Mall City

Page 1


megaBox

times square

pacific place

sHun taK centre

HarBour city

elements

cHungKing mansions

argyle centre

parK central

langHam place


K11

loK fu plaza

citywalK

tHe lanDmarK

ifc

yan on BuilDing

tuen mun town plaza

cityplaza

new town plaza


contents

acKnowleDgments

ix

list of contriButors

x

introDuction

1

mall city: Hong Kong’s DreamworlDs of consumption Stefan Al

part 1 : essays 1. preDisposeD towarDs mall cities Barrie Shelton

23

2. a sHort History of Hong Kong malls anD towers David Grahame Shane

35

3. tHe rise of tall poDia anD Vertical malls Tung-Yiu Stan Lai

53

4. restructuring urBan space: tHe mall in mixeD-use DeVelopments Carolyn Cartier

65

5. mall cities in Hong Kong: cHungKing mansions Gordon Mathews

73

6. narrating tHe mall city Cecilia L. Chu

83

7. it maKes a Village Jonathan D. Solomon

93

part 2 : catalog tHe prescience of malls: a glimpse insiDe of Hong Kong’s unique “puBlic” spaces Adam Nowek

109

footprints

128

cross-sections

130

312 malls in Hong Kong

132

17 mall city case stuDies

134

f.a.r. (floor area ratio)

136

BlanK wall ratio

138


type 1: residential / commercial cHungKing mansions

144

type 2: mall / residential golDen sHopping centre tuen mun town plaza loK fu plaza citywalK

148 152 158 160

type 3 : Mall / Office sino centre argyle centre tHe lanDmarK sHun taK centre times square megaBox

166 170 176 182 188 194

type 4 : Hybrid HarBour city cityplaza pacific place ifc langHam place elements

200 206 210 216 222 228

creDits

234


Hong Kong / 5,606 singapore / 4,023 netHerlanDs / 253 malta / 231 Japan / 125 uniteD KingDom / 120 uniteD states / 76 luxemBourg / 75 sloVenia / 69 switzerlanD / 69

top 10 mall-densest countries (in m2 gross leasable mall area per km2 land area)


1

introDuction mall city: Hong Kong’s DreamworlDs of consumption stefan al

Hong Kong is a city of malls. with about one mall per square mile it is the world’s mall–densest place,1 only trailed by singapore, the other consumer–oriented city–state.2 this immense mall concentration is proof that retail lies at the core of Hong Kong’s urban economy, with most people employed in the retail and wholesale sector—about one in four people, compared to new york where the sector employs one in nine.3 shopping alone is seen as a valid reason for a visit to the city that for decades has enjoyed the reputation as “asia’s shopping paradise.” a place where all brands can be found and fakes can be avoided, Hong Kong has become the retail destination for china, the fastest growing consumer market on earth. global brands now see Hong Kong worthy of a flagship, where they are free of sales and import taxes, but have to cough up the world’s highest—priced retail space: in 2013, its high–end shopping malls rented for an average yearly $4,328 per square foot, twice as high as new york’s fifth avenue, four times more than paris’s or london’s upscale retail districts.4 Hong Kong is also a city of skyscrapers. the city ranks the world’s number one with 1,309 skyscrapers, almost twice as many as new york city, its closest competitor.5 Hong Kong’s skyscrapers are a representation of the world’s highest real estate prices, artificially kept up by the government’s monopoly on land from which it derives a large portion of its revenue, and pumped up by foreign real estate investors: take a short stroll in central Hong Kong and touts will flog you with flyers featuring for-sale apartments. skyscrapers are the raison d’être behind


looKing up

cityplaza

citywalK

pacific place

megaBox

loK fu plaza

ifc


CATALOG 113

parK central

sHun taK centre

ifc

at tHe atriums

new town plaza

granD century place

times square


4

Hybrid

3

mall / Office

marco polo Hong Kong Hotel arcaDe 1969

ocean centre 1977

gateway arcaDe 1999

type

ocean terminal 1966

1983

1982

2 cHungKing mansions P. 144

golDen sHopping centre P. 148

type

tHe lanDmarK P. 176

1980

1977

1969

1966

residential / commercial

argyle centre P. 170

sino centre P. 166

1961

1

cityplaza P. 206

HarBour city P. 200

type 1962

type

mall / residential


pHase 1 1988

ifc P. 216

pacific place P. 210

pHase 1 1998 megaBox P. 194

elements P. 228

times square P. 188

1999

1998

1994

1991

sHun taK centre P. 182

2007

2004

2003

1990

1989

1988

1986

citywalK P. 160

loK fu plaza P. 158

tuen mun town plaza P. 152

CATALOG 141

pHase 2 1991

pHase 2 2003

langHam place P. 222


worker—ms. ng I am Katniss, born in Mong Kok, and grew up here. Now I ork in an o fice inside Langham Place. Actually, I used to live in an apartment on the site before Langham was built, when I was a high school student. Now I come to Langham Place every day for work. It is really fantastic: new, fashionable, convenient, etc. It is easy to find in t e area. I remember that the development of this large complex in Mong Kok was not easy. We needed to consider where to move, and how much compensation we would get. Some of my neighbors moved to areas with lower house prices. The demolition of the buildings was a long story that took almost ten years. We protested, negotiated, and received compensation. Our family moved to a neighboring building and still lives there.

