Hong Kong: Place-identity construction of a Underground intenCity

Hong Kong Place-identity construction of a Underground intenCity

Name: Wai Wong (16038448) Module: Urban Design Development Seminars (P32081) Module Leader: Prof. Georgia Butina Watson

Content

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

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SECTION I The Creation of ‘intenCity’

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SECTION II Underground intensity

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SECTION III Hong Kong goes underground

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CONCLUSION

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BIBILOGRAPHY

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATION

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Introduction Global population has rapidly increased in the recent decades, thus, with ever increasing pressure on space and natural resources, the planning and design of hyperdense urban environments has become a solution for many cities. A coin has two sides: the more similar intensifying development take places, the greater loss of character that a country preserves. Therefore, placeidentity becomes a topic to urban designers in recent years due to urban developments that take place around the world, not only the developing countries, but also the developed ones since each place should own a special character which would create identity (Watson & Bently, 2007) and this is believing for a place to achieve a sustainable and healthy growth.

When talking about Hong Kong, what is mentioned is its high-density urban structure that set it apart from the rest of the world. Hong Kong has been recognised as one of the most intensified cites with numerous skyscrapers, including commercial and residential ones, have formed its uniqueness. In response to that, the recent Hong Kong government planning document, Hong Kong 2030+: Toward a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030 (Planning Departtment, 2016) , suggests three different locations for developing underground cities which aim to provide more spaces and connections for both public and private use. This proposal has received both negative and positive comments in regards to different issues, and one of which is how this would be unique for a this city that is known for its quality of verticality and volumetricity.

Fig. 01 Aerial view of Hong Kong

This essay will discuss how the underground approach demonstrates the unique urban structure that is rooted in Hong Kong’s urbanity, not only just how it looks, but also how it works. Section I seeks to analyse Hong Kong’s urban development and relevant examples that build Hong Kong’’s identity as an ‘intenCity’. Section II will evaluate some precedents from other countries.

Section III will investigate how urban design theories about the unique to the urban framework that Hong Kong developed and how the government should address it when developing their underground city.

One stylistic note: to avoid repetition, “Hong Kong 2030+: Toward a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030” will henceforth be referred to as ‘2030+’ (no italics).

INTRODUCTION

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THE CREATION OF ‘INTENCITY’ Since 1841, ‘Hong Kong’ has become a colony under British rule, in the form of Hong Kong island. At that time, Hong Kong is barely inhabited, and it starts to build a life at the foot of the steep north-facing slopes of Victoria Peak. At the time of British settlement, it has an area of less than 80 km2. The colony then expanded over the Victoria Harbour by occupying the Kowloon Peninsula in 1861 and the New Territories in 1898.

Although the territory remained small with just 1070 km2, this is how Hong Kong forms.

After 1997, Hong Kong’s ownership returns to China following the Sino–British Joint Declaration. This has significantly influenced the methodology of how people in Hong Kong deal with the social and economic issues. With the long history of being a British colony, it has a strong multicultural identity in urban planning, especially the way of solving the problem with growing population, constructing an impression of an international financial centre and thus the connectivity alongside with intensification.

This section will provide a series of analysis of Hong Kong’s identity in regards to its urban development and thus bring out a concise framework for discussing the underground city proposal. This study divides into three main subsections, Horizontal extension, Vertical and Volumetric Expansion and Transportation and Underground in Hong Kong.

In the following analysis, please noted that the chosen design aspects and examples aim to related to the essay topic, the underground urban structure, there are much more unique ideas that Hong Kong embrace and have not been mentioned due to the lack of applicability.

SECTION I

Fig. 02 Density of Hong Kong

/ The Creation of ‘intenCity’ /

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[ Horizontal Extension ] According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong has a significant increase in population after the World War II immigrants and high birth/low death rate, etc. These have ringed the alarm to the government, therefore, within this framework, Hong Kong government works on a ‘horizontal extension’ by carrying out land construction through reclamation from sea and swamp and new town development to solve the rapid growth in population continually.

According to the 2017 Hong Kong geographic data, over 70km2 of the sea were converted into land and there more yet to come. Another form of extension is urbanisation. New towns which are also named as a satellite city on the old Hong Kong planning documents, has taken place in places like Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin in the 1970s and Tseung Kwan O and Tung Chung in 1990s.

