ng Kong.Probably the most intense experience when arriving at the wetlands s the sheer physical contrast between the vast greenness and open nature of the wetlands on one side and, do a 180-degree pivot, and bam! The equally vast wall of Tin Shui Wai New Town development. Tin Shui Wai itself has been surnamed town of sorrow, following a media hyped portrayal of a number of deaths and suicides that occurred in this isolated town. The New Towns were meant to relieve congestion of the downtown core, but as with many planners, details such as daily life and well being were neglected when the million dollar construction contracts were signed.
The Wetlands park center came only after many other steps had taken place. First of all, the wetlands existed before the park was created. They represented a key resting place following important migratory patterns in East Asia. The construction of Tin Shui Wai New Town quickly destroyed all that was there. The man-made wetlands that are in place now were part of an Ecological Mitigation Area to restore the destroyed Wetlands as well as act as a buffer between Tin Shui Wai New Town ad the adjoining Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar site and bird sanctuary. The Wetlands themselves are built upon a clay-based soil, creating a naturally waterproof sealant for the configuration of marshes and ponds. Indeed, at this precise location, there used to be old fishponds. After much research, over 35 aquatic plant species were selected for the marshes. Common food crops, such as water chestnuts, paddy rice and taro, have also been incorporated into the vegetation. The wetlands have been well received by the feathered creatures they were intent on welcoming, and it seems as though the giant skyscraping high rises are but merely avoidable obstacles in the quest for a nice spot to rest. The wetlands shelter a diversity of creatures, particularly in the endangered mangroves. To better enjoy these creatures, a series of walkways have been installed throughout the public access section of the park. Indeed, two thirds of the park are closed to the public in an attempt to preserve as much as possible of the delicate ecosystems. The architecture cannot be disconnected from the environment it is in, especially when dealing with landscape, architecture and green technology in the same project.
The 100-meter boardwalk that goes through the mangroves is actually designed to float on top of the water, and vacillate with the ebb and flow of the tide, causing minimum damage to the fragile ecosystem, while allowing visitors to appreciate the importance of conservation of these lands.
Walkways, footpaths, and railings are designed with recycled materials. The boundary fences use leftover timber from construction, crushed concrete is used as aggregate (About 15,000 tons of concrete was crushed at a recycling plant in Tuen Mun and brought in for use as base aggregates. The timber fenders from a ferry pier were also rescued, for use in the construction of one of the bird hides). Landscaping makes use of typical wetland species. The reed bed serves as an organic filtration system, visible to the public, and also efficient enough to clean the grey waters coming from the new town runoffs. The bird hides come equipped with solar energy systems and use double skinned timber louvers to minimize heat coming in, maximize light, all while creating a visual curtain and a sound barrier for the wildlife. Air circulates through strategically high placed windows, and in the satellite building located in the delta area, rainwater catchers are used to flush toilets and provide surplus pond water if necessary.
Bathrooms are often a great source of wasted energy. Here, the washrooms use low flush toilets and have a natural cooling and ventilation system using a raised glass roof
and upper and lower ventilation holes. Installed sensors detect when artificial lighting and mechanical ventilation are necessary. Compact fluorescent lights are also a bathroom feature as well as used outdoors .
The brick walls surrounding the building run east to west and mitigate solar gain to the building envelope. The bricks that were used come from the salvaging by the AMO of demolished buildings in the new Territories and southern China. Similarly, a granite paver band used recycled materials collected from the demolished boundary wall of the Hong Kong police headquarters in WanChai. In the picture above, the wall/fence on the right side is made of salvaged beams used in the original framing of the building. At the end, the thick white walls are made up of oyster shells from the local Lau Fau Shan oyster farming area, encased in mesh. Further towards the water' s edge, a similar style of wall has encased straw/ strawbales in iron framing.
The building is itself a low rise, semi-submerged below ground level construction, increasing its ability to self regulate its heating and, more importantly for those hot Hong Kong days, its cooling. Deep overhangs from the copper based roof also help reduce the quantity of direct sunlight while indirect sunlight through the glass facades allow for electricity-free natural lighting.Taking advantage of the vast expanse of land available, ArchSD experimented with a geothermal approach for the air-conditioning system, which had not been used in Hong Kong before. The earth was used as a heat sink by having 450 pipes of 32 mm diameter drilled to a depth of 50 m, thus doing away with the need for a plant room to dissipate heat. Given the environmentally sensitive nature of the site, a closed loop system was chosen. An additional pumping system was installed to pump water into the pipes to dissipate heat. The details of this feature extend beyond what most readers might be interested in, so if you want to know more, let me know, i wrote a (rudimentary) paper on it but i have yet to figure out how to append word or PDF files to my blog. if you happen to know how, please fill me in. there are so many interesting articles i would love to share with you.
The timber louvers, which are used around the building serve as light and heat deflectors at peak sun hours of the day, come from sustainable sources as well. To be as efficient as possible, the building itself has a limited number of openings to preserve inner regulate temperatures. As well, a double wall, similar to the use of the brick walls mentioned earlier, maximizes the thermal mass from the exposed outer walls.
