HONG KONG | Skyscraper Walls Development News

[hkskyline]

Background
Skyscraper walls are becoming a major concern in Hong Kong as developers built new supertall residential skyscrapers of at least 50 stories in redevelopment projects and new projects on reclaimed land. Many sit near the water, and are arranged in a wall-type fashion, prompting concerns from nearby residents that these large masses of buildings are blocking ventilation and increasing the heat island effect.

The objective of this thread is to track such skyscraper wall projects and how planning authorities are addressing concerns from such developments.

Heat Island Map (South China Morning Post)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/IMG_2316.jpg

Examples

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070702/IMG_6731.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070225/IMG_2022.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070804/IMG_9803.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070225/IMG_0056.jpg

Wall effect buildings are ruining the health of our citizens
28 June 2007
South China Morning Post

Private residential buildings with a screen wall design increase the pressure of life in this city, disrupt its harmony and put at risk cohesive relationships within communities.

Worst of all, they destroy the air-ventilation. This exacerbates the air pollution problems, for which Hong Kong is so famous throughout the world. Unfortunately, despite public concern, there is no sign of an improvement of these problems. This means Hong Kong people are being forced to exist in a suffocating environment.

As I have said, these buildings, once erected, hinder air circulation and promote what is called the "heat island effect". At night, the concrete walls release heat absorbed during the day, leading to hotter nights. More air-conditioning is needed to cope with these hot nights, which raises the ambient temperature and creates a vicious circle.

Our developers prefer to build blocks in long rectangular shapes so residents can have coastal views and this is what causes these huge screens that impede circulation. Most of our best-known property developers have been involved in these projects. Can they honestly claim that they bear no responsibility for what these buildings do?

Sadly, reclaimed land on Hoi Fai Road, the last "ventilation window' for Tai Kok Tsui, has been sold. New buildings will join One SilverSea, the Long Beach and Hampton Place, to form a 200-metre-wide wall screen. Investigations in the local old area reveal that 72.5 per cent of responding residents claimed that ventilation at home in the summer was getting worse, while 43.4 per cent said their families suffered more airway or pulmonary diseases. But the area will be completely blocked and the health of local residents will be badly affected.

Green Sense has made a submission to the Town Planning Board for the residential plot ratio to be cut and for a 10-metre-wide ventilation corridor to be maintained at the north of the lot.

If property developers focus only on profit and continue to construct these buildings which create the wall effect, this merely shows their lack of corporate responsibility and conscience.

I appeal to them to stop what they are doing.

Tam Hoi-pong, president of Green Sense.

[Rizzato]

those are some big, (and not good looking) walls. the first picture is really crazy, I dont know why they have to make the buildings so wide...

[EricIsHim]

those are some big, (and not good looking) walls. the first picture is really crazy, I dont know why they have to make the buildings so wide...

Those apartments that are facing the harbour cost significant higher than those don't. By making the buildings sit side by side along one frontage, it maximizes the number of units that can face the harbour for a better view. From the developers point of view, this is the way they can make the most profit from selling the flats.

And those old community sits behind the new highrise suffers the most, as well as the HK people.

BTW, a very good thread to start with, hk.

[MetroGuardian]

^This is not entirely true actually. Given that the same building would exist in separate blocks, then the left and right sides of each scraper (that now don't exist, but are the internals of the building), could have some view to the harbor, even with an angle. So, with a good configuration you could probably resolve this problem and decrease heat-island phenomena.

And the wall-scrapers are really ugly, because they don't repeat just in the vertical direction but in the horizontal as well.

[_00_deathscar]

^This is not entirely true actually. Given that the same building would exist in separate blocks, then the left and right sides of each scraper (that now don't exist, but are the internals of the building), could have some view to the harbor, even with an angle. So, with a good configuration you could probably resolve this problem and decrease heat-island phenomena.


Incorrect, because generally speaking the left and right sides of each building would either be the bedroom, or what is more likely, the bathroom/kitchen, hence not obstructing the view from those rooms (which wouldn't be seperate apartments themselves) at all.

I think that was what you were trying to say?

[gladisimo]

Space is expensive in HK, and developers see only money in their eyes.

I see a change coming, hopefully its not a reduction in height, but better tower designs in general.

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070225/IMG_0056.jpg

Hey my aunt lives in one of these towers!

[The Cebuano Exultor]

^^ I actually love Hong Kong's supertall apartment blocks or condominiums. They're, IMHO, the most aesthetically designed ones in Asia. I mean, they look more charming than those awful commie blocks of Seoul or Beijing.

[city_thing]

The skyscraper walls are one thing I seriously love about HK. I can understand a lot of people not liking them, but riding past on the airport express you see so many. It makes you understand just how crowded and developed Hong Kong really is.

I loved them :)

[hkskyline]

Planners demand wind corridorsat Oil Street development site
11 August 2007
South China Morning Post

The waterfront site of the former government supplies depot in Oil Street must have three wind corridors to avoid a wall effect and improve ventilation in the area, the Town Planning Board said yesterday.

The board's metro planning committee accepted the Planning Department's brief for the North Point site after considering its air-ventilation study report.

The report suggested three parallel wind corridors - along Oil Street, in the middle part of the site from Electric Road to the harbour front, and along the northeastern boundary of the site. The department also said tree planting should be considered along Oil Street to reduce strong onshore winds.

The committee's vice-chairman, Greg Wong Chak-yan, suggested allowing developers to build footbridges linking blocks at the site, which is permitted to have a maximum gross floor area of 70,200 square metres.

"It is not necessary to have footbridges on each floor, but perhaps on four to five floors," he said.

Chief town planner Phyllis Li Chi-miu said it was feasible to have footbridges.

"If the footbridges are high enough, they will not affect ventilation in the area," she said.

Eastern District Council vice-chairman Wong Kwok-hing said three wind corridors were enough but they should not be all in the same direction.

Dr Wong said it would be better for the Lands Department to stipulate the width of the wind corridors in the lease.

But committee member Maggie Chan Man-ki said setting width restrictions would make it less flexible for potential developers.

Lands Department assistant director James Merritt said the lease would neither show the wind corridors nor require an air-ventilation study.

But any master layout plan of the site that developers submit to the metro planning committee for approval must comply with the planning brief endorsed yesterday.

The height restrictions of the site are 100 metres for commercial buildings closest to the harbour and 120 metres for residential buildings on the landward side of the site.

[FM 2258]

I think the skyscraper walls look cool.

[Jim856796]

I'm sorry, but we can't demolish these skyscraper walls. Many of them are too young for the wrecking ball.

