industrialisation of Hong Kong in the post-war period, the 7000 factories in the Kwun Tong district employed roughly 200,000 workers, and made up around 18% of Hong Kong’s total industrial output nearing the end of the 20th century.³ Decline of Hong Kong Factories As the industries continued to grow at a rapid rate, the amount of factory workers was unable to match the growth of the factories, causing a shortage of labour force. Factory owners had to provide incentives not just to attract new workers, but to prevent existing workers from leaving to other factories. It was common for factories to have air conditioning and organ-

ised catering within the building.³ However, these benefits to the workers had significantly increased the costs of running the factories.

Industrialists originally built factories in Kwun Tong and other places in Hong Kong in order to minimise costs by taking advantage of the low labour and land cost of post-war Hong Kong, but its economic advantage is beginning to fade. Around the early 1980s, more profitable alternatives emerged as Mainland was opened for industrial development.

Aside from the increased land and running costs that caused factory owners to relocate to the north, there were many other factors involved, one of them being the change in the Southeast Asia market. As Southeast Asian countries gradually declared independence, they restricted imports from Hong Kong as a means of developing local industries. Not only did the demand for Hong Kong’s manufactured goods decrease, some factory owners moved their production overseas in order to manufacture goods locally in these South-

east Asian countries.4 Furthermore, countries in Europe and America introduced quota systems to protect local cotton industries, and has greatly affected the textile and garment industry within Hong Kong. Some factories in Hong Kong that previously targeted the Europe and America market have relocated to countries unaffected by the quota restrictions, such as Macau and Taiwan. As Hong Kong’s industries were export-oriented, changes in foreign markets have caused a significant impact.

The Case of Kwun Tong Due to the factors previously mentions, the owners of labour-intensive factories of Kwun Tong began to move their production to overseas, or across the northern border to Pearl River Delta in search for even cheaper land and lower wages. The relocation towards the north began with the production line, but companies converted their Kwun Tong premises into headquarters and showrooms, with their main function being the processing of orders, and to take care of

banking, accounting logistics and legal matters.3,4 In the following years, even some of the services were move northwards. A number of industries which originated in Kwun Tong have now grown into global businesses with employees in over 30 countries.³ The mass relocation of industries has caused industrial districts around Hong Kong, especially Kwun Tong, to experience one of the most difficult times in property value. In 2001, the Hong Kong government repurposed the industrial zones of Kwun Tong, allowing office and other business related buildings to be within the once strictly industrial zone. Redevelopment wasn’t complicated as land was sold in large sizes, meaning that most land was held under single or less fragmented ownership. Over the years, there have been policies that aim to further transform Kwun Tong’s industrial district, such as the “Revitalization of Industrial Buildings” policy in 2010, encouraging landowners to convert industrial buildings for commer-

cial purposes by eliminating extra costs.³ Industrial Buildings of the Current Kwun Tong ‘Machine as building’ was a term used to describe factories that were purposely-built for the production of a specific product.³ While many of these factories were built in the Kwun Tong and other seafront areas throughout Hong Kong during the industrialisation era, very few such as the Kowloon Flour Mill are still preserved today. In Hong Kong, almost all industrial buildings that are still standing today are leased out in units instead of land lots. Out of the 256 industrial buildings in Kwun Tong, 235 of them are leased in units, 15 are Industrial/Office buildings, 2 warehouse units, and 4 vacant lots.5 One example of these industrial buildings is the Kwun Tong Industrial Centres. The Kwun Tong Industrial Centre was a large project divided into four phases, with the first phase reaching completion as soon as 1979. Each phase consisted of a 13 storey building, with

units ranging from 1000 to 2000 square feet, used as office spaces or to provide other commercial services instead of the production of goods. In other cases such as the Manning Industrial Building that was originally built in 1977, parts of the building have since been converted into a shopping mall. While manufacturing industries have diminished, these buildings that once enabled production were able to adapt to the economical changes and maintain their usefulness even decades later, providing a vibrant mix of industrial, commercial and cultural service for modern Kwun Tong.

Notes 1. Choi, C. Y. 1977. Housing Policy and Internal Movement of Population; A study of Kwun Tong, a Chinese New Town in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Occasional Paper No.62, Social Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

2. “Industrialization in Post-War Hong Kong.” Hong Kong Memory. Accessed December 22, 2021. https://www. hkmemory.hk/MHK/collections/postwar_industries/ industrialization_in_postwar_hong_kong/index.html 3. Energizing Kowloon East Office, and Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, Study on Industrial Heritage of Kowloon East and its Potential for Public Art/ Urban Design (2014).

