A contemporary architectural interpretation of low-rise residential and mixed-use buildings in Old Wan Chai District, Hong Kong.
The regeneration of the Wan Chai Market vicinity promoted by the Urban Renewal Authority was aimed at the modernisation of the area and the replacement of old tenement houses with new high-rise residential towers.
The usual controversy and conflict of interest with local district community imposed challenges to such gentrification. The original master plan for the area is an attempt to demonstrate how to implement the project and yet preserve its narrow lanes, the perceptive urban street scale from a pedestrian point of view and more importantly the market community and its local economy.
Beyond the concerns of preservation, the study explores the potential qualities of the old urban fabric and negotiates a network of pedestrian lanes across the blocks. One that made it possible is, what is today, Lee Tung Avenue, with its 200 meter-long walkway and its sidewalk cafes, gourmet restaurants and fashion outlets.
