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