BrutalistHK 20
Narrating Hong Kong Post-war Brutalist urbanism Horta Fu Yat Him
BrutalistHK 20
Narrating Hong Kong Post-war Brutalist urbanism
The album is captured in Hong Kong during 2017-2018. 20 photos are carefully selected and edited with drawing documentation in narrating my insights towards the essance of Post War Hong Kong modernism from macro to micro perspectives- which I would call it Brutalist. The word "Brutalist" not only refer to the uses of BĂŠton brut as architectural material, but also the bold urban intervention which determine the form of economy and civil life of Hong Kong through out the Second-half of Twentieth Century.
The collection has been conceived as a mean for me to pick up the interests in photography which has been lost during my busy yet unfruitful undergraduate study. With undefined asthetic meaning in the education blackbox, the collection was firstly started to challange the value of the less appreciated built structures in the city and ended up at appropriating them with the historical contexts. Incidentally, this has driven my appreciation to the faded-out visions in the collective industrial past, and has directed my on-going search of belief.
October 2018
Horta Fu Yat Him
mark i resettlement block 1954-1960 156 blocks built
mark iv resettlement block 1964-1969 63 blocks built
government low cost housing 1967-1972 95 blocks built
twin tower 1970-1983 61 blocks built
H block 1979-1988 117 blocks built
trident 1985-1992 221 blocks built
new california 1987-2005 225 blocks built
harmony 1992-2009 225 blocks built
modular 2013148+ blocks built
01 New Kowloon Brutopolis Hong Kong was experiencing a population-boom from Half million to Two million just five years after World War II. The private tenement house in Urban Kowloon and Hong Kong were far from adequate to house the migrants and new-born. Squatter houses at New Kowloon hill side has spreaded in uncontrolable ways. As a result, the resettlement housing scheme along New Kowloon was launched by the colonial government in 1954 after the fire in Shek Kip Mei squatter. This marked the beginning of Mass Housing construction and shaped the Brutopolis HK in the next few decades. Construction of social housing in HK Brutopolis adopt mass production strategy over the years, typology was developed and duplicated all around the vacant sites satellited from the evil deteriorated city centre. In each decades of rebuilding the post-war utopia, hundreds of building of the same typology was constructed, they equipped with same elevation design, same building components and highly similar planning. Pre-cast techques were used from 1960s. With highly functional expressed concrete structure, all these typology shaped a well ordered and clean brutopolis image of Hong Kong.
02 Light and Space and Order Population in Hong Kong has continued to rise rapidly in 1960s-1970s, resettlements estate in New Kowloon has been insufficient to ease the housing problem for new born and migrants. With Ten-Year Housing Program proposed by Maclehose, the Governor of Colonial Government , Second generation New Town was introduced at Shatin and Tuen Mun in New Territories in 1970s. The Second Generation New Town is built in Tabula Rasa approach in remote area. Lands are granted through purchase of farms and reclamation. These New Town are targeted to be self-sufficient functional city, with strictly enforcement Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) by Town Planning Board. It defines not only the Land Use, but also the development parameter including plot ratio and building height. Hence, proper buildings in proper density and be located in a proper site. Tai Hing Estate, consisted of Seven Califonia Blocks and One Slab Block, is an early housing estate in Tuen Mun New Town built between 1977-1980. It is built in the lot group R(A) under OZP, maximum domestic plot ratio was set to be 5.0, which is half of Hong Kong Island sites. Residential blocks are therefore reasonably seperated, allowing more light and air to penetrate.
