STAYING GROUNDED RECONNE CTING TO THE G R OUND ON HONG KONG ISL A N D
Thesis by Jacqueline Heggli
Master of Landscape Architecture University of Melbourne 2020
STAYING GROUNDED R E CO N N E C T IN G TO T H E GRO U N D O N H O N G KO N G IS L A N D
Thesis by Jacqueline Heggli
Master of Landscape Architecture University of Melbourne 2020
Photo taken by Jillian Walliss
Thank you to Jimmy and my family for your unwavering support and confidence in me over the last three years and always. Thank you to Alex, Lindsay and Daeho for the thoughtful discussion about Hong Kong’s open space and Cantonese translation. Thank you to Jillian, for your wise guidance and a thought-provoking distraction during a difficult time for my beloved city. Thank you to Hong Kong, my home.
CONT E N TS T H E ISS U E C O M PE T IT IO N C R I TI Q UE W H AT D O E S ‘PU BLI C SPACE’ MEAN I N HO NG KO NG ? IN T E N S IT Y + GAPS I N ACTI V I T Y T H E GRO U N D A N ALYSI S W O N G N A I C H UNG R OAD A B RIE F H ISTO RY T H E PRO PO S E D WALK WA L K E X PLO RAT I O N D E S IGN ST RAT E GI ES/I NTER V ENTI O NS C E M E T E RY C E M E T E RY U N D ER PASS RE C RE AT IO N U N DER PASS RE C RE AT IO N GRO UNDS WA L K TO M T R RE F E RE N C E S
I ncreasingly prioritised for vehicles and development, Hong Kong Island’s experience of ‘ground’ is rapidly deteriorating. What little open space is available has become disjointed, detached and forgotten. Citizens are increasingly experiencing space encased underground through an extensive train network or above ground from building to building - a disconnect from topography and the external world.
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FA MI LY HOME
Beginning with a focus on walkability, this thesis explores how the reorientation and reconnection of space can reveal valuable areas of open space, an improved pedestrian experience and an awareness of ‘ground’. Spatial and experiential explorations revealed the lost potential of Happy Valley as a site of historical, social and ecological significance. Working with strategies of reconnection, wayfinding and exposure, this design offers a new connected pedestrian experience linking the Hong Kong Cemetery, the Happy Valley Recreation Grounds and the city.
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S I TE
H ONG KO N G IS L A N D
Through design interventions such as a new pedestrian underpass, wayfinding cues and the exposure of underlying geology, this project combines function and experience to expose the extraordinary history of the site to the people of Hong Kong.
Aerial Image of Hong Kong I Google Maps
THE ISSUE This project began when I was put in touch with a Hong Kong based NGO called Walk DVRC who are pushing for the pedestrianisation of a main road on Hong Kong Island. I didn’t question why Walk DVRC exists – increasingly prioritised for vehicles and development, it is well understood that Hong Kong’s ground experience is deteriorating. Citizens primarily experience their city encased underground through an extensive train network or above ground from building to building - disconnected from topography and the external world.
COMPETITION CRITIQUE In 2018, Walk DVRC held a design competition
I believe there are enough roads in Hong
to re-imagine the road as a more walkable,
Kong that focus on commercial interest and
pedestrian prioritised space, and while the
internationalisation - streets lined with one
competition attracted a number of visually
glistening luxury shop after another. I believed
impressive submissions from well-known
that an approach that considered Hong Kong’s
practices around the world, I couldn’t see Hong
unique identity could result in a space that was
Kong in any of them. the majority of designs
more successful for it’s people.
were either replacing open space with more architecture or creating what is essentially an
That identity already exists informally on Des
outdoor mall.
Voeux Road Central, which made me realise that there are other areas of Hong Kong Island in
The designs may allow for a slower pace with
much more urgent need of attention.
programmed entertainment, but that is what you can get at a shopping mall - of which there are many in Hong Kong. How should being outdoors differ? What can being outdoors offer them that’s different to the mall? I felt as if I could have been looking at designs for any Asian city.
COMPET IT IO N SC REEN SHO T S
WHAT DOES ‘PUBLIC S PACE’ MEAN IN HONG KONG? REASONS FOR EXISTING ‘PUBLIC ’ SPACE IN HONG KONG: COLONIAL GOVERNMENT: Westernised concepts of public space introduction of parks, gardens, squares. Hong Kong is a ‘borrowed place’ - less interest in Hong Kong people’s well-being, more interest in a stable economy + tourist destination.
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT: ‘Asia’s World City’: Getting rid of anything ‘third world’ (old buildings, streets, spaces) and replacing it with mega shopping malls and skyscrapers to fit the image of a world-class city in order to promote investment + tourism.
LEISURE AND CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT (GOVERNMENT): Easy Management & Public Safety: Not allowed to bring animals, ride a bicycle, roller-skate, fly kites, bring food to eat, run, walk on grass or lay on benches in most of these public spaces. So are these ‘formal’ spaces really for the people?
DEVELOPMENT BUREAU: Public Open Space in Private Development Intiative: open space in private development under private management where the general public are entitled to access, use and enjoy.
The first step was to conduct research into what I understood from a westernised education as the ‘public space’ in Hong Kong. What were some of the reasons for why the current spaces exist? Hong Kong has a number of official parks and gardens - a product of British colonisation. What I came to realise is that while Hong Kong might have spaces that look like western concepts of public space, how they are used is a different story. Due to sheer population density, these ‘official’ public spaces are well used, but activities that you would usually only see in public spaces in places like Australia or the UK has spilled out to less official spaces such as footpaths, alleys, subways, bridges etc. These are some of the most interesting moments in Hong Kong. In order to gain a better understanding of how Hong Kong people use space, it was neccessary to map by activity rather than public space.