langHam Hotel

langHam place sHopping mall

office tower

When Langham Place finis ed constr ction it as not as bad as I thought. I can do everything in this place. There is shopping, eating, entertainment, etc. Sometimes I spend a whole afternoon here with my friends. We sit on the o rt oor ere t e e escalator starts, have a cup of coffee, and enjoy the sunshine penetrating the glass. Sometimes I run into neighbors who run a little business outside of Langham Place. They tell me that the o fice and otel ere brin s people to their shops. This place is more dynamic now.


CASE STUDIES / TYPE 4 225

granD atrium

to langHam place Hotel


langHam place office tower

o Office

Office 48% Hotel 8% retail 17%

13/f

12/f

ua cinema 11/f

ua cinema 10/f

ua cinema

Office Tower, 23rd Floor Flat size: 304 m2 Flat cost per month: 121,600 HKD Cost per m2: 400 HKD indo s per oor area: 82 Operable windows: 35%

9/f

ua cinema 8/f

7/f

Office Tower Flats per oor: 1 8 Flat size: 152–1,700 m2 Flat cost per month: 629,000– 731,000 HKD Cost per m2: 370–430 HKD

6/f

5/f

poDium leVel i.t 3/f seiBu 2/f seiBu 1/f ua cinema

H&m

g/f

Basement 1

Basement 2

Basement 3

Basement 4

Basement 5

t 59 oors tall t e rade o fice to er stands as t e definin landmark in t e eart of Mong Kok. Floor plans can be customized to meet the individual tenant’s needs. From within the mirrored glass facade, the tower offers panoramic views of Victoria Harbour and the whole Kowloon Peninsula.


CASE STUDIES / TYPE 4 227 a The 9-story glass atrium nderneat t e o fice to er maintains a light and airy appearance. It provides for all sorts of activities and restaurants, while linking the retail o fice to er and t e hotel. It is also the starting point of the “Xpresscalators,” a mega escalator that moves shoppers up over four levels in one shot.

a

m the mall

B A second set of “Xpresscalators” leads rom t e 8t oor p to t e 12t oor ere e Spiral is located, a continuous downward spiraling series of youth-oriented shops.

B

c a

c A stage on the sky terrace level hosts live performances and singers, attracting young adult crowds. D Happy Man, a 2,700 kg sculpture by the artist Larry Bell, enlivens Langham Place’s entrance.

D


capital of consumerism. Of all places, it has the densest and tallest concentration of malls, reaching tens of stories. Hong Kong’s malls are also the most visited, sandwiched between subways and skyscrapers. These mall complexes have become cities in and of themselves, accommodating tens of thousands of people who live, work, and play within a single structure. Mall City features Hong Kong as a unique rendering of an advanced consumer society. Retail space has come a long way since the nineteenth-century covered passages of Paris, which once awed the bourgeoisie with glass roofs and gaslights. It has morphed from the arcade to the department store, and from the mall into the “mall city,” where “expresscalators” crisscross mesmerizing atria. Highlighting the effects of this development in Hong Kong, this book raises questions about architecture, city planning, culture, and urban life. Stefan Al is an associate professor of urban design at the University of Pennsylvania.

“At the nexus of density, humidity, topography, and prosperity, Hong Kong has spawned more malls per square mile than any place on earth. This fantastic book decodes and graphically depicts an environment both apart and ubiquitous, a convulsive form of public space in a liquid territory where intensely contested politics, commerce, and sociability weirdly merge in a city like no other.” —Michael Sorkin, distinguished professor of architecture of the City University of New York “Hong Kong may be packed with the most shopping malls per square kilometer in the world, but Mall City is packed with the most drawings, information, and fascinating mall facts. The book dissects, categorizes, and displays all kinds of intriguing data on the city-state’s shopping complexes and culture. Its richly layered analysis perfectly matches Hong Kong’s multi-story machines for consumption.” —Clifford Pearson, director of USC American Academy in China “Stefan Al has again produced a book that provides a sharp lens on radically new urban forms that are emerging in China. While his previous books, Villages in the City and Factory Towns of South China introduced the site of production and housing for the migrant labor of the Pearl River Delta, here we enter the phantasmagoria of the enormous interconnected free-trade shopping zone of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Mall City dissects the basic unit of this climate-controlled consumer landscape—the mall. This beautifully illustrated book is a must-read for those who wish to understand the future of public space in high-density cities.” —Brian McGrath, professor of urban design and dean of constructed environments, Parsons School of Design

University of Hawai‘i Press Honolulu

Book Design Anthony Lam

Architecture / Urban Planning

Printed and bound in Hong Kong, China


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