4. “The Industrial Development of Kwun Tong – 1953 to 1964.” The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group, December 9, 2018, https://industrialhistoryhk.org/ industrial-development-kwun-tong-1953-1964/.

5. Kwun Tong district development and history. Accessed December 22, 2021. http://www. m o b i l e - p a r t s . c o m . h k / k w u n _ t o n g _ h i s t o r y. h t m .

KWUN TONG FERRY PIER TRANSPORTATION JU WAI, HANG

From Industrialization to modernization, transportation had always served as a supplementary role, both a vital gear in the machine that is industrialization, aiding in material delivery, workforce transportation and development; and a factor in evolving industrial cities into modernistic and urbanized society.

Kwun Tong Ferry Pier, built and run in Kwun Tong’s industrialization era, served its purpose as a benefactor to the town’s industrial growth and development into urbanization.

Once originally the Ngau Tau Kok Ferry Pier in Ngau Tau Kok, the now called Kwun Tong Ferry Pier is a product of a land reclamation project targeted at the original site, thusly, the pier was relocated to the south of Kwun Tong near Tsun Yip Street and completed its construction in 1963. In 1972, the Ferry Pier was then relocated to Hoi Yuen Road, where it sits today.

Ferries, by Cambridge dictionary’s definition, is “a boat or ship for taking passengers and often vehicles across an area of water, especially as a regular service” ¹. They are considered a contributing factor in industrialization, transportation. According to Wilde, it is widely agreed by historians and economists that an effective transport network is necessary in any industrializing society, to enable the movement of heavy products and materials in order to publicize access to raw materials for development, to reduce the price of raw materials and the resulting goods, to disassemble local monopolies overload caused by poor transport networks, and to allow for an integrated economic growth where regions of the country could specialize ². Thus, the importance of Kwun Tong Ferry Pier would be demonstrated during the industrializing times of Kwun Tong.

During the prime years of Hong Kong’s industrial take off in the 1970s, the Kwun Tong Ferry Pier was dominated by The Hongkong

and Yaumati Ferry Co Limited, who saw the transportation needs born from greater population and public flow, would provide ferry lane service between Kwun Tong and Central, North Point, Sai Wan Ho and Chai Wan. As MTR underground lanes had yet to be established, ferry services were at its golden age.

The Ferry Pier and its Plaza, which became the central transport hub in Kwun Tong at that time, has seen greatly increased public and goods flow and thus, frequent use of the pier as well as nearby bus terminals. At that time, the ferry pier complex consisted of three piers: a northern public pier, a southern passenger ferry pier, and between, a vehicular ferry pier ³. Each parking ferry is responsible for the transportation of dangerous goods, vehicles, cars and traveling citizens, each complementing one another in prosperous motion.

Transportation by ferries is beneficial to industrialization in multiple ways. It was researched

by UKEssays that, firstly, ferries run on canal or a routed lane, allowing transfer of goods

through a series of man-made waterways or an orderly route and routine, which is another vital part of transportations because the risks of smashed or damaged products during transporting route could be greatly decreased.

Moreover, it is possible that canal transport such as ferries and ships could carry more products and people than the other forms of transportation during times when land vehicles are still at growth. Canal transport is also a more cost-effective method for transporting merchandise . With this advantage, Kwun Tong Ferry Pier was in frequent usage and generated a reasonable amount of income.

However, as time passed, the passengers and income of the ferry lane were at a constant below average with the dwindling of Hong Kong’s industry, increased competition from the establishment of the MTR and the opening of the Eastern Harbor Crossing. Water transports like ferries are vulnerable to extreme weather such as typhoons and strong waves, and so may be unreliable and often

fatally dangerous. In contrast, land transportation, if well-developed, would outmatch or even replace water transport. So as traffic along the roads increased, ferries would become significantly hauled in running and development, a bottleneck in the flow of traffic, and could progressively be replaced by land routes such as bridges and railways 5.