The green roof, which is a prominent feature of this building, serves a multiplicity of functions. Its 400 mm layer of soil works as a thermal mass to help regulate the building’s inner temperature, it serves as a park for visitors to enjoy, it acts as an elevated platform for a panoramic view of the park, and finally, it makes the size of the building more subtle and blends into the local environment . The roofing ma
terial itself was originally intended to be aluminum. But aluminum is a very reflective metal and would also need to undergo a rather toxic paint job to render it a little “greener” so it could blend in to the landscape. Copper, with its matte finish and natural ability to turn green, was a perfect substitute. The skylight on the inner section of the roof, serves as the peak point, from which the surrounding green roof slopes off to either side to allow for effective drainage. The skylight itself is oriented towards the north, to avoid direct sunlight. The green slope also allows visitors to wander to the edge and gaze at the wetlands from above. the green covering of the building also minimizes the physical presence of the building in its environment.Entering the wetlands, I am suddenly overcome by a sense of calm. Whenever I feel that the city is too much, I feel an escape to an area with more plants than people is a must. Going down to the mangroves and staring at what appears to be a non descript stinky patch of slimy mud suddenly becomes alive with crabs and fish scurrying in rhythm. What appeared all beige and brown now shows patches of yellow and red. This area, particularly because of such serene architecture that isn’t so massive that it takes away from your escapism, or the little critters you’ve come to look at, reflects the possibility of combining contemporary architectural design with natural habitat. However, the habitat, or disappearance of, is an important issue as well. Some questions and controversy has risen from the construction of an artificial park where there used to be a real one. There is no doubt that such parks are essential to ecosystem preservation, especially in densely populated urban areas. However, the following begs reflection:
“The whole process and logic behind the park raise very pertinent questions for landscape architecture. A large piece of natural wetland was destroyed and a man-made wetland was recreated and facilities supplemented to attract visitors and better educate them to appreciate the natural environment. Does this mean recreating an artificial landscape, modeled on the one that was destroyed, in order to educate people on the need to appreciate and protect the original? Or does it offer proof that whatever natural environment we destroy, we are able to design and recreate another one anywhere else as we desire?” (von Leslie Chen)
Other building plans are following along the Wetlands footsteps. Once again, there are some major contrasts in terms of what is common sense environmental concepts. Recycling is still far from active in Hong Kong, however, the idea of flushing the toilet or taking a shower with crystal clean chemical filtered drinking water is absurd. give one, take one.
As Hong Kong continues to expand itself into more and more development of the New Territories, the major green space left, new lobbying organizations are fighting hard to preserve what is left.
There is an area called Sam Chung
Originally, Sham Chung was a small, functional indigenous village, with a school, a church and rice paddies. However, with the development of Hong Kong into a mega-city, there was a massive exodus to the city to find better opportunities. Developers seized upon this opportunity, in Sham Chung and other villages in similar semi-abandonment, and bought up the land for a bargain. The land however was zoned as agricultural but such zoning does not specify which type of farming, wet or dry, is allowed and either or is permitted. Thus, developers used irrigation and draining to dry up the land, without needing any approval. Thus, much of the unique ecosystems that thrived in wet farming land, such as the Paradise Fish among the paddies for example, was destroyed in the process. Thus, as wet farming became dry farming, this made it much easier for developers to apply for a rezoning permit. Since they first need to apply for an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) evaluation, the prior destruction of ecosystems also limits the likelihood that the findings will claim any unique environments, most unique ecosystems being quite fragile and subject to disappearance as a result of disturbance . In 1999, a project was begun to transform the area into an organic farming scheme. However, the large machinery and other approaches in re-creating the landscape was everything but vested in organic farming, let alone ecological, principals. Following the lack of success of the organic farm, a golf course was then built by Sun Hung Kai Properties. The modifications of the landscape include three man-made ponds and an artificial turf. However, controversy over the land use grew and finally, the golf course was “abandoned”. It seems however, that some folks are insisting on still using it, even though it is not officially upkept. The bottom line which the planning department has supported up until now is “no land for residential/ recreational pro-development use” .
There is something almost magical and surreal in coming across half decrepit buildings, being re-consumed by nature. Visions of fairies and mythical creatures come to mind. A need to preserve such authenticity of history is essential in avoiding the all-too-often apparent monolithic building style most remarkably visible in Hong Kong’s new town developments. Although preserving some of these buildings is important as future educational tools, it seems even more important to preserve the cycle of erosion which is taking place and let nature take it’s course. Documentation of the process can serve as just as strong a tool as refurbishing would. Here, a multi-faceted approach serves best.
There are certainly many unique features to see in these vernacular dwellings. For example, the date of erection of theses buildings is often inscribed into the façade, at the top, just below the center of the roof. It gives an interesting self guided history walk around the premises. The roof tiles are also noticeably old. The fabrication of the tiles themselves involves a labour
intensive intricate system which may or may not have been used for this building itself. Handmade roof tiles are more typical of rural vernacular buildings. The process goes like this: From a large rectangular block of clay, a wire cutting knife (kind of like a giant cheese knife) is used to cut lengthwise slabs of clay which are then molded around a wooden circular shape resembling a cone with the
pointed top cut off (or, for the 1980s and up reference, like a ringolo chip!). the clay is then smoothed out to remove any imperfection and create a perfect cylinder. The wooden mold is then taken apart and the clay piece is let to dry in the sand. Once dried, it is easily broken into 4 equal pieces (after all that work!) and then placed in a makeshift kiln. This only made 4 tiles!!!
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