03 Streets in the Air Avalibility of gentle flatland is very limited in Hong Kong, besides of reclaiming the new land at shores, developing mass housing in hilly site is the alternative solution to house the booming population. As a result, vertical connectivity between housings and social hubs matters. Rather than building more driveways for automobile and buses to carry residents up and down the hill site, Brutopolis Hong Kong attempted to built vertical PeopleMover, known as lift tower, and Streets in the Air, including footbridge and inserted circulation inside building blocks. Thereby, forming a continueous flow complex. Kwai Shing West Estate was a classic demonstration of housing 5200 families in the Brutopolis hilly site. Consisted of 10 slab blocks built between 19751977. These blocks was seperated located from hill side of Kwai Shing Wai at 30 mPD to the peak at 100mPD. Thanks to the construction of lift towers and the street in the air attaching to the high level of slab blocks, residents can move and connect to every points of the estate in barrier-free environment.
04 Industrial sector at Isolated Adjacent To a post-war Brutopolis, manufacturing industry has driven Hong Kong to its economic success. At town planning perspective, Brutopolis has to cater the industrial sector and the residential sector to achieve the self-contained community. Reduction of commuting time means freeing up the leasure time to the citizen for their enjoyment of the healthy air at our open ground. As a result, the industrial sector are clearly zoned next to the residential sector. Pollution is certainly a threat to the adjacent residential sector, but our clever planner has isolated the industrial compound by mean of visible belt like highway, river or greenbelt. With the efforts of controlling of emission by the Brutopolis government,the city is kept as glimmer clean as it should be. In addition, this also helped to mark a clear seperation between work and life which is psychological good to our citizens.
05 Green Intrusion Urban Greening is highly unwelcomed in Brutopolis, not only it do shade the healthy sunlight and block the great metropolis scenery, but also create safety risks to our citizens. As trees are less rigid than the concrete buildings, they are vulunable to typhoon attack and could easily fall down. Resident of Shek Kip Mei residential sector, you are spotted to plant at your balcony! It is an illegal act and please remove it immediately, or your residency will be terminated permenantly. The planners do noted that every four human need oxygen provided by a tree, and therefore, we clearly demartcated 40% of area in the Brutopolis territory to be country park area where trees are abundant. These area are seperated from the built sectors, and therefore, it is not necessary to green your dwelling places to get oxygen.
06 Code of maximum quantity To maintain the minimum hygien, health and safe of our citizens, the HK Brutopolis has introduced a set of detailed documented code in controlling the development. In the age where gas cooking is popular and mechanical ventilation is less advanced, every kitchens and bathrooms of our housings are required to be natural ventilated. At the maximum efficiency planning requirement, housing units are commonly seperated by a pocket naturally exposed to external air. Through improvement in mechanical ventilation and fire safety equipments, the requirement is no longer be effective since 2000s. As a result, plan in maximum efficiency (i.e. 90%+ Gross floor area are saleable) are established. Thereby, maximizing our citizens' productivities in a minimized essence of health and safe protection.
07 Resort at the residuals Every inches in the Brutopolis HK were consumed efficiently with highly defined function. In the Slab-blocks social housing estates, the residuals between blocks are filled with low-rised functional amenities such as markets and carparks. In turn out, the true residuals have lifted to the less accessible roofs of these low rised amenties. Here is the palace where residents can enjoy sunbathing that is free from the crowds. The space is loosely defined with functional objects. Only simple concrete pavilion are placed as sitting-out area, while the rest of the concrete surface are the last resorts in the Brutopolis which are free from tight survaillance.
08 The Transit Spider Mass transit system in HK Brutopolis is a profitable project due to the optimization of economy of scale. Every heavy railway station in HK Brutopolis is carefully planned with target of capturing Five Thousands near-by residents without the needs of interchanging with the secondary people movers. Inspite of the high density of district sectors, the nodes of the Mass transit are able to radiate Five-Hundreds Meters radius thanks to the help of the climatic free spider- underground or overground walkway system. Evoluted from the early pure walkways, they have been transformed into programmed linkage like retail facilities, and progressed into the City-within the station -Transit-Oriented Development, which contain with all-rounded urban function.