[hkskyline]

`Wall effect' voices turn up at auction
1 August 2007
Hong Kong Standard

Developers called on the government yesterday to clarify conditions of land sales before auctions and suggested the relevant authorities outline environmental principles applicable to sites being sold.

This comes in the wake of issues highlighted by environmental concern groups such as Greensense, which asked the Town Planning Board to trim the plot ratio from 8 to 9 at the Wong Tai Sin site auctioned yesterday. The plot ratio determines the number of apartments that can be built on the site. Greensense also sought height restrictions, air-ventilation assessments and demanded that a minimum distance of 15 meters between blocks be imposed.

``Buying land is like shopping _ it's better to make the details clear,'' said Augustine Wong Ho-ming, Henderson Land Development (0012) general manager of property development.

Greensense had demanded that the auction be delayed while its application was considered.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor rejected the idea, while promising to review requirements of land sales to add certain ``green conditions.'' Greensense, which had earlier demanded that another plot in Ho Man Tin be split to help avoid a ``wall effect,'' said government bodies are found wanting in planning.

Greensense president Roy Tam Hoi- bong said under the disposition and height clause, the Towning Planning Board has the power to impose restrictions, but it has not exercised the powers for more than a decade. The board's powers are also limited since the government appoints all members.

Tam said the group will continue to monitor sites on the sales list.

In response to community concerns about the ``wall effect'' created by buildings, Kerry Real Estate Agency executive director Chu Ip-pui said the developer has ``listened to the voices,'' and the site could accommodate four to five towers built at a ``very comfortable distance.'' The planned towers will not create a ``wall effect,'' he said.

But he rejected calls from green groups to lower the plot ratio. He said Kerry Properties (0683), which won the bidding for Wong Tai Sin site yesterday, ``will definitely use up'' the plot ratio of nine listed in the condition of sales.

Meanwhile, members of the League of Social Democrats led by maverick legislator Leung Kwok-hung protested in the auction hall before the sale began. They were later ejected. Auctioneer James Merritt from the Lands Department considered it a minor disturbance.

[Sentient Seas]

Hong Kong is incredibly dense... I like that aspect of it, though.

[Gummo]

nice

[hkskyline]

I'm sorry, but we can't demolish these skyscraper walls. Many of them are too young for the wrecking ball.

The focus is to prevent more skyscraper walls from popping up and blocking air flow. The existing buildings cannot be touched. The government doesn't own the land, and allowed the developers to build like that in the first place.

[Skybean]

Good thread. I'll post some more pics when I have time.

[xXFallenXx]

i love the walls also.

The skyscraper walls are one thing I seriously love about HK. I can understand a lot of people not liking them, but riding past on the airport express you see so many. It makes you understand just how crowded and developed Hong Kong really is.

I loved them :)


^^ exactly. its a great drive from the airport to the city. i drove through there at about 8:30 at night when they were celebrating the 10th anivercity and it was truely stunning.

[Jim856796]

The focus is to prevent more skyscraper walls from popping up and blocking air flow. The existing buildings cannot be touched. The government doesn't own the land, and allowed the developers to build like that in the first place.

We may save the skyscraper walls that are under construction (most importantly the ones that are nearing completion) and scrap some of the approved and/or proposed walls. (I don't know what we can do with the sites of those approved walls) There have been only six unbuilt skyscraper projects and none of them involve highrise walls.

[Moren-o]

So those Scyscraper walls don't only look horrible?
They are bad for your health as well.
There's another reason to stop building them than.

[Skybean]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/429024017_f660ad39ef_b.jpg

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1512/9011zz.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/80/271332528_4c86f31cc4_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/56/159891694_db7b3b254f_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/44/120662353_91a916a7a0_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/54/109158059_937b832dc9_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/60/196775467_16dee66dc1_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/114/257101641_6567b225af_o.jpg

[gladisimo]

They're actually secret military barricades in case invading armies try to land troops in HK :Lol:

[Krattle]

Frankly I'm amazed at the number of apartment towers and complexes in Hong Kong. There are only 7 million people there!

[_00_deathscar]

Yes, but probably about 6 million of those live in apartments such as that...?

[i_am_hydrogen]

Why do so many people adopt the high-rise lifestyle in HK? Are there any truly low-rise residential neighborhoods of any extent and significance?

[EricIsHim]

Why do so many people adopt the high-rise lifestyle in HK? Are there any truly low-rise residential neighborhoods of any extent and significance?

Basically, HKers have no choice but live in highrise. With the limited of land we have, even where people consider "suburb," like Tseung Kwan O, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tin Tsui Wai and so, are still full of highrise. And the buildings are getting higher than those older buildings closer to the CBD.

There are some multi-family houses in the villages in the New Territories and outlying islands. These are usually more expensive to live in then living in an apartment in the higher density area excluding the transportation cost due to the more remote location. People who live in those houses are more towards the more quite and less crowded living environment, but also affordable to do so.

Single-family houses do exist in HK, in area like the Mid-level, Southern District near Stanely, Fairview Garden in Yuen Long and a few more in HK.
But single-family houses in HK are extremely expensive, not everyone can afford to live in one.

Unlike many cities in the US, land value variation is not big enough so that buying a house is the same as an apartment. And it's even more expensive without sharing the cost.

A lot of HKers admire the life of living in their own family house with front and back yards like a lot of Americans do. But it just doesn't happen in HK.

[gladisimo]

There are also some "low-rise" neighborhoods, depending on your definition of low-rise. Many buildings do not have more than 10 stories, in older neighborhoods like Sham Shui Po, as well as upper middle class areas like Kowloon Tong.

There is one (afaik, maybe more) American like suburban development in the New Territories, called Fairview Park.

Kowloon Tong, along (I think) Waterloo Road:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1403/874153262_21fbc6bbd2_o.jpg

Sham Shui Po:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1381/988401222_7f692dcbdf.jpg

I know its hard to imagine, but that's considered VERY low rise in HK!

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong does offer affordable lowrises / village houses not far from the city centre. There are a number of them in Shatin already, which is a reasonable 45 minute commute. The outlying islands also have a lot of these lowrises, such as Cheung Chau and Lamma Island. However, for most people, the highrise is both home and office.

Many residents in the older low- to mid-rise neighborhoods such as To Kwa Wan and Sham Shui Po are very nervous of these new towering blocks being built so close to them. Unfortunately, some of these older residents are now face a concrete wall out their windows as these new skyscraper walls tend to sit on a multi-storey podium.

[_00_deathscar]

Why do so many people adopt the high-rise lifestyle in HK? Are there any truly low-rise residential neighborhoods of any extent and significance?

They cost far, far more money.