As the competition continued, many Kwun Tong citizens and workers began switching to MTR for transportation and the usage of the ferry pier slowly died down, afterwards the ferry services were terminated. The passenger ferry lane license was transferred to Fortune Ferry Co Limited in September 1999, when the Yaumati Ferry Co Limited’s franchise ended in the same year. However, ferry services between Kwun Tong, North Point and Mui Wo are still operated by Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry, mainly used as a transportation route for vehicles with dangerous goods. Since vehicles with dangerous goods are prohibited from using any one of the

cross-harbour tunnels. The vehicular ferry pier was reopened in 2008 after its stasis from the activation of the Eastern Harbor Crossing.

A bus terminal is present at the pier, known as Kwun Tong Ferry. Although circulations are few due to the activation of cross-harbour tunnels, it is still the largest bus terminus in Kwun Tong District, serving as the last station of some KMB routes.

Today, Fortune Ferry remains as the only provisioner of regular transportation services Kwun Tong and North Point via the pier. Due to low passenger counts, only the lower part of the pier was in use. Gate machines were introduced in replacement of human-ran cashiers. The waiting hall contains benches; however, lighting is lacking so the pier is relatively dark and worn-down. In contrast, most of the focus was turned to the Kwun Tong Promenade, a relatively new modern construction, the first open space project under the Kai Tak Development aiming at revital-

ization of developed areas in Kwun Tong 6.

Parts of the ground floor and upper floor of the vehicular ferry pier were borrowed by Kwun Tong Driving School and used for training. As nowadays the public flow is scare, the Pier is also a popular gathering spot for the homelessness, and barer of numerous suicide records 7.

Although the prosperous day of Kwun Tong Ferry Pier had long passed, its contribution to the Kwun Tong today can still be found within the remains of Kwun Tong’s industrial past.

Kwun Tong is a town formed by traces of urbanization such as megastructural malls and infrastructure, as well as remnants of industrialization such as factories districts turned buildings. This combination is a witness to the “New Town”s development from industrial to urban and modern, and their effort in supplementing each other 8, to which Kwun Tong’s transportation is a major factor of.

Transportation is important in maintaining

industry, with an effective transport network, movement of goods and materials could greatly benefit the local economy and societal living qualities. It has been claimed that when the accessibility of public and businesses reach the jobs, goods, services and activities by transportation, the productivity of industries would also increase. This rise may be due to transport infrastructure enhancements as well as technological and organizational innovations, decreasing travel time. As the labour market temporarily is brought closer to their workplaces because of improved travel time, companies experience improvements in worker’s productivity 5. So, transportation and industry would improve in conjunction, a more effective industrialization process would more easily lead to future urbanism and modernism.

Transportation Is also an indispensable part of the process of industrialization to modernization, preluded by the improvement of the transport system and a diversity of societal changes which are the main feature of

modernization 9. One form of modernization is technical modernization of the production.

Aforementioned, industry requires movement of goods. Kwun Tong Ferry Pier in this case are a form of both material movement, the transportation of dangerous goods vehicles such as industrial oil, patrols and gases, as well as livestock movement, the transportation of humans who are part of the working-class population in the industrial area.

Transport networks such as that are interconnected with the development of technical modernization. The construction of transport routes allowed supply to reach factories with necessary raw materials and to transport the manufactured goods. More importantly, the mobility of the population could also be fostered. With higher mobility and movement, the urban growth and increased population would urge greater effort in urban planning and arrangements of infrastructure, indirectly pushing societal movement from the industrial era toward modernity 10.

Notes 1. “Ferry”, Cambridge Dictionary, accessed February 16, 2021, https://dictionary.cambridge. org/zht/%E8%A9%9E%E5%85%B8/%E8%8B% B1%E8%AA%9E-%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E% E 7 % B 9 % 8 1 % E 9 % A B % 9 4 / f e r r y 2. Robert Wilde, “Transport in the Industrial Revolution”, Thoughtco, accessed April 23, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/ transport-in-the-industrial-revolution-1221653 3. Hugh Farmer, “On the slow boat – Sai Wan Ho, Kwun Tong, Sam Ka Tsuen ferries – part two”, The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group, October 24, 2014, https://industrialhistoryhk.org/slowboat-sai-wan-kwun-tong-sam-tsuen-ferries-2/ 4. “How did Transportation Change During the Industrial Revolution?”, UKEssays, November 2018, https://www. ukessays.com/essays/history/how-did-transportationchange-during-the-industrial-revolution.php 5. Eduard J Alvarez-Palau, Dan Bogart, Oliver Dunn, Max Satchell, Leigh Shaw Taylor, “Transport and urban growth in the first industrial revolution”, Economics, September 30, 2020, https://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/ files/marketaccessgrowth_presteam_sept272020.pdf 6. “Kwun Tong Promenade”, KwunTong. org, accessed February 16, 2021, https:// www.kwuntong.org.hk/en/c3_1.html 7. “觀塘碼頭的夕陽歲月”, BackStory, HuluHK, accessed February 16, 2021, https://backtory.huluhk.org/