‘PUBLIC ’ SPACE
PRIVATE SPACE
PARKS
FOOTPATHS
SQUARES
ALLEYS
PLAYGROUNDS
SUBWAYS
REST GARDENS
BRIDGES
SITTING OUT AREAS SPORTS GROUNDS PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS
SHOPPING MALLS
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING OUTDOOR ENTRANCE AREA COMMERCIAL BUILDING OUTDOOR ENTRANCE AREA PIERS
RESIDENTIAL OFFICES RETAIL
INTENSIT Y + GAPS IN ACTIVIT Y
To gain a better understanding of Hong Kong Island’s ground experience and where there might be gaps in that experience, I decided to document the different types of activity found along the historically significant tram route that stretches from one end of the island to another, running through several different neighbourhoods. This mapping exercise allowed me to identify areas where a variety of different activities were taking place, as well as areas with little to no activity. It then became necessary to analyse these areas in Google Maps Street View in order to speculate how these spaces function at ground level and what the reasons were for their lack of activity in such a dense urban area where open space is so valuable?
ON THE GROUND ANALYSIS
WONG NAI CHUNG ROAD Spatial and experiential explorations of Wong Nai Chung Road revealed the lost potential of Happy Valley as a site of historical, social and ecological significance. In main part due to a severed connection caused by vehicular infrastructure and development.
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A BRIEF HISTORY Wong Nai Chung Road is part of a geographic
A swampy marshland used to grow rice when the
gap through the middle of the Island. The literal
British Army set up camp here during the first
translation of Wong Nai Chung is ‘gorge that
Opium War, the mosquito-ridden swampland
yellow mud is gushing out of’ which provides
soon spread malaria, killing many in the army.
clues as to what could have been found here prior
The camp soon closed, left as the city’s first
to development. This is evidenced by the layers
cemetery. China ceded Hong Kong to the British
of alluvium soil found on site - deposits left by
in 1841, and the valley was drained to build a
flowing floodwater.
racecourse for British expats.
Des Veoux Road Central in the early 1900s
Early 1800s
1839
1840
British soliders die of malaria and get buried on site. A common euphemism in Britain for cemeteries, they name the area ‘Happy Valley’.
Wong Nai Chung Village prior to British Colonisation.
British soliders in Hong Kong
1841
Swampy marshland drained to build racecourse for British expats
1930s
Locals start getting involved in horse racing
2000
British soliders in Hong Kong
THE PROPOSED WALK Working with strategies of reconnection, wayfinding and exposure, this project offers a new connected pedestrian experience linking the Hong Kong Cemetery, Happy Valley Recreation Grounds and the city.
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WALK EXPLORATION
CEMETERY Running along the ground on the edge of the
Also inscribed are directional markers to help
pathways, you can find subtle historical and
you navigate the space - the north arrow and
ecological indicators inscribed into the galvanised
elevation information help guide you while
iron - a durable material that is ubiquitous with
encouraging you to engage with your orientation
the city and can be found everywhere from
and elevation.
letterboxes to open air food stall structures.
CEMETERY UNDERPASS Prior to this project, it was extremely difficult and unpleasant to access the road from the cemetery and vice versa. This continuous solid wall blocked visibility and access. Removing the wall allowed us to reclaim leftover space from within the cemetery and provide more space for the
pedestrian path as well as introduce access between the cemetery and the road. Still next to a busy road and flyover, this has been designed as a transitional space and entry point into the pedestrian underpass. As you walk down into the underpass, the walls reflect the layers of geology found on this site - as if a cut has been made into the earth. The pedestrian underpass will take you underneath Wong Nai Chung Road and the Happy Valley Racecourse into the Recreation Grounds found in the middle. A new Environmental History Museum is proposed for alongside the underpass – the first of it’s kind in Hong Kong.
RECREATION UNDERPASS As you exit the pedestrian underpass, you’ll come
retaining walls for plant life. The gradual design
out into a space where you can continue moving
of the steps has been designed to maximise the
through quickly if you wish, or stop and rest for
space for plant life and for the community. The
a moment in the seating that doubles as
recreation grounds has huge potential to
act as a multi-functional community hub like other sports grounds on Hong Kong Island, but until now it hasn’t had the access or space to do so. The display of underlying geology continues from the underpass, accompanied by a variety of tree and plant species found to be thriving at the bottom of the cemetery where the conditions are similar.
RECREATION GROUNDS At the top of this space looking back, you are
A former car park, the size of the space is rare in
able to get a great view of the horse racing track
Hong Kong and would be wasted as a car park.
that circles the recreation grounds – this track is
The size allows for a unique view of the soaring
the reason that an open space this large still exists
buildings that surround it.
on Hong Kong Island.
WALK TO MTR Interventions to the existing paving reveal the
is made from artificially imported material - but
location of the original coastline of Hong Kong
instead of cement and earth, construction and
Island before land reclamation, as well as the
demolition waste is used of which there is an
subsequent reclamation projects that followed.
endless supply in Hong Kong.
Like reclaimed land itself, the introduced paving
The aim of these subtle interventions is to make people aware of just how much of the land that they use day to day has been taken from the sea – because it’s a shocking amount. Reclaimed land accommodates about 27 per cent of the city’s population, and as much as 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s commercial activities. With more reclamation projects on the horizon, these revelations only support the value and importance of making the most of the spaces we already have.
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