A house on the island is out of the question - an average house in Red Hill, Tai Tam (row of houses, and probably the cheapest as far as houses on the Island go) will set you back at least HK$25m (just over US$3m), but usually these go for greater than HK$40m. Again, this is one of the cheapest for houses.

There are single houses are available in areas like Sai Kung, but then you need a car (Hong Kong has an 80% tax on cars), and these houses are again not all that cheap, costing about as much as a good sized apartment on the Island (about HK$8m-HK$16m, US$1-2m)

[Vanaheim]

They should built something like that, and add highway on the roof :lol: :

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/GDANSK%2C_Falowiec_na_Obroncow_Wybrzeza.JPG/800px-GDANSK%

[_00_deathscar]

Shhh keept it quiet!

The inept Hong Kong Government may actually make that a serious proposal.

[hkskyline]

Naah .. it'll go up, not across. It takes up too much land to build horizontally. :)

[gladisimo]

With any luck, they'll extend the Eastern Island Corridor onto the west side with those apartments, except they'll be thirty stories tall, and run right across the water front, with the new Western Corridor on top.

[EricIsHim]

With any luck, they'll extend the Eastern Island Corridor onto the west side with those apartments, except they'll be thirty stories tall, and run right across the water front, with the new Western Corridor on top.

"Western Corridor" is already here and it's going under known as "Central-Wan Chai Bypass." The bypass connects with existing EIC in the east and Connaught Rd Overpass in the west with WCHT.

[Jim856796]

Shhh keept it quiet!

The inept Hong Kong Government may actually make that a serious proposal.

You better watch your language, boy. I hate that noise. :guns1:

[samsonyuen]

The walls are one of the things that make HK unique!

[Cliff]

Yes, these things are unique and nice, they are so appealing to the transitory visitor, though, ultimately, its the locals who suffer. The urban crisis that Hong Kong faces is one that is sadly very justified to occur.

Such buildings are indeed the most economically feasible way to store the people of the city efficiently and attractively. In my opinion, nothing can be done to curb this problem. Legislation may be the only way to minimize further damage.

[hkskyline]

It's the locals who were there before these buildings went up that suffer. The occupants in these brand new buildings enjoy uninterrupted views of the whole city, so they're enjoying it definitely.

Luckily, the people are expressing their concerns and the government is slowly taking action following a public outcry. Ventilation corridors were proposed for a new development on Hong Kong Island's north shore recently.

[_00_deathscar]

It's the locals who were there before these buildings went up that suffer.

Hardly - it's anyone who's out on the street.

[hkskyline]

Hardly - it's anyone who's out on the street.

During my walk in To Kwa Wan where two sets of these walls are located, the street life was still vibrant. The older neighborhoods still had street-level retail, and there was a lot of pedestrian activity. These buildings did not cast a shadow over the city below.

[_00_deathscar]

During my walk in To Kwa Wan where two sets of these walls are located, the street life was still vibrant. The older neighborhoods still had street-level retail, and there was a lot of pedestrian activity. These buildings did not cast a shadow over the city below.

Not a question of shadow, nor vibrancy.

Tis a question of heat developing because of lack of proper ventilation - hence why anyone out on the street suffers, but "locals" at home do not.

[hkskyline]

Not a question of shadow, nor vibrancy.

Tis a question of heat developing because of lack of proper ventilation - hence why anyone out on the street suffers, but "locals" at home do not.

The problem isn't as serious with one set of skyscraper walls since To Kwa Wan is open on the other 3 sides, so fresh air from the sea is able to blow in. Grand Waterfront is perpendicular to the water.

The problem is more in West Kowloon, where a wall stretching from Olympic and on and off to Nam Cheong across a series of estates is choking nearby residents in Tai Kok Tsui. However, much more research is needed to study wind patterns. In this case, the skyscraper wall stretches along the whole coastline, so fresh air from the sea won't be able to blow in from the west.

[hkskyline]

New bid to stop skyscrapers at Yuen Long station site
23 August 2007
South China Morning Post

Yuen Long residents are making a fresh attempt to block the erection of wall-like skyscrapers in a transitional area between the high-rise and low-rise areas of the new town. They say the buildings would "destroy the fung shui of indigenous residents".

Their application to rezone a 37,280 square metre site for "government institution and community" use will be heard by the Town Planning Board's rural and new town planning committee tomorrow. The site, which includes land near the Yuen Long station on the KCR's West Rail line and the adjacent public transport interchange, is designated for commercial and residential development.

The board has rejected an application to have the site declared open space.

In their application, 165 residents say that building skyscrapers would be "incompatible with the surrounding low-density traditional walled villages" and would "destroy the fung shui of indigenous residents".

The rezoning they seek would allow uses such as a public library, government office complex and recreational centre, history museum or multi-storey car park.

When it rejected the application to designate the site as open space in September, the board said the site was "at the prime location of a strategic transport node" and there was already adequate local open space for residents of Yuen Long New Town.

The Planning Department does not support the latest application because it says the site is suitable for high-density residential development and 12 hectares of land has already been reserved for the development of local government facilities.

Lau Shui-chi, the department's chief town planner for urban design and landscapes, acknowledges that high-rise development "will affect the gradual change of the existing residential development within the landscape character area".

The Town Planning Board will also discuss an application by environmental group Green Sense to reduce the maximum plot ratio of a site in Hoi Fai Road, West Kowloon. The group is proposing a limit on building heights to minimise the heat island effect created when high-rises block air flow, allowing a build-up of heat and pollutants that prevents warm air rising and being cooled.

[hkskyline]

Bid for wind corridor on waterfront site defeated
Hong Kong Standard
Saturday, August 25, 2007

The Town Planning Board has rejected an environmental group's bid to keep a 10-meter-wide wind corridor and to reduce the plot ratio on reclaimed waterfront land at Hoi Fai Road.

The core of the application lay in residents' concern with the area's ventillation.

High-rises ranging from 34 to 60 stories already line the southwest Kowloon waterfront. Building another high-rise at Hoi Fai Road would block sea wind from reaching the hinterland and aggravate air pollution in the area, applicant Green Sense argued.

Three private residential buildings surrounding the 11,353-square-meter site are between 112 and 177 meters in height.

The group, represented by town planning expert Stanley Ng Wing-fai, proposed a reduction of the maximum domestic plot ratio of the site from 6.5 to five.

It also pushed for a height limit of 30 meters and a 10-meter-wide wind corridor at the northern part of the site.

The site's current building height restriction is 140 meters.

A Planning Department spokeswoman said the current plot ratio was suitable for residential needs.

While some board members were concerned about air ventilation, they said the applicant had not produced adequate data to prove the necessity of a wind corridor.

However, the board recommended the Building Department should look into air ventilation before giving building plans the green light.