8. Chan Ying Keung, “The Rise and Fall of Kwun Tong: A Study of Planned Urban Development”, Social Research Centre of Chinese University, August 1973, http://hkhiso.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/ history/zh-hant/system/files/87%20The%20Rise%20 a n d % 2 0 g ro w t h % 2 0 o f % 2 0 K w u n % 2 0 To n g _ 0 . p d f 9.

10. “Technical Modernization in the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century”, National Museum of Latvia, accesses February 16, 2021, http://lnvm.lv/en/?page_id=1076 11.

12. “Importance of the Road Transportation Services in Economic Development of the Country”, TruckGuru, November 2, 2018 https://truckguru. co.in/blog/importance-of-the-road-transportationservices-in-economic-development-of-the-country/

THE INFLUENCE OF INDUSTRIALISATION OF KWUN TONG PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT SHING CHUN, IU

Wo Lok Estate is 1 of the 12 earliest Public Housing Estates developed by the Housing Authority to provide flats to labours of Kwun Tong industries1. Developed since 1954, Kwun Tong as an industrial new town has had increasing housing demands, for which public housings were developed. Development of public housing in KT not only involves policies, capital, urban planning and architectural designs. The industrialization of Kwun Tong is argued to have also influenced public housing development in Kwun Tong2. This essay researched on the history of industrialization and public housing development in Kwun Tong between 1954-1985, from the beginning of implementation of Kwun Tong development plan, to the opening of Mainland that which Hong Kong industrialists began to relocate production3.

Industrialization did not directly cause designs

and constructions of public housing in Kwun Tong. However, industrialization created some factors for the development of public housing in Kwun Tong. While industrialization is a feature of modernity, the public housing of Kwun Tong also features architectural modernism.

The research in this essay identified two relations of industrialization with public housing development in Kwun Tong: 1. The earliest public housing, Resettlement Estates was developed as a result of land reclamation4 for creating industrial zones in Kwun Tong; 2. Industrial workers’ housing demand at the new industrial zones is a factor for the development of low-cost public housing estates, while continuous industrial growth5 brought continuous pressure for public housing for workers.

Before elaborations on above roles of industrializations, the following keywords are elaborated for reference: ‘Kwun Tong Development Plan6’, implemented in 1954, included 3 housing zone on hill side of Kwun Tong Road, 1 commercial zone at the centre of Kwun Tong Toad (nowadays Kwun Tong MTR

station), 1 industrial zone on reclaimed land on seaside of Kwun Tong Road and 1 resettlement zone to the east of housing zones.

‘Industrialization’ refers to the development of industrial zones on the reclamation land of Kwun Tong according to the Kwun Tong development plan in 19547. ‘Public Housing Estates’ refers to government-invested housing estates designed and constructed by either 1 of 3 parties8: Housing Society, founded 1951; Resettlement Department, founded1954;HousingAuthority,founded1954.

One factor for the development of resettlement housing is the resettlement of residents affected by land reclamation to facilitate industrialization of Kwun Tong. In order to develop Kwun Tong as an industrial new town, its industrial zone must be able to attract industrialists to invest and set up factory buildings9.

However, factory buildings require large plots of flat land, which Kwun Tong lacked. Therefore, land reclamation along the seaside of Kwun Tong Road was carried out in 3 phases between 1954-1962, creating 641 acres

of industrial sites10. However, the reclamation cut off fishermen’s way to the sea and depth of the sailing pool. As a result, fishermen of Kwun Tong who lived on boats were forced to live on land11. Moreover, residents in houses or huts within the scope of development plan of Kwun Tong were cleared away. To settle residents affected by the reclamation, the Resettlement Department developed Resettlement Estates, the earliest public housing in Kwun Tong. The estates are located in part in Jordan Valley, which was infilled, and in part on leveled hills, both geographies resulted from reclamation for the industrial zone12.