Nevertheless, in ‘2030+’, the government published their proposal at East Lantau and New Territories North which will provide long-term social, economic and environmental needs thus to achieve a balanced spatial development pattern for the territory (Planning Department & Development Bureau, 2016).

Fig. 03 Hong Kong Reclamation Map (Blue line : 1842 Coastline)

SECTION I

Fig. 04 Sha Tin New Town

For the use of reclamation, most of them are purposed for enhancing the existing. For example, the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation started from the 1990s, the project aims to improve the surroundings of crowded districts by providing additional open space, offering land for connections integrate the development with the existing areas. As for new towns, it is an idea to urbanised suburbs into a new accommodate the booming population by providing a self-reliant environment which is not only offering residential units, but also sufficient commercial, industrial and recreational uses to maintain a long-term healthy growth for citizens.

This has a significant meaning to Hong Kong as it has changed the perception of urban development in this city. Instead of developing within the existing footprint, it brings a new and distinctive change to Hong Kong.

As Georgia Watson and Ian Bently see it, the fluidity of the identity-construction process has increased still further because of changes in the core value governing many people’s lives. (Watson & Bently, 2007) About the dominant changes, people in Hong Kong has adopted the new ideas quickly and hence created little metropolitan towns like Sha Tin and Kwun Tong.

/ The Creation of ‘intenCity’ /

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[ Vertical and Volumetric Expansion ] Due to the restrictions from the steep slopes, for a city with a population of 7 million nowadays, there are only 120km2 of the urban land area to build with, even there is reclamation to extend the territory. Therefore, apart from the horizontal extension, vertical and volumetric expansion becomes another process that has dominated Hong Kong’s urban growth.

Vertical expansion results in every taller building, meanwhile it brings upon intensification of greater concentration of activities in particular district and within the building itself. Tall buildings were made possible over the last five decades of the nineteenth century through a series of technical innovations.

Taking examples from Hong Kong, Central, locates in the heart of Hong Kong island, is formulated by some skyscrapers like the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building (44 storeys) and International Finance Centre (88 storeys). Both of them are legendary building by itself and thus they generate a successful mixed use building and recognising skyline to the world.

Apart from tall buildings, another defining characteristic is the volumetric intensity. It is a condition how planners create additional ground by redefining ‘ground’ itself, thus to generate movements on and between the ‘new’ grounds.

In most of Hong Kong, the population moving through the area can readily overwhelm the capacity of the surface of the streets to carry the flow. One of the planners’ responses to this issue is to duplicate the means of access to allocate the population. A duplicate ground surface is created to facilitate the foot traffic across an area. An example is a bridge constructed in the 1990s that carry Wanchai Mass Transit Railway station all the way to the government offices, like the Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower. (See Fig.06)

Fig. 05 International Finance Centre

After the creation of additional ‘grounds’, new modes of movements are needed for access. The mechanical ladder is one of the most common prototypes in Hong Kong to take place, and the Mid-Levels Escalators is an archetypal example in this category.

At that time, Central is an area prominently for the upper-class community especially foreigner who come to work, therefore, it creates an invisible barrier.

Therefore, the government wish to open up and has a better sense of community. ‘Transculturality’ has become a key aspect to create an ‘image of communion’. There are any forms or activities that can address as a community. In this case, the escalator is the ‘connection’ that breaks the boundary in this international city.

Fig. 06 Wan Chai Station Bridge This bridge that traverse over four blocks and provides pedestrian connection upon a ground vehicle access. Beyond a single purpose, this bridge also serves the neighbourhood with various junctions to a restaurant, retail and leisure use alongside the bridge and the ground below.

SECTION I

Fig. 07 Mid Levels Escalator, Central Due to the hillside condition, the British government find it difficult to move up and down via the granite steps in Central District. When technology allowed, they replaced the stone ladder with a series of covered escalators and travelators thread between buildings and over streets to connect different ground levels.