The application for amendments to the Hoi Fai Road site was submitted on June 4, before the land was auctioned to Sun Hung Kai Properties for HK$5.56 billion on June 12.

Before the auction, a judicial challenge against high-rise development on the waterfront site was defeated due to lack of supporting data. The Building Department will decide on the submitted plan to build eight residential blocks before the end of the month.

Out of the 131 comments received during the three-week public consultation period, the sole opposition to Green Sense's bid came from the landowner, Smart Globe, a branch company of Sun Hung Kai Properties.

Ng expressed disappointment at the decision, saying it showed the board was on the side of the developer.

He said for the sake of Hong Kong's future, there must be a revamp of the town planning system.

Green Sense president Roy Tam Hoi-pong was also disappointed but said at least the Building Department was told to consider air ventilation before approving the plan.

Real estate tycoon Li Ka-shing of Cheung Kong (Holdings) warned on Thursday that conservation campaigns and calls for limits on high-rises could hurt government revenue and, eventually, the people of Hong Kong.

[hkskyline]

'Wall effect' response a breath of fresh air
25 August 2007
South China Morning Post

The days are long past when the social good of development was rarely in question. Now environmental concerns and heritage conservation loom large. The government's pledge to seek a sensible balance implicitly acknowledges that the city must continue to develop to remain competitive.

Striking the right balance with the quality of life has become a pressing political issue. A way forward may be found, however, in the latest turn of events in a current environmental topic - the "wall" or "canyon" effect of developments that block air flow, contributing to localised pollution and increased temperatures.

In rejecting a green group's application for provision of a wind corridor in the Hoi Fai Road development site in West Kowloon, the Town Planning Board nonetheless acknowledged that the idea had merit, despite the Lands Department's objection to the loss of revenue through any reduction of the scale of the development.

Environmental campaigners may count that a significant victory. The law does not empower planning authorities to regulate development to avoid creating the wall effect, although the government applies air ventilation assessment tests to its own large developments. A similar test recently included in urban design guidelines is not binding on developers. The authorities can address the part tall buildings play in the wall effect through imposing height limits for other reasons on entire localities or on particular development sites, and the government is believed to have been working on developing this approach.

The Town Planning Board's response should encourage it to make ventilation assessment tests mandatory for residential developments.

This is not the first time the Lands Department has drawn attention to the potential loss of revenue if a proposal for a wind corridor is adopted. Given that the government owns all the land, the department is only doing its job in trying to ensure that the maximum return is extracted from it for the public coffers. But if that amounts to rejecting alternative views of how Hong Kong should be developed in the future on revenue grounds alone, it only serves to underline the need to strike the right balance. The Lands Department's priority of maximising revenue may be held partly to blame for the way Hong Kong has developed over the years and the pressure now to put the lessons of past mistakes into practice.

Making the city a better place to live and work does not have to mean impeding development.

The Town Planning Board has given the government the cue to adopt a more flexible approach.

Environmentalists may have a victory in the war on the wall effect after losing yesterday's battle, but they would be sensible to draw breath and weigh the merits of other views.

Asked this week if his companies would reduce investment in property development because of pressure from environmentalists, tycoon Li Ka-shing pointed out that land revenue belonged to everyone in Hong Kong and that conservation and environmental campaigns would affect them. He has a point, and it is another reason to find the right balance.

Mr Li added, however, that history would be the judge, which raises the question how history has already judged the spectacular development over the past 20 years or so, in terms of the cost to the harbour and public access to it and concerns about pollution, open space and the quality of life.

[hkskyline]

KCRC in plan to limit wall effect
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, August 27, 2007

Kowloon Canton Railway Corp has proposed to scale down the residential development on West Rail's Nam Cheong Station amid the community's increasing concern over wind-blocking high-rises.

Sources said KCRC has submitted five or six plans to the government - the railway's owner - for consideration, warning that future development on Nam Cheong Station will be subject to "a lot of pressure" unless the development scale - now already a hot issue among green activists - is lowered.

A source said it is beyond KCRC's power to decide if the prospective Nam Cheong development would be scaled down as it is the government which has the final say.

"But it will face a lot of pressure from society if nothing is changed," the source warned.

It is understood that a consultant of the KCRC has put forward five or six "improved" plans to reduce the scale of the residential projects such as permitting fewer tower blocks or stories following months of complaints from environmental groups over the potential "wall effect" of giant property developments along the West Rail.

KCRC has yet to open the Nam Cheong development to tender.

The government is understood to have reservations about KCRC's proposal.

The financial implication has emerged to be the biggest concern within the government's power center since the reduction may shed hundreds of "billions of dollars" in land premium to be paid by the winning developers.

Another source said the Development Bureau as well as the Transport and Housing Bureau do not have strong feelings about the proposed reduction and are willing to back amendment of the original project approved by the Town Planning Board.

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has voiced reservations for fears that the proposed reduction will inevitably affect public income.

The news came as local campaigners made a fresh attempt to limit the development which had been approved to build 10 high-rise residential towers atop Nam Cheong station, citing fears over a wall effect.

Sham Shui Po district councilor Tracy Lai Wai-lan said yesterday the number of floors of the 52-story towers to be erected should be reduced although the plan had been approved by the Town Planning Board in 2004.

The project as approved by the Town Planning Board would create a 300-meter-long wall along the Sham Shui Po seafront, blocking sunlight and sealing off West Kowloon's last ventilation possibility from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mei Foo.

"The number of buildings to be axed from the plan should be at least three, and the height of the proposed towers should also not be higher than those at Fu Cheong Estate which is located directly behind," Lai said.

"Changes are never too late. The government shouldn't carry out projects that damage the environment and the people's health as the long-term costs likely to be inflicted on our health system and the environment will be far higher than profits derived from land sales," Green Sense president Roy Tam Hoi-ping said.

Planner Kenneth To Lap-kee said the government's air ventilation evaluation practice, which studies a district's annual average wind direction, is flawed as Sham Shui Po has different wind directions in summer.

Last month, a Sham Shui Po resident filed an application with the High Court seeking to halt the construction of wall- like buildings at a site on Hoi Fai Road in West Kowloon.

But the judge rejected the application, saying it was the executive's responsibility to manage the environment.

[hkskyline]

Cutback at Hung Hom site after `wall' fears
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, August 31, 2007

The Planning Department is looking at lowering the plot ratio of a site in Hung Hom, causing uncertainty about its eventual land auction price.

The department put forward the proposal as it concluded the first phase of a study of the harborfront area of the district.

It suggested only two blocks of residential buildings instead of three should be erected on the Hung Hom Bay reclamation site as three would be "too dense for the locality."

The plot ratio is correspondingly lowered to six from nine, while the height limit remains at 120 meters, or about 40 stories, the board said.