The estates consist of 24 blocks of standardized multi-storied buildings13, with schools at both ground and roof levels, and shops at ground level. In early mid-1950s, public housing type Mark I, originally designed for Skep Kip Mei Estates, was used for resettlement.

Each block is H-shaped and 7-storied with communal services and standardized room size designed for families of 4-5 persons.

During 1954-1980, the resettlement estates

evolved in typology: Mark II, III and VI were developed14, with each having better facilities and private services. According to 1971 census, 56818 resettlement units housed 258814 persons, 47% of total population in Kwun Tong15. Modernist designs are evident in the resettlement blocks. Each block contains not just dwelling, but also community spaces like schools on the roof of each block, and on the ground level, schools and shops. This creates a livelihood where living, education and commercial activities are condensed within one block. Constructed in concrete shear wall and slab system and designed in flat and horizontal volume16, the resettlement blocks, as a modernist housing adapted to the context of emergency resettlement of Kwun Tong residents due to land reclamation for industrialization.

The housing demand of industrial workers due to industrialization was a factor for development of public housing. As land reclamation proceeded, land supply was allocated to industrialists by public auction17, who subsequently set up industrial buildings or facto-

ries. As early as 1958, production in some factories had already started18. While industrial land shortages were solved by land reclamation, the problem of residential congestion before implementation of development plan were expected19. The growth of industries in new Kwun Tong would cause people to find employment opportunities. Among the potential workers, those who were interested in resettling near the factory buildings for the convenience of living and commuting would create housing demand. In fact, there were 100 factories and 15000 workers in 1961, and 800 factories and 72300 workers in 1971, and 7000 and 200000 by 198520. From 1961 to 1985, was an increase of 70 times in the number of factories and 13 times in number of workers. However, most of these labours were of low income, who would not be able to pay rents of private housing. Therefore, the government allocated 3 housing zones near the industrial zone for the development of public housing, not only to settle low-income industrial workers, but also as greater attraction

to move and work at Kwun Tong21. Synchronized with the start of factory productions in 1958, the building of low-cost public housing estates had also started22. An estate consists of standardized blocks and living units, including interior finish as well. Modern materials such as concrete and steel were used to achieve efficient and economic constructions.

The first low-cost estate was Garden Estate, a Housing Society project completed in 1960 (first stage) and 1966 (second stage)23. It features self-contained flats on basis of 35 sq. ft./adult, intended for families with income under HKD 125024. Each flats have private toilets, kitchens and balconies, as opposed to the communal services in early Mark I to II resettlement housings. A total dwelling of 7000 people in the estates were recorded in 1977. Subsequently, by 1971, 17 years from the start of industrialization, 12 low-cost public housing estates had been completed, which together provided dwellings for 69475 households and 357456 population25. As a representative example, the Wo Lok Estate

(refer to site description), completed in 196626 had a functionalist and low-cost design to be economy for the government and functional for its residents. The elongated, rectangular blocks, named ‘Old Slab’, is a design for fitting into the narrow sites of Wo Lok Estates27.

Each slab has two wings of flat units. The architect was allowed to configure the blocks depending on the angles of 2 wings. Moreover, it was allowed to join 2 to 3 blocks together at different junctions as a larger block to fit into compact sites28. The ‘block’ in Wo Lok Estates was a building-scale module for modular constructions and flexible adjustments according to the context. The junction between blocks were either lift lobbies or egress staircases. Evolved from Mark I, the rectangular blocks are built in concrete sheer wall and slab system. The minimalistic façade features deep, recessed balconies with louvres on walls29. This type of balcony functions as extended living space, outdoor kitchen, as well as brise-soleil for each flat. Popularized

by Le Corbusier30, the brise-soleil adapted to

the context of Hong Kong public housing as the balcony in Wo Lok estate, and in other Kwun Tong public estates, for the regulation of tropic weather of Hong Kong by providing adequate shade and lighting, as well as ventilation into each flat unit. Modernist design considerations on function and environmental control are not only evident in Wo Lok Estates, but in other estates of the same period in Kwun Tong. Furthermore, the flat layout, internal finishes and building services provisions of the Wo Lok Estates are almost the same for slab blooks, I-blocks and H-blocks of other estates, creating generic similarities in design amongst the blocks built between 1970-8031.