09 Desire for the yesterday's to-morrow Constructions of Infrastructure are highly scientific and economical in Brutopolis. They eracted at the precise timing and scaling to fit the commuting demand of citizens- neither being built too early which result in white-elephant nor built too late when congestion has diminished the production efficiency. For sectors with potential of population expansion, our city designers has cleverly reserve the green belts for future insertion of infrastructure. Railway terminus in the populated edge of Brutopolis has reserved structural foundation for future connection. As a result, it minimizes the disturbance to the peaceful life of citizens whenever construction works start at a developed site. Yet, since the city is planned and built perfect at once to accomondate to-morrow, the desire of extension is usually unnecessary.
10 Numbering the location We as the brutopolis are highly scientific in locating our place which is planned in logical order. Rather than giving name which has no relation to contextual history, we use a rational labelling system. In earlier years, we use A-Z , NESW system to locate the resettlement housing blocks in every residential sectors. However, in later ages, as larger resettlement quaters were built for housing tens of thousands inhabitants, the A-Z system was no longer sufficient to locate every blocks in the estates. For instance, in Tsz Wan Shan sectors in Kowloon, Sixty-six brutal slab blocks were built in 1960s! And all estate in the decade are located by the numbering system. Huge Arabic Number was printed on the concrete blocks. When you are at block 13, you will know block 14 is just adjacent. Map is therefore not necessary for our residents.
11 Precision on the production lines “If houses were built industrially, mass-produced like chassis, an aesthetic would be formed with surprising precision,� Le Corbusier (1923). Now his dream has come true in Hong Kong brutopolis, where building sites are always constrained by topography and surrounding densities. The Modular construction technology has been introduced by Housing Authority in 2000s, social housing units at typical layout were standardized as modules and mass produced in factories precisely. By these standardized module units, they can be organized in different layout to form a building with 10-30 modules at every floor, subject to site size and orientation factors. As a result, clean and homogenous-looking design with flexible layout's housing towers are built all around the territory which fit their best purpose of housing millions of citizens .
12 Identities to the mass production Yes, most of the social housing and public institution in HK Brutopolis has adopted Mass Production to keep the cityscape clean and tidy. But it does not mean the building blocks are homogeneous and boring. Instead, the builders here has developed series of variation to the flexible details for the typology. One featured identity is the concrete sunbreaker which was built in the stairways and lobby. They are concrete casted with rich variation of patterns which adopt amongs different housing quater. And as a result, it ventilated the circulation within the building and casted hounorable shadow in the evening.
13 Gravity-proof Structure To minimize the fiscal deflicit of Brutopolis government in post war reconstruction, the built structure are mostly bare concrete exposure, but this do not mean we do not consider the asethtic of the utilities. Thanks to our clever engineer, structures are precisely calculated and built with accurate safety tolorance. They treat every concrete structure as sulpture, expressing its slim proportion with the consideration of absulute safe. Large Cantilever design is not uncommon in Brutopolis, they are demonstrating the strength of concrete in against the gravity.
Vertical shading Central Post Office
Waffle Shading Knowles Building, HKU
14 Sub-Tropical Brutalism The criticism of Tabula Rasa approach of eracting universal-homogenous buildings in a Brutalist city is invalid. With the intention of maintaining good health of our citizen, climatic factors are taken into consideration to make the buildings work well in specific region. Situated in the Sub-tropical hot-humid climate, the facade treatment in HK Brutopolis has largely considered with the needs of shading. The shading has also developed into various strategies subject to orientation and context. From subdivision of facade in avoiding overlarge glazing, vertical shading in reflecting afternoon sun, to waffle grids projecting from building wall with angle sun reflector in combating the high summer sun, these tectonic operations have reduced the direct radiation to indoor enviornment. Thereby, reducing the operation cost of building services.