The 80,406-square-foot site would be available for sale by February 2008.

The plot ratio reduction is in response to rising concern about a "wind curtain effect" which occurs when dense buildings block a district's air flow.

Analysts said if one block out of three on the land were banned, the site's price would be cut by a third, but it would not necessarily hurt its accommodation value, or price per square foot.

What might affect the site's value is if another comprehensive development area, on the waterfront next to the residential site, were allowed to provide commercial, retail and hotel spaces.

Surveyors were concerned about whether the development would block the water views of the residential site, thus affecting its worth.

"The 20-storey part of the area may block views of half of the [proposed residential] building, and this would quite seriously hamper the site's development value," said Midland Surveyors director Alvin Lam Tsz-pun.

Lam expects the residential site could fetch HK$7,000 per square foot. However, Centaline Surveyors managing director Victor Lai Kin-fai said transportation was a more influential factor on price.

He said the site would be a traffic center being close to the Cross Harbour Tunnel, KCRC and the proposed MTR extension.

He tipped the site could sell for up to HK$6,500 psf.

[Sexas]

lots of people agree in the future about 100 years from now, major cities like London and NYC will all have building 300 to 400 floors tall, and the low class will live at the bottom of the building with no view and dirty air, and the rich will live on the top will full view and clean air. Hong Kong just a model how the future living will be like when we reach 20 billion human on Earth

[hkskyline]

Tai Kok Tsui skyscraper wall

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070826/IMG_0356.jpg

[hkskyline]

Kowloon City / To Kwa Wan Walls (Grand Waterfront, etc.)

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070901/IMG_0626.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070901/IMG_0622.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070901/IMG_0620.jpg

[EricIsHim]

TVB Jade showed a news documentary on this topic last Saturday nite; you may be able to find the programme online if you are interested.

[_00_deathscar]

HKSkyline which cameras do you use?

Some of your pics are extremely bad quality, whereas some are decent...

[hkskyline]

It's all about timing of the day. Pictures taken around sunset under clouds don't come out well at all, as expected.

[_00_deathscar]

What camera do you use though?

[hkskyline]

Proposals for developing Yau Tong Bay thrown down
8 September 2007
Hong Kong Standard

The Town Planning Board has vetoed all three options for the HK$20 billion Yau Tong Bay development plan.

Board members questioned the proposed height of buildings on the waterfront, one of which was 200 meters.

The Planning Department criticized Henderson Land's (0012) calculation of plot ratios and gross floor areas, saying they included the proposed promenade and deviated from planning standards.

The three options all have a total plot ratio ranging from five to six, with the developer planning for 5,000 residential units, with one option containing 10 twin towers and two low-rise blocks for residential use with heights ranging from 48 meters to 188 meters and a 178-meter office building.

The second has no office building but 11 residential twin towers and two low-rises with heights ranging from 48 to 188 meters.

The third option has 14 150-meter twin towers with a 200-meter office block.

Although the department preferred the second option which has no office blocks, none of the three options garnered support from board members.

Board member Michael Lai Kam- chang said he has reservations about all three designs with buildings close to 200 meters compared with the tallest building on the Hung Hom waterfront, which is only about 75 meters tall.

Another member, Stanley Wong Yuen-fai, said the developer did not provide adequate information or models to justify such high-rises on the waterfront.

Even the Planning Department considered the gross floor areas of the three proposals excessive and unacceptable for the waterfront.

Town Planning Board chairman Raymond Young Lap-moon requested the Planning Department give Henderson planning parameters and meet the board again in about two months.

Augustine Wong Ho-ming, Henderson Land property development general manager, said the decision was disappointing, adding that the board should not focus solely on building heights.

Wong said the ruling that the promenade area be excluded from the plot ratio was unfair.

Victor Lai Kin-fai, managing director of Centaline Surveyors, said the board was bold to show its concern about air quality.

Lai said since concerned groups have raised the issue of the ``wall effect,'' the government can no longer drag its feet in tackling the problem.

What worried him was that lower height limits may raise building densities, which also would hinder air flow.

[henshin]

thats hot...real hot... well ithink this phenomenon happen worldwide. just it's happen to appear for hong kong...

[Ekumenopolis]

Weird. Never thought about that problem, and looks very expensive to fix. Who will pay it? Citizens, once again, i guess..?

[EricIsHim]

Weird. Never thought about that problem, and looks very expensive to fix. Who will pay it? Citizens, once again, i guess..?

Indeed it's a new problem to HK, too. There is really no feasible way to fix it now, but can only to prevent it getting more serious. These new buildings are newly built an nowhere near they can be brought down for another many decades. From now on is just how to avoid more and more of these walls to be built along the shoreline by restricting the building policy.

The cost is everyone will suffer from the environmental impact due to the wall effect in short and long term. And the developers will also be more restricted how much can they make out off from a piece of land with more restricted policies.

[Bori427]

http://static.flickr.com/44/120662353_91a916a7a0_b.jpg




Now that's pretty crazy!

[hkskyline]

Move to avoid `wall effect' wins praise
11 October 2007
Hong Kong Standard

Environmentalists yesterday hailed Donald Tsang's decision to forgo government revenue in favor of better ventilation. But they urged the government to ensure ventilation clauses were inserted into future tenders to ensure private developers complied with the requirement. In his policy speech, Tsang proposed the lowering of development density in some areas to avoid the ``wall effect'' with regard to ventilation.

This was especially the case for the above-station property developments schemes at West Rail Nam Cheong Station and Yuen Long Station.

He agreed such measures would lead to a reduction in public revenue.

``But I am convinced that it is well worth it for the better living environment that will be created for our people,'' Tsang said.

Green Sense external secretary Ivy Chow Hiu-yan described the move as a sign the government was willing to take a step toward change.

However, Tsang did not spell out details on the level of density, the height limit nor the space between buildings.

Since August last year, air ventilation requirements have been written into the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines.

While all government buildings will be required to follow these guidelines, private developers are not bound to follow them.

Chao said Green Sense expected that in the long term, planning details on how to avoid the wall effect would be written into tender conditions.

Hong Kong Institute of Architects board of local affairs chairman Wong Kam-sing praised the government's new direction.

He said three separate breathways were added to the North Point Oil Street project and the lowering of development density was already being seen in other areas.

Other than writing planning conditions into tenders, he said architects also hoped to use creativity to help solve the wall effect problem.

Leslie Lu, head of the architecture department of Hong Kong University, said architects and planners should come up with creative solutions to keep the urban breathing space open.