/ The Creation of ‘intenCity’ /

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[ Transportation and Underground ] For a high-density small-footprint city, especially with a complex mixture of land uses, connectivity and movement are highly concerned to the public. Diverse transport system establishes the high accessibility for the city itself. It provides an efficient and reliable public transport for daily needs. Associated with the government’s planning policy including reclamation, new towns and connecting bridges, etc., it creates a successful network system. In a result, Hong Kong has functioned as a transit-oriented city while most of the people there make over 90% of their journeys via public transport, including train, subway, bus, tram, ferry, texi, etc.

Nowadays, underground as a ‘third space’ in Hong Kong serves mostly for the transition.

“The pervading sense of fear of the other in the USA can, in part, be attributed to the uurban forms that mean people rarely meet people different from themselves in public and third spaces.” says, John Ronnie Short (Short, 2001) Despite the use of transportation, when looking into a typical MTR station, there are convenience stores which provides quick and handy services.

Also, the stations have developed a connection with significant building with additional exits. For instance, Mong Kok MTR station, it provides 14 exits under Nathan Road, the busiest road located across Kowloon Peninsula. Since this roadway mainly serves from Buses and private cars, there is a limit number of pedestrian crossway. After all, the station itself acts as an underground tunnel with shops, as well as connecting the biggest mixed use building in that area, the Langham Place.

Fig. 08 Transportation Network

Fig. 09 MTR Map

SECTION I

One of the most important transportation modes that people in Hong Kong take is the subway, which officially name as the Mass Transit Railway (aka.

MTR). In conjunction with buses, it provides services to covered all eighteen districts. This mass transit system relies mostly on underground railways. The benefit is that it has avoided using land in the prime urban area and not restricted to the steep landscape and crowded conditions. The disadvantage of MTR is its inflexibility to reach every nook in Hong Kong. Thus, for most of the people in this city still relies on a combination of public transport.

Fig. 10 Mong Kok MTR Station Map and Layout

The analysis in this section is to understand how this intenCity evolves over time. Due to different restrictions and demands, urban designers then experimented various methods in Hong Kong. As time goes by, the hybrid intensification methodology forms this unique urban form.

/ The Creation of ‘intenCity’ /

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UNDERGROUND INTENSITY According to ‘2030+’, the government aims to identify the potential for underground space developments in selected areas and thus formulate Underground Master Plans to guide the future underground space development (Planning Department, et al., 2016).

This section will present different and international examples that developed place identity by utilising their underground spaces.

Fig. 12 RÉSO, Montréal Underground City, Quebec, Canada

Developing underground space is not a new idea in urban planning history. From most of the examples, they mainly serve three functions, first to enhance underground pedestrian connection and offering and alternative public realm and creating space to optimise the use of valuable land resources. For instance, the underground shopping street in Japan. The idea of these based on Japan’s integrated railways. Many of the stations implemented with public and private facilities.

One of the successful examples is the Yaesu Chikagai Station with about 70,000 m2 floor area with retail, restaurant, bank services. Nevertheless, the shopping street is designed with a walkable connection to other station which provides an alternative route to the public. Similarly, the multilevels underground city in Montréal, Canada offers approximately 200 Hectares area that consists connections, commercial and residential units for over 500,000 pedestrians every day. Furthermore, it connects 80% offices and 35% shops to the downtown area.

Fig. 11 Yaesu Chikagai Underground Shopping Street, Tokyo, Japan

SECTION II

/ Undergound Intensity/

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Another example is taken from the EWHA Womans University in Seoul. The campus itself is set underground with almost 60,000 m2 floor area that accommodates six levels spaces with multiple leisure and education facilities including library, bookstore, cafĂŠ and sports stadium, etc. Also, La DĂŠfense in Paris is a relevant example with its layered underground area for public transport while turning the ground level for pedestrian, especially for cultural and recreational activities.

The above precedents demonstrate the potential for a city to go underground. For underground spaces, planners do not restrict their uses but to use it as an extra space to strengthen the existing connectivity, the permeability of an area.

Fig. 13 La Defense, Paris, France

SECTION II

/ Undergound Intensity/

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HONG KONG GOES UNDERGOUND Following with more understanding of Hong Kong and theories that how urban designers create intensity with place identity, this section will examine a range of aspects that can contribute to the creation of a new Hong Kong’s identity when it goes underground.

