Building Hong Kong

Contents

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pp. v-vi

Foreword

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pp. vii-viii

The emphasis on environmental awareness in architectural design is crucial - now and for the new millennium. I am glad that on this issue there are so many participants from different areas, both in the private and in the public sectors, who are concerned with the environment. One sector sells the goods while the other wants to convince the public that it is doing the right thing!...

Preface

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pp. ix-x

Environmental concern is a global issue that is not confined by physical boundaries, let alone professional barriers. Such a concept is clearly confirmed by the publication of this book involving academics and practitioners from various fields of the built environment. With reference to the environment and the institutional framework for planning and pollution controls in Hong...

Contributors

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pp. xi-xiii

Introduction: Living With The Environment In An Urban Context

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pp. 1-14

Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution assumed nature's development through a process of natural selection, whereby stronger animals eat weaker animals and only the fittest could survive. A modern society like Hong Kong would agree to this principle as we witness people supplanting each other. There is keen competition all around. And the reward is materialistic wealth for a few...

Part A: Broad Issues On The Environment

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pp. 15-16

This part deals with the broad issues of the environment in relation to land use and sustainability in Hong Kong. It discusses the relationships between the environment and town planning, and between sustainability and urban design. It focuses on those issues relating to the strategies, uses and sustainability of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour....

1. Sustainability And Urban Design

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pp. 17-42

In a development sense, 'sustainability' is about maintaining and enhancing the quality of life while respecting the carrying capacity of the biosphere, the supporting ecosystem and resource base. At a more detailed and specific level, spatial planning and urban design need to be set within the urban and city...

2. Town Planning And The Environment: Role And Tools Of Private Consulting Planners

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pp. 43-59

Hong Kong is both a beneficiary and victim of its incessant development. Rapid economic growth brings with it significant improvement in material wealth that is enviable by many developing countries. However, our remarkable success also leaves noticeable traits of environmental damages (see Table 1)....

3. What Kind Of Harbour City Do We Want?

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pp. 61-79

For some time, there has been a growing ground swell of public concern about how our harbour city is changing character and, in the process, is increasingly portraying an erosion of its historical vibrancy and sense of place. In particular, there continues to be a never-ending game of ping-pong played between those for and those against harbour reclamations. There seems to be no clear way...

Part B: Environmental Design Strategies

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pp. 81-82

This part discusses how environmental design strategies are considered by designers and applied to actual architectural projects. For an insight into actual practice, architects from both private and public sectors have given their views on design strategies based on experience....

4. Building Into The Environment

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pp. 83-110

To ensure proper consideration is given to environmental improvements, the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) has introduced a systematic and measured approach through an environmental management system (EMS). The ArchSD has built on its previous ISO 9001 initiatives to obtain certification...

5. Use Of Technology To Assist Environmental Design: A Case Study Of Verbena Heights In Hong Kong

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pp. 111-122

The developer was the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), a quasi-governmental body providing subsidized housing on both a rental and sale basis. The gross site area was approximately 2.1 hectares of reclaimed land. The development brief entailed about 1 000 rental units and 2 000 flats-forsale, plus a spectrum of amenity and community facilities (including a car...

6. A Public Housing Experience

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pp. 123-133

The Hong Kong Housing Authority has been called one of the largest homemakers in the world. Over 870 000 housing flats have been built, a further 270 000 flats will be completed in the next five years, and we have our ambitious housing production targets to achieve. The major development and construction...

7. Passive Environmental Strategies For Architectural Design

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pp. 135-147

This chapter examines the human comfort criteria in relation to the climatic as well as the urban context of Hong Kong, and investigates how these criteria can be met by applying various passive environmental strategies for architectural design in the region....

Part C: Environmental Factors

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pp. 149-150

The chapter 'Design for Building Environmental Performance', by Daniel Wai-tin Chan, John Burnett and Phillip Jones, discusses building services systems relating to environmental factors. It provides a brief on sick building syndromes, and healthy building is explored in a new perspective. Energy effectiveness...

8. Design For Building Environmental Performance

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pp. 151-181

Almost every summer when we pass by the campus of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, we are amused by a slogan on the wall of the large staircase stack which says 'Between Eleven and Three, Slip Under a Tree'. Indeed, there is no place to hide from potential exposure in the city of today....

9. Noise And Design Of Buildings In Hong Kong

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pp. 183-213

Noise is becoming an increasingly important factor in the way it affects the lives of thousands of people. As a result, it is also becoming more permanently imprinted through the physical manifestations in the building fabric of whole cities and individual buildings alike. This creates a unique situation where...

10. An Investigation On Overall Thermal Transfer Value

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pp. 215-252

Control on the overall thermal transfer value (OTTV) is enforced by one of the Building Regulations for Energy Efficiency. The aim is to establish a comprehensive building energy code to control the total energy consumption in a building. OTTV measures the energy consumption of a building envelope...

Part D: Environmental Legislation

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pp. 253-255

The call for environmental protection is appealing to all. The problem lies in the implementation. In addition to business incentives and educational promotion, legal provisions are required to regulate and enforce environmental protection. This part considers the law related to environmental planning and...

11. Environmental Planning And Impact Assessment Of Major Development Projects In Hong Kong

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pp. 257-271

In the last few decades, the economic growth in Hong Kong has been phenomenal, turning the once relatively small fishing village into a modern metropolis, ranked as the tenth largest economy in the world. It has been facing the classic conflicts between development and the environment....

12. Impact Of Major Environmental Legislation On Property Development In Hong Kong

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pp. 273-295

In the last decade, Hong Kong has, in economic terms, grown to a status equivalent to developed countries. People's expectations for the quality of life have become higher. To support the growth, massive infrastructure construction and property development have been carried out or planned. Property...

13. Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance - An Introduction

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pp. 297-309

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Ordinance was enacted in early 1997 to provide for assessing the impact on the environment of certain project proposals, for the protection of the environment. The Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Process, which sets out the principles, procedures,...

14. Building Control To Enhance The Environment

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pp. 311-352

Le Corbusier (1927) advocated regulating lines in architecture to serve 'to make very beautiful things'. An orderly control is important, but now building regulations in Hong Kong as the prime legislative control have no such equal intent. Greenstreet (1996) investigated building codes in the United States and...

Index

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pp. 353-361