[hkskyline]

Greens' call for more estate space rejected
12 October 2007
South China Morning Post

The Planning Department yesterday rejected a green group's call for a minimum distance to be imposed between blocks in a Ho Man Tin development to mitigate the "wall effect" the buildings will create.

The department said there was no evidence to show that leaving 15 metres between the buildings at the Fat Kwong Street site - as Green Sense advocates - would lead to better air flow.

"Air ventilation and visual impact are subject to many variables, such as [the relationship between buildings planned for the site and others around it], prevailing winds and detailed design and disposition of buildings," the department wrote in a paper submitted to the Town Planning Board.

Today, the board will discuss Green Sense's application for the minimum distance to be imposed, along with another request that seeks reduced development density at a site in Chun Yan Street, Wong Tai Sin, which the department has also rejected.

Green Sense said its proposal for the Ho Man Tin site was aimed at preventing residential blocks being connected, since this could reduce air flow in the area. But the department said other parts of the site were zoned for open space, green belt and a low-rise sports centre, which would allow wind flow in the area.

The 16,151 square metre site is zoned for residential use. Green Sense estimates a developer could build eight 30-storey blocks on the site.

Roy Tam Hoi-pong, president of Green Sense, said it was no surprise its applications had been opposed.

[hkskyline]

Harbourfront tower 'may block air flow'
2 November 2007
South China Morning Post

A proposed 33-storey hotel tower near the Causeway Bay harbourfront is too high and may hinder air flow into the North Point area, the Planning Department said yesterday.

The Civil Engineering Development Department also objected to Wharf Estates Development's plan because the site had previously been suggested for the relocation of the floating Tin Hau Temple, a historical icon of the Causeway Bay typhoon shelter.

Wharf Estates Development, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Hong Kong Festival Fringe want to turn the 3,204-square-metre site, comprising A King Marine and adjoining government land, into a 129-metre-high hotel, gallery and studio theatre.

They said the plan satisfied the sustainability principles set out by the Harbourfront Enhancement Review to accommodate indoor leisure and entertainment activities.

"The proposal includes arts and cultural facilities for training classes, and small-scale performance and exhibitions, which are essential for long-term development of arts and culture of Hong Kong," they said in a paper submitted to the Town Planning Board yesterday.

The Planning Department argued the tower would be "visually dominating" and was against the urban design concept of descending building heights towards the harbour.

The site was said to be an important wind entrance to the inland area and the development might block this, it said.

But the Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing said he supported development of arts facilities by the private sector.

The Planning Department suggested the board defer the application pending a request to the Chief Executive in Council to sort out the zoning matter of the site.

The application is to be discussed in a Town Planning Board meeting today.

[hkskyline]

Planners had no grounds forlimiting tower height, judge rules
16 November 2007
South China Morning Post

http://www.mingpaonews.com/20071116/_16GA006_.jpg

http://www.mingpaonews.com/20071116/16ga501.gif

A judge has cleared the way for a controversial Mid-Levels development - nicknamed "the toothpick" by opponents - to proceed, ruling the Town Planning Appeal Board had wrongly taken traffic and visual considerations into account in blocking it.

Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung yesterday ordered the board to reverse its decision blocking the relaxation of height and plot ratio restrictions on a block of land abutting Castle Steps to make way for the development by a subsidiary of Swire Properties.

The government said it would study the judgment in detail before deciding whether to appeal.

The order, which could affect other sites zoned similarly, came after International Trader Limited (ITL) sought a judicial review of the board's decision. The company wants to build a 54-storey building on a parcel of land comprising the disputed block and several others on Seymour Road.

The board, by a majority of three to two, had continued to refuse ITL's application to remove the 12-storey limit on the site because of traffic and visual considerations.

Mr Justice Cheung found that under the original Mid-Levels West outline zoning plan, the block, which has no direct street frontage, had been zoned for unrestricted residential development but had subsequently had restrictions placed upon it because of concerns about access for fire services and refuse collection.

Looking through documents associated with the rezoning, which took place in 1995, Mr Justice Cheung found there was little to indicate that traffic issues were behind the decision to limit development on the site. Rather, it was the lack of street access that motivated the change.

That was borne out by a proper reading of the outline zoning plan and its supporting documents, he said.

The judge accepted ITL's argument that, if traffic considerations were not in play, the concerns about access no longer mattered once the site was included in a development that had direct street frontage.

"Traffic and visual considerations are not relevant planning considerations" in relation to applications for the relaxation of restrictions on such sites, the judge said.

A spokeswoman for Swire Properties said: "Now that the matter is resolved we will go ahead and build [the tower]."

Central and Western District Council member Chan Chit-kwai said the implications of the court's decision were huge. "The new development is going to create a wall effect and residents of the Mid-Levels will have to double their time for travelling to the city centre," he said.

Town Planning Board members said the case was a typical example of developers' use of judicial procedures to get round the board's decisions.

[hkskyline]

Developers accused of abusing law
Planners fear judicial reviews will mean more unsightly projects
16 November 2007
South China Morning Post

Members of the Town Planning Board fear developers will increasingly abuse the legal system by seeking judicial reviews to push through their projects.

They raised their concerns yesterday after the High Court gave the green light to a high-rise development in Mid-Levels.

The court also overturned a board decision earlier this month by asking the board to reconsider its decision and allow development on three conservation areas in Clear Water Bay. The ruling was given by the same judge, Andrew Cheung Kui-nung.

The residential development in Seymour Road and Castle Steps, proposed by Swire Properties, was repeatedly blocked by the Town Planning Board, Town Planning Appeal Board and Building Appeal Tribunal from 2003 to 2006. The reasons were based mainly on the visual and traffic impact generated by the development.

Before appealing to the High Court, the developer had obtained approval from the Buildings Department to build a 57-storey building and a 12-storey building on two of four sites involved in the development. The court's decision yesterday, relaxing a height limit, means a much wider 54-storey high rise can be built across the two sites.

Gregory Wong Chak-yan, a member of the Town Planning Board, said the court and the board had opposing views on the development because the judge's decision was based mainly on legal documents such as the outline zoning plan, while the board looked at social changes taking place in Mid-Levels.

"The term 'wall effect' only came up in Hong Kong a few years ago and traffic was not that congested in Mid-Levels," Dr Wong said, "Planning concerns and restrictions stated in the outline zoning plan have not caught up with reality."

Another board member, Ng Cho-nam, said the outline zoning plans should be reviewed as early as possible to prevent developers from escaping the board's decisions and resorting to judicial reviews.

"It has become a trend now," Dr Ng said, adding that the board had an obligation to maintain people's quality of life by considering the cumulative impact of developments.

Central and Western District Council member Chan Chit-kwai said traffic in the area was so bad that it took 20 minutes to commute from Seymour Road to Hollywood Road in peak hours. He said the huge development would be an eyesore.