“The innovative use of public space to address issues of sociopolitical and cultural significance, and to encourage community of public participation as a menas of effecting social change” (Felshin,1995) As Nina Fellshin says, new identity needs to be supported through the principle of ‘living together’. To Hong Kong, the intensification in terms of conectivity and expansion has played a role in forming the cultural landscape where people are well connected.

[ Organized Complexity ] Beyond density, ‘intensity’ is more about appreciating the networks. Hillier and Hansen suggest the theory that ‘the ordering of space is about the ordering of relations between people’ (Hillier & Hanson, 1984).

For a dense city, networks and nodes tie up all of the economic, recreational, artists, social. Therefore, they derive the relations between people and their activities in the cities when they are well connected physically and visually. From this last decade, several urban design theories have raised a question about how planners exhibit intensity beyond density.

Jane Jacobs as one of the most influential urban design critics, she suggests that modernist planning world should promote more and shorter streets that giving choice, convenience and vitality to an area (Jacobs, 1961). Nevertheless, Christopher Alexander then advocates her idea as ‘organised complexity’ in a journal article (Alexander, 1966). He believes that public services and facilities should be coordinated and cannot exist in isolation from each other. This idea has concluded as ‘permeability’ in Responsive Environments (Bently, et al., 1985). To summarise, connectivity and density are people and functions closer in the city. As a result, the government can control the city development; it is necessary to enhance intensity through a complex connective network.

Fig. 14 2030+ Underground city vision

SECTION III

/ Hong Kong goes Undergound /

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[ Unique Underground intensity ] “…Hong Kong manifests a vision of continual figure to figure relationships, a template for place space within future cities undergoing intense densification.”

(Framton, et al., 2012)

The ground is the plane for a city to start with. It is special as it is a continuous element and it provides navigation to the public. When designing a compact city, planners need to identify whether places are public or private; privileged or discouraged. Therefore, when Hong Kong plans to develop underground space, it is noticeable that there is few characteristic from its urban structure that can implicate in their design.

Hong Kong, nowadays, is a result of a unique collaboration of rational thinking and extensive masterplanning in a three-dimensional space.

Throwing back to Section I, Hong Kong has presented its capability as one of the most densified cities around the world. As people may recall, the skyline with highrise buildings and the iconic imagery as an international financial centre is the identity for this place. Going beyond this, what makes Hong Kong unique is how this compact city works within the people.

First of all, the horizontal expansion is the most straightforward way in expanding the usable land area. About the underground proposal, regarding of the selection of a site in ‘2030+’, authorities may value the benefits by starting the expansion from the existing underground transport network. Taking the Tsim Sha Tsui West area as an example, one of the sites mentioned in the underground study report, there are few MTR stations on the site, but they are not connected via any form of train or subway, especially the Austin station (associated with the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus). Therefore, an underground street connects these stations can solve the ground pedestrian congestion in that area.

“…‘urban convenience’, a condition that can only be met by higher urban densities offering a greater variety of activities and facilities nearby. In other words, the desire is for a more vital urbanity.” (Shelton, et al., 2011)

By then, it creates a more pleasant atmosphere that would feel inviting and thus improves the urnan environment and creates a positive impression as an underground city.

Fig. 15 Visualisation from Cities without Ground (Framton, et al. (2012)) illustrates the compacity of furture Hong Kong

SECTION III

Fig. 16 Connectivity Diagram for Tsim Sha Tsui West area

/ Hong Kong goes Undergound /

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Moreover, vertical expansion can intensify underground spaces too. For most of the tall buildings in Hong Kong, most of them are mixed use by introducing the multi storey of public use (e.g. retail, restaurant) and a podium level to set a boundary with the private use of (e.g. offices, hotel). A similar approach can also apply in underground space.

For instance, the Causeway Bay and Happy Valley area, another potential site chosen by the authorities, the spatial ground has a diversity of social, cultural and recreational activities takes place, including department stores, library, stadium, racecourse, etc. By expanding the underground space, associated with the connection with the MTR stations, the program of the underground space should imitate the ground, thus to provide more area for different events like exhibition and concerts.

