The Building of Hong Kong

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Copyright

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Contents

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pp. v-

Foreword

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pp. vii-

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Hong Kong Construction Association on its 70th Anniversary, On an occasion such as this it is fitting for the Association to have commissioned this review of the construction industry' s contribution to Hong Kong's prosperity since its earliest days. ...

Foreword

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pp. viii-

Where would Hong Kong be without construction A great city of trade, finance and industry has grown on the bare hillsides and in the reclaimed waters of the sea in a mere hundred and fifty years. Everywhere you look you see construction in progress and as I write I hear it! ...

Foreword

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pp. ix-

I wish to express my sincere congratulations to the Hong Kong Construction Association Limited on the occasion of celebrating their 70th anniversary. The HKCA has over the past 70 years made tremendous contributions towards the physical development of Hong Kong, particularly in improving construction techniques and standards as well as safety in the industry. ...

Foreword

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pp. x-

The remark that Hong Kong is one vast construction camp is not far from the truth. Over the past four years the construction industry had an uninterrupted growth of 19% annually and total construction expenditures have maintained a consistent level of between 8% and 10% of the gross domestic product. ...

Preface

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pp. xi-xii

When the Hong Kong Construction Association approached us to write a book for their 70th Anniversary which reviewed the construction industry's contribution to Hong Kong as we know it today, we were unsure of the project's feasibility. This was not because we had any doubts about the industry's contribution, that is there ...

Chapter One: Introduction

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pp. 1-12

Hong Kong, the city state, a modern day counterpart of Marco Polo's Venice, a city founded on trade. Small, densely populated, with few natural advantages except an ideal geographical location and an excellent harbour. A city which has rapidly passed through all the stages of economic industrialization and urbanization ...

Chapter Two: Evolution

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pp. 13-76

As long as 5000 years ago there were people living in Hong Kong, but looking at today's skyline it is difficult to imagine that buildings had been erected other than in the last few years. Nevertheless, some of the villages in the New Territories are thought to have been founded in the Sung period (A.D. 960-1279) and many ...

Chapter Three: Some Historic Projects

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pp. 77-120

... chapter looks in some detail at the issues and problems surrounding the construction of some famous historic projects in Hong Kong. Details of the contractor, of problems with material supplies and of the enormous effort required to erect some of our famous buildings in the days when tower cranes, excavators and ready-mixed concrete were not available, have been frequently lost ...

Chapter Four: Lu Pan

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pp. 121-132

... Chinese religion one of the main duties of the gods is to provide protection for their believers. To many trades and professions this protection may be in the form of good business but to other trades, such as construction, this protection may come in more tangible forms. Lu Pan is the guardian spirit of house building and is credited ...

Chapter Five: The Modern Era

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pp. 133-190

Which hotel does it refer to and when was it written? The hotel is the Excelsior and the year was 1970. Only 20 years ago but at that time there were hardly any "sizeable" hotels in Tsimshatsui! The incredible rate of expansion of Hong Kong can be imagined as can the enormous effort which has been put into its development by the construction industry. ...

Chapter Six: The Hong Kong Construction Association

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pp. 191-210

The Hong Kong Construction Association represents building and civil engineering contractors in Hong Kong and has done so for the past 70 years. Recently, in 1989, the original name of Building Contractors' Association (BCA) was changed to Hong Kong Construction Association (HKCA) primarily to remedy a misunderstanding which was prevalent that only building contractors were ...

Acknowledgement of Photographs and Documents

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pp. 211-