Green Sense said it was disappointed by the judgment and claimed the development would block winds blowing over the north of Hong Kong Island.

A Mr Man, who has lived in Merry Court, along Castle Road, for 30 years, said the opening of the Sun Yat-sen Museum had already greatly increased traffic. He was worried that air quality would get worse.

Leung Kai-chiu, who owns a hair salon in the area, was worried that the serious traffic jams could damage his business.

More than half of Hong Kong's 108 outline zoning plans at present do not have planning parameters specifying heights, plot ratios and maximum gross floor areas. The Development Bureau said priority would be given to sites along the harbour in its reviews.

[hkskyline]

Swire wins fight over height limit at luxury project
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, November 16, 2007

Swire Properties - one of Hong Kong's largest property developers - has won a legal battle with the Town Planning Board over height restrictions imposed on a luxury residential project in the Mid-Levels.

The site is one of several located between Seymour Road and Castle Steps where the developer plans to build a high rise complex comprising blocks of 50 stories or more.

International Trader - a Swire subsidiary - launched a judicial review after the board twice refused its application to relax the site's plot ratio and height curbs from 12 to 50 stories.

The proposed complex - at the junction of Seymour Road, Castle Road and Castle Steps - would cover an area of 2,132 square meters.

But the board rejected the application, saying it would cause severe traffic congestion and visual problems in the area.

The company appealed against the decision last December, but this was also turned down by the board.

In his ruling yesterday, Court of First Instance Judge Andrew Cheung Kui- nang said Swire's argument about traffic and visual considerations was not relevant in the planning process.

He said it would be unfair to isolate a relatively small site since it is surrounded by commercial and residential buildings as tall as 40 stories and with no height restrictions.

The judge also pointed out the plot was originally zoned as residential zoning group A in 1986, although it was later rezoned as residential zoning group C in 1995, with limitations imposed.

The court was also told that at a meeting in 1996, the Planning Department had allowed the site to be redeveloped without vehicular access.

Cheung said the plot was special with its geographical features since there are many steps, making it impossible for any vehicle to gain direct access.

The judge also said the visual problem was not an important point in the dispute, and there had been no detailed discussions of the issue in court.

The TPB was also ordered to pay court costs.

Greg Wong Chak-yan, former chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said traffic in the area would definitely worsen if more cars were allowed to enter it.

However, he said he was not sure if air quality would be affected.

"Unfortunately, there's no air assessment for private property."

Ho Ka-po, project manager of environmental group Green Sense, expressed disappointment over the ruling, and urged the government to take the case to the Court of Final Appeal.

She warned that air quality in Sheung Wan and Central was likely to deteriorate as winds would be blocked from the south to the northern coast, and traffic congestion would worsen.

A government spokesman said the authorities will study the judgment thoroughly.

A spokesman for Swire Properties said the company will complete the project.

Tycoon Gordon Wu Ying-sheung of Hopewell Holdings also has had his proposed Mega Tower hotel complex in Wan Chai blocked by the planning board - for nearly two decades.

The board has repeatedly rejected Hopewell's project, saying it is too large and would damage the neighborhood's environment.

[Duopolis]

The walls are one of the things that make HK unique!

And also on of the things that make HK uglier. :bash:

[WANCH]

And also on of the things that make HK uglier. :bash:

Its 50/50. Some like it and some don't. I say that some areas especially Kai-Tak I wouldn't like the walls.

[hkskyline]

Midlevels itself is already quite crowded, so although this is a relatively small development, the overall effect would have impacted existing residents quite severely.

[hkskyline]

Ruling on tower puts spanner in the works
16 November 2007
South China Morning Post

A High Court victory yesterday by a subsidiary of Swire Properties concerned only a single site in Mid-Levels. However, it has troubling implications for residents in the district already plagued by overdevelopment, heavy traffic and the canyon effect of walled-in pollution and trapped heat. It also raises questions about how well the Town Planning Board can represent the wider public interest should developers choose to challenge it in court.

Private property rights must be respected. But the planning process must also work in a way which serves the wider public interest. In the judicial review launched by Swire's International Trader Ltd, Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung of the Court of First Instance ruled that the court must adhere to the original intentions of zoning and rezoning plans. This is a fundamental legal principle. The problem, however, is that many such plans date back years, as is the case with the Mid-Levels site. As a result, they may not reflect contemporary concerns about the wall effect, visual impact and quality of life.

These concerns must be taken into account when future rezoning applications are made. The Planning Department has the power, under the law, to impose height restrictions where necessary. An upcoming government review of outline zoning plans must also have such concerns very much in mind.

There may even be circumstances where the public interest is served by a developer not exercising its rights to fully develop a certain site. In such circumstances, a development transfer arrangement might be considered in order to ensure that legal rights are respected.

There is no question that Mid-Levels has become overbuilt and its roads saturated. These problems are likely to worsen as developers zero in on the district to build more luxury residences. This is especially so at the junction of Castle Road and Seymour Road, where Swire has applied to build a luxury, 50-plus-storey complex on two adjacent sites. The 2,100-plus-square-metre site is only one of more than half a dozen sites on the two narrow roads that have either been bought by developers or where negotiations for collective sale to them are under way.

The smaller of the two Swire sites has height restrictions and a limited plot ratio, which the company sought to lift. The board and its appeal system blocked this, citing the adverse traffic and visual impact that would result. Counsel for the board argued in the judicial review that planners must have had traffic and other "infrastructural concerns" in mind when they drafted the zoning and rezoning plans.

However, Mr Justice Cheung ruled these concerns were not reflected in the plans themselves. He also referred to the 1972 moratorium that sought to tackle traffic problems in Mid-Levels by capping population growth, saying it did not apply in this case.

Despite this victory, developers are still afraid that height restrictions might be imposed in the area. However, as the roads there have already reached capacity, it is not clear how they can handle more skyscrapers and a large influx of new residents.

Yesterday's court decision will, unless reversed, allow the development to proceed. We are likely to see more such appeals by developers emboldened to challenge the board's decisions.

Developers are entitled to exercise their rights. They should know, however, that it is not in their interests to make an area so crowded that people no longer find it attractive to live in.

[hkskyline]

Residents up in arms over ruling at Mid-Levels
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Residents and concerned groups yesterday urged the Town Planning Board to appeal against a court ruling which cleared the way for a developer to erect a 54-story building in western Mid- Levels.
More than 20 residents who live near the site at the junction of Seymour Road, Castle Road and Castle Steps, handed a petition containing 763 signatures urging swift action.

Aside from the building's possible wall-effect and the traffic congestion it would cause, the residents said the ruling would rob the board of its position as the gatekeeper of the city's future development.

