STEP3: DESIGN

STEP3: DESIGN

Along Aberdeen Street, the longitudinal section illustrates a transition from the low-rise tenement houses at mid-level to the high-rise commercial buildings towards Central. Both vehicular and pedestrian traffics are fighting for space, yet between buildings there are narrow in-between spaces for informal expressions of urban life, some traditional, some contemporary.

Hawkers, street-corner barbershops, informal settlements,… are composing the unique character of Hong Kong streets. To discover and reinvent this kind of vernacular architecture will request a critical eye from how spaces are ‘shared’, ‘borrowed’ and ‘occupied’ with the public domain, thus a room truly interacting with the city.

SITE ANALYSIS

Back-lanes, side-streets, leading from the main thoroughfare of Aberdeen Street are identified with specific characters, some narrow, some hidden. The project is to create an infill ‘room in the city’ at these passages to demonstrate how the idea of sharing transforming spaces will generate new opportunities for urban living.

My chosen alley is Wa On Lane. It acts as a connection between the street and the park at the end. There is a grocery store on the left and a flower shop on the right. People from Aberdeen street must pass by this alley to reach the park, but the alley was empty and boring.

SITE LIMITATIONS - USABLE SAPCE EXPLORATION

The design has to cope with the site constraits, avoid hindering the using of windows and doors along the alley. By experimenting the solid and void concept, usable space is explored by studying and measuring the buillt areas. The design does not exceed 3m to prevent blocking the view of the upper residential area.

FROM SHOP TO DESIGN

The shop facade from step1 is observed because I love how it connects and bring together the people inside and outside the shop. The frame of the shop front further inspires me to think what would happen if the openings are bigger? or smaller? What if the frames are layered? What kind of experience will it create?

CONCEPT

Through making collages and concept models, I explored the atmosphere and expereience I would like my design to have: a labyrinth and forest-like journey, in which the alley acts as a corridor between the street and the park. With the element of greens, the design can echoe both the park and the flower shop on the street