Moreover, in estates completed after 1970s, the ground floor of each building was used for shops, marketplaces, school playgrounds, social welfare agencies, banks, post offices and other community services. Apart from work, employment and some recreation, the estates are almost self-sufficient communities32.

The history of industrialization in Kwun Tong influenced the development of

standardized public housing estates from its preliminary preparations to its growth from 1954-1985, which resulted in early Resettlement Estates for resettling Kwun Tong residents, and low-cost public · estates for the growing housing demand of industrial labours. Functionalistic and contextual, both the estates and industrial buildings shaped the fabric of modern Kwun Tong.

Notes 1. D. C. Lai and D. J. Dwyer, “Kwun Tong, Hong Kong. A Study in Industrial Planning,” Town Planning Review 35, no. 4 (1965): 56.

2. Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, “Study on Industrial Heritage of Kowloon East and Its Potential for Public Art/ Urban Design”(Hong Kong: Energizing Kowloon East Office (EKEO), Development Bureau, 2014), 3.

3. Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, “Study on Industrial Heritage,” 2.

4. Lai and Dwyer, “Kwun Tong,” 8.

5. Lai and Dwyer, “Kwun Tong,” 10.

6. Yuk Ma Wing, “The Development of Kwun Tong,” Symposium on Land Use and Mineral Deposits in Hong Kong, Southern China and South-East Asia, HKU Press, 1964, 40.

7. Wing, “The Development of Kwun Tong,”, 41.

8. Choi, C. Y.. “Housing Policy and Internal Movement of Population: A Study of Kwun Tong, a Chinese New Town in Hong Kong.” Hong Kong: Occasional Paper No.62, Social Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (1977): 56.

9. Lai and Dwyer, “Kwun Tong,” 7.

10. Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, “Study on Industrial Heritage,” 2.

11. Wing, “The Development of Kwun Tong,” 42.

12. Wing, “The Development of Kwun Tong,” 41.

13. Ho, Hung Chak (Derrick) & Chan, Elton & Ng, Stephen. 觀塘區公屋發展的歷史： 社區及環境變遷與城市規劃的連結 (A History of Public Housing Development in Kwun Tong: Connection between Socio-environmental Change and Urban Planning). Kwun Tong Development and Renewal Task Force, Kwun Tong District Council (2021): 8.

14. Choi, C. Y..

“Housing Policy,” 70.

15. Choi, C. Y., and Y. K. Chan. “Hong Kong’s Industrial New Towns.” Ekistics 46, no. 277 (1979): 3.

16. Wai, C. R. “The architectural origins of Hong Kong’s public housing : the pioneering “Mark” series and its development.” Thesis. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 2014, 380.

17. Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, “Study on Industrial Heritage,” 2.

18. Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, “Study on Industrial Heritage,” 2.

19. Lai and Dwyer, “Kwun Tong,” 8.

20. Culture and Development Consultancy Limited, “Study on Industrial Heritage,” 3.

21. Wing, “The Development of Kwun Tong,”, 41.

22. Chan, Ying-keung. The Rise and Growth of Kwun Tong: A Study of Planned Urban Development. A30. 6th ed. Vol. A30. 7 vols. 3. Hong Kong: Social Research Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1973, 48 23. Choi, C. Y..

“Housing Policy,” 40.

24. Choi, C. Y..

“Housing Policy,” 41.

25. Chan. The Rise and Growth of Kwun Tong, 35.

26. Wai, “Hong Kong’s public housing,” 56.

27. Wai, “Hong Kong’s public housing,” 458.、 28. Wai, “Hong Kong’s public housing,” 443.

29. Wai, “Hong Kong’s public housing,” 445.

30. Wai, “Hong Kong’s public housing,” 357.

31. Ho, Chan, Ng, A History of Public Housing Development in Kwun Tong, 25.

32. Ou, Zhijian, Yongsheng Luo, and Junxiang Hu. Guantang Ren Biao Shu De Guantang Gu Shi: Bu Tong Nian Dai Guantang She Qun Kou Shu Li Shi Ji Hua. Xianggang: Guantang qu yi hui shu xia Guantang qu fa zhan ji chong jian zhuan ze xiao zu, 2014, 34

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