This type of expansion shows a strong connection to the spatial ground, and it can scatter people flow gradually to solve the overcrowded problem in the area.

Both of the ideas are inspired by the previous analysis in Hong Kong’s urban form which methodology is yet to be appreciated in constructing identity and applicable for intensification. Despite these sort of escalation, high level of permeability is another key aspect to bringing them to success since the connectivity between services and people is how a compact and vibrant city evolves.

Fig. 17 Underground Vertical expansion Diagram for Causeway Bay and Happy Valley area

SECTION III

/ Hong Kong goes Undergound /

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CONCLUSION With its island origins, within the small and irregular footprint, territory confined between water and hillside that derives extreme forms and relationships, Hong Kong noticeably become one of the most successful urbanised places in the world. This essay demonstrates that Hong Kong’s skyscraper skyline is only a visual identity by analysing its unique urban structure, lying underneath. Its success is far more complex urban condition that the city has developed over time.

After years of horizontal and vertical development, the demand for usable land is still increasing. Therefore, the Hong Kong government has started seeking possibilities in developing the underground space which currently is only used for transition but not habitation. With more understanding of the process of how this city has been focused in the early section of this essay and underground precendents taken over the world, there is a way to apply this unique development methodology into the underground space through careful and comprehensive masterplanning.

Identity construction in urban design is a process that designer should take seriously. It is important to find out what is unique to the city, like cultures, materials, patterns, heritage and even collective memories. For Hong Kong, the most significant character is the evolution of the city and believing that there is a lot more potential for it to be great again. This can be achieved by encouraging people to start learning and reglection on their history in order to improve the future.

Fig. 18 Hong Kong’s evolution

CONCLUSION

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Bibliography

List of Illustration

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Cover

2.

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3.

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Fig. 01 Unknown, Hong Kong Skyscrapers, Avaliable at: http://www.bhmpics.com/view-hong_kong_ skyscrapers-2560x1440.html [Access on 17 Apr 2017]

4.

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6.

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7.

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Fig. 06 go elsewhere... (2007), Wanchai footbridge, Avaliable at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ elsewhere/635013777 [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 07 Adam Slingsby (n.d.), Mid Levels Escalator, Avaliable at: https://www.travelnation.co.uk/ blog/stopping-over-in-hong-kong-where-to-stay-and-what-to-do [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 08 Unknown (n.d.), Transportation in Hong Kong, Avaliable at: http://www.footprintsrecruiting. com/sites/default/files/Transportation%20in%20Hong%20Kong-433.jpg [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 09 MTR (n.d), MTR System Map, Avaliable at: http://www.mtr.com.hk/archive/en/services/ routemap.pdf [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 10 MTR (n.d.), MTR Station Map and Station Layout, Avaliable at: http://www.mtr.com.hk/ archive/ch/services/maps/mok.pdf [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 11 centraltokyo-tourism (n.d.), YAESU SHOPPING MALL, Avaliable at: https://centraltokyotourism.com/en/spot/detail/100302021 [Access on 17 Apr 2017]

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List of Illustration Fig. 12 weburbanist (2014), RÉSO Underground Complex, Montreal, Avaliable at: http://weburbanist. com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Urban-Undergrounds-Montreal-RESO.jpg [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 13 turangalia(2012), Untitled, Avaliable at: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread. php?t=1527764&page=13 [Access on 17 Apr 2017] Fig. 14 Planning Department,et. al (2016), Pilot Study on Underground Space Development in Selected Strategic Urban Areas, Cover, fig Fig. 15 Framton, A, et.al. (2012), Cities Without Ground : A Hong Kong Guidebook, pp.46-47, illus.

Fig. 16 Original illustration Source: Planning Department,et. al (2016), Pilot Study on Underground Space Development in Selected Strategic Urban Areas, pp.15 Fig. 17 Original illustration Source: Planning Department,et. al (2016), Pilot Study on Underground Space Development in Selected Strategic Urban Areas, pp.15 Fig. 18 Adolfo Arranz (2013) Reaching for the sky: Hong Kong’s changing harbour front, Avaliable at: http://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1308795/reaching-sky-hong-kongs-changingharbour-front [Access on 17 Apr 2017]

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