Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities International

We have participated in a competition to design the boundary crossing facilities between Hong Kong and Zhuhai

The Hong Kong Gateway represents the ‘Continuous and Ever growing’ prosperities between Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao; inspired by the cyclic and unifying nature of the mobius strip, emphasizing the economic and social dynamics within the Delta Region.

What serves better as the entrance of HK than an archway which re-animates the spirit and density of the metropolis? The scheme is a symbolic gesture that gives commuters a frozen moment in time and space to experience the intense dynamics of the city.

One of the key features of the HK gateway is that it challenges traditional format of traffic circulation, by morphing a horizontal layout into a vertical arrangement of highways to minimize spatial consumption, strengthening the directionality of the gateway complex. Creating an intrigue network of intertwining highway landscape that is functional yet elegantly displaced.

Operation facilities are broken down into a series of smaller scale buildings, forming a mountainous landscape clamping the intertwining highways three dimensionally. Such Built forms are expressed in a dynamic gesture that reinforces the design speed, encapsulates by a continuous wrapping skin of façade which echoes with the highway structures.

The Hong Kong Gateway aims to create a landmark not only for this present moment, but for generations to come,

Landfill volume has been significantly reduced with opportunities to create an ecological corridor along the linear site boundary that links up with adjacent habitats in Lantau Island.

Buildings designed to maximize the utilization of natural daylight and ventilation, reducing energy consumption and carbon emission through architectural intervention.

Improved highway circulation aims to stimulate a sustainable growth by maximizing efficiency and conveniences for commuters when travelling across the three cities.

INTRODUCTION
In an age marked by alienation between people and disintegration of communities, how shall we respond to commercialism’s inevitable intrusion into the traditional way of life?

Wanchai is a place with rich and extensive cultural and historical background. Through time, seemingly scattered neighbourhoods grew amidst common collective memories, developing a strong community bond and resulting in a unique sense of place. This is evident to those who visit Wanchai and more importantly, cherished dearly by the local residents. However, the Government’s recent blueprint proposals for redevelopment have been nonchalant to this and instead, yield to Estate Developer’s plans of rapid commercialisation. In what ways would the Government’s plan jeopardise the existence of the traditional Chinese interpersonal values, which are deep-rooted within Wanchai’s community? How is it possible to synthesize the new and old community values through Architecture ?

Based on the existing proposals, the livelihood of individual shop owners and hawkers are ruined and they will have to ‘relocate’. Low income residents will no longer be able to afford the new rents resulting in decades of community ties dissipating. Tenement buildings will be replaced and their facades, the streetscape that wraps the public spaces- the vessel for interaction between people and generator of the community life, will be gone and replaced by cold and aloof skyscrapers.

PROPOSITION
Through the preservation and enhancement of a place’s cultural values, it will create a more desirable and sustainable community and this, in the long term, will be beneficial to the society as a whole both socially and economically.

The aim for this exhibition is to demonstrate the cultural and commercial value of the conservation of Wanchai. We are working towards a strategy that offers an alternative vision contrary to various proposals of rapid commercialism that has no regard nor respect to local culture and traditional values.

OUR APPROACH- THREE DIFFERENT SCALES
The proposals have been initiated out of our own sentiments as individuals, but is also combined with research into different aspects of Wanchai at various scales. It is organized into thee parts. The Urban scale that studies and proposes developments for the complex network of transportation and urban fabric; the Block Scale that investigates the urban programme and land use functions; and the Building Scale that investigates the Tenement Building- one of the finest examples of indigenous multi-functional building types in HK.

GROUNDWORK TEAM Stephen Suen, Manfred Yuen

YEAR 2012

LOCATION Hong Kong

CLIENT Hong Kong Government

STAGE Competition