Architrave 21

Blurred Space Mitch Clarke . Summer 2013 . Albertus Wang Hong Kong’s public transportation system has become one of the most developed networks in the world, with a usage by 90 percent of the urban population, allowing for simple transition from one division of the city to the next. This system then interweaves with the spatial condition that forms underneath and onto the public streets.

A notable example of this particular movement stitched into the street is the success of the Central Mid-Line escalator that not only increased the socioeconomic status of its location, but also became a catalyst for mixed commercial and cultural programs to occur along this artery, thus it creates one of Hong Kong’s important urban element. Ideally, the movement from the street into the building doesn’t become pinpointed, nor the movement inside-out be narrowed down. Instead, there again exists this “blur” where the public and private spatial conditions fuse together to create its own exceptional form. “The street itself does not develop into the axis of the movement, but almost becomes a void that is only penetrable at certain focal points (intersections, crosswalks, elevated paths, etc.). This particular scale of spatial movement holds a direct and indirect relationship with the street.”