15 Dominating the ground A planned city means citizens' behaviors are well controlled. Hong Kong Brutopolis is well known as one of the safest cities with lowest crime rate. People are well monitored by the gesture of architectural designs. Small and projected framed opening, louvered opening are widely applied to demonstrate the message of being looked at anytime possible. The extrusion of the roofs in cap form are symbolising the builder and the authority have dominated over the ground individuals. By the survaillance atmosphere created by build form, less police force is required to maintain the city safe.
16 Space of no alternatives Being a scientific planned city, the provision of minimum life sustaining housing and utilities has avoid the existance of vagrant. In all residual space of the city, it is paved with concrete pebble in preventing anyone alternate the the space into any unauthorised purposes such as street-sleeping and gambling. Serve lane with no public connection purposes are blocked with various means. With these effots of planning and defensing, the infrastructures in Hong Kong brutopolis are the safest and cleanest amongs the world cities. Citizens can appreciate the pure beauty of the space beneath the concrete.
17 Permeability in density Considering the efficiency of transit, greening proportion and accesibility to amenities, some microdistricts in HK Brutopolis has built in higher density up to plot ratio of 10. In return, the concrete blocks are higher and fatter. To avoid any adverse impact to citizens 'health , it is required compensate a ventilation corridors to the district sectors by the blocks organization. A projected facade length at maximun 60m is controlled for tower blocks, unless it can be ventilated by its massing design. Permeability is the concept introduced to create two-third facade area as void to allow reasonably of prevailing wind to pass through, such that the countable projected facade length of the concrete blocks is reduced, and create a functional feature variation to the standard block design.
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18 Fillet the Floor Area The minimum width of the mean of escape in Hong Kong is 1050mm. Since floor area is highly valuable in the city, any turns in escape routes, which are considered as non-saleable, are filleted in matching the radius width of the escape routes exactly not more than 1050mm after finishing materials added. At stairs, the landings which turn the direction is commonly filleted or installed with service ducts as to reduce the countable Gross Floor Area, which is multiplied by the total storey of the escape stairhall. Such operation not only increase the usable floor area to the users, but also demonstrate the workmanships of concrete workers.
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19 Regularity of time in collective realm At the time when HK Brutopolis was focusing on its own labour intensive production, the workers' duties were much stable and controlable. Workers were sitting on the production line and repeat the standard procedures of making collectivly. They could expect what was going to happen, off ontime (even not, they were still paid for overtime working as per the addition quantities produced) . With efficient infrastructure, uniform urban plan and utilitarian built structures, workers can enjoy regularity of time with clear cut between work and leisure. However, as the society has progressed to service-oriented economy which produce only virtual products, the life of citizens has not been easier despite of higher salary. Therefore, individual wishes were arised which diverse the asthetic tastes of consumption, which make the collective desire become loose.
20 Built for all, Built to last? Unfortunatly, the collective dream of Hong Kong brutopolis has been marginallized. Despite the Brutopolis concept, which is effective in cost,time and mass organization, has housed its citizens properly and boost its economy to affluence condition, the citizens were just unthankful to their contribution. Ugly cladding, tiling has introduced to the beautiful raw concrete structure, as to express the wealth and individuality of the property owner. From 1980s-1990s, mosaic dado tile was widely applied to the new construction, yet such applications of material do not bring any asthetic quality and functional protection. Demolition to early Brutalist constructions are even a hazard to the Brutopolis. No matter publicly or privately owned, these beautiful concrete building aged only in range of 20-60 years have been drastically kick-out from the city. The existance of Collective Brutalist identity may become unnecessary in contempoary Hong Kong, but there is no doubt the spirit of these post-war modern constructions has still rooted a large part of Hong Kong urbanism today in an less visible way. The narrative ends here at Shek-Lei, the last resettlement quater exists in HK Brutopolis which is going to be demolished in 2022.
Printed and Published on October 2018 First Edition Published in Hong Kong SAR,China through issuu.com Photographed and edited by Fu Yat Him, Horta Email: hortabidac@yahoo.com.hk Tel: +852 6380 6222 46 pages All rights reserved