Swire Properties last week won a judicial challenge against the Town Planning Board which twice turned down its application to change the site's current plot ratio and height limit from 12 to 50 stories.

Trader Yung Yeung-sing, who lives in Robinson Place next to the site, said the ruling would open a pandora's box and allow developers to build high rise buildings all over Hong Kong.

He said in addition to losing face, the board's power to restrict or reject applications had been severely curtailed.

Resident Elina Li May-nar said she was surprised the board's decision was overturned.

"The board had become a toothless tiger, even though it is a professional body set up to plan how land is used in Hong Kong," she said.

"This case suggests the board has become redundant since it cannot protect the land."

Green Sense project manager Gabrielle Ho Ka-po said the proposed complex, with more than 90 parking spaces, would only aggravate traffic congestion and further delay residents who now spend more than half an hour to get to Central.

Besides concerns of air ventilation, there is also the danger that emergency vehicles may have difficulty reaching buildings in the area, he said.

The residents said they will support the board should it appeal the decision otherwise they will directly approach the chief executive.

[hkskyline]

Vision City is actually a very nasty skyscraper wall across from Nina Tower. Here is a bit on how this project can still have green characteristics :

Sino finds straight up is way to go
The developer has come up with a way to grow and sustain a wall in its Vision City development in Tsuen Wan
16 November 2007
South China Morning Post

Lateral thinking helps solve many problems, but when the management team at Sino Group was puzzling over ways to create a more environmentally friendly ambience at Vision City in Tsuen Wan, they realised vertical thinking was the answer.

That led them to design, develop and install Hong Kong's first "living wall". It is a massive expanse of natural greenery stretching 90 metres around one side of the main outdoor atrium at second- and third-floor levels. It provides a striking visual feature covering 700 square metres and is a template for a new concept in urban architecture.

"The thought we had at the inception stage was that the courtyard could resemble a big park," said Raymond Chen, assistant general manager for projects at Sino Group. "The idea of the vertical greening system [VGS] came from that."

Subsequent research showed there was scope to create something that was not just aesthetically pleasing. The right design and choice of materials would also make it possible to reduce ambient temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius, provide noise insulation and create a natural air filter by using plants known to absorb pollutants.

Mr Chen said that the VGS had three main components: a rigid framework of galvanised steel attached to the exterior façade of the building; green panels, each measuring 30 by 120cm; and a grid of upward-angled "pots" to contain the growth medium and the plants.

The prefabricated panels were easily fixed to the framework, which made installation relatively straightforward.

They were also attached to the system's third main component - an automatic irrigation system that uses recycled water. This is controlled by a timer device and has humidity and rain sensors, regulating valves and distributors to ensure that the plants in each panel receive the right amount of water, depending on their known requirements and the prevailing weather conditions.

There are 1,090 green panels in use and about 10 per cent of these are "demountable" so it is possible to access and replace them from the floors of the car park, which they disguise. The remainder have to be maintained or changed using an extendable crane.

"We did a site mock-up for three months to test the plants and the panels," Mr Chen said. The results provided valuable information about everything from plant behaviour at varying levels of irrigation to how well water seeped through a soil sample.

He said to provide natural ventilation a system of vertical louvres covered about 30 per cent of the total VGS surface area. These were made from a wood composite material that was reusable and biodegradable.

The contrasting material and colours have been incorporated in the overall design, creating an effect that from a distance resembles the barcode label on products in the adjacent City Walk shopping mall.

Thomas Lau, Sino Group's assistant general manager for landscape architecture, said about HK$5 million had been invested in developing and installing the VGS. He emphasised that the key factors were to have a site with adequate natural light and good cross ventilation. It was also vital to choose plants which required minimum maintenance, so that the system could be self-sustaining.

He suggested that in aesthetic and functional terms the project would be seen as a milestone for "green" architecture in Hong Kong.

"It has been a very exciting project for our team," Mr Lau said. "We are doing something for the public and the environment."

He said the company already had plans to adapt the basic concept for use at other developments, provided the building structures in each case could take the dead load of the installation.

Further tests would be conducted into ways of using less soil or even none.

"We will analyse how much weight we can reduce and how high up we can go [and see] if the building can take the load," he said.

The company has applied for a patent covering the whole system, but not with a view to limiting the options of other contractors or developers. The aim is to document the design process while demonstrating to the construction industry and the public what could be done to advance environmental sustainability.

"We are happy to share the information and make sure they are doing it properly," Mr Lau said.

Mr Chen said that the ultimate objective was to promote the appropriate use of the VGS as an ecological alternative and a suitable design option for the urban environment.

[hkskyline]

Ever-hotter city prompts call for new air-flow policy
Greens seek ventilation assessments for new high-rises
2 January 2008
South China Morning Post

Green groups are demanding ventilation assessments on all major developments and new open-space requirements between buildings to tackle soaring urban temperatures.

Researchers at Polytechnic University have produced evidence that the density of Hong Kong's high-rise buildings is producing an "urban heat island effect", contributing to rising temperatures in the city.

They commissioned the first high-resolution, nighttime satellite images of Hong Kong last year, showing temperatures in urban areas were up to 7 degrees higher than those in rural areas. Summer nighttime temperatures exceeded 32 degrees Celsius in many areas.

Janet Nichol, joint leader of the project, said last year's annual average temperature of 23.7 degrees - the fifth hottest on record - could reflect the heat island effect as well as global warming because the figures were recorded in the city centre at Tsim Sha Tsui.

"And the evidence suggests that midday temperatures in the core areas such as Mong Kok and Whampoa would have been 2 to 3 degrees higher than those at the Observatory," she said.

Dr Nichol said long spells with the hot weather warning in force, such as the one seen last year, would become more common in coming decades as global temperatures continued to rise and were likely to be accompanied by more heat-related deaths.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen pledged in his October policy address to review the planning system in response to public concern that high-density developments were reducing air circulation and pushing up urban temperatures. The outline zoning plans of various districts are being reviewed and the government plans to revise the restrictions on plot ratio, building height and site coverage to lower development density, where it is deemed justified.

Existing regulations include a requirement that developers planning to build on sites of 2 or more hectares must obtain a study of the building's impact on air flow in the surrounding area known as a "ventilation assessment".

Roy Tam Hoi-pong , president of Green Sense, said: "We believe that the regulations requiring ventilation assessments for new buildings should be made mandatory for all sites of 0.5 hectares or larger. And every single building that is on the waterfront should have a mandatory air ventilation assessment in order to prevent a 'wall effect'."

Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, said: "Ventilation assessments should be mandatory for all new developments whether public or private. This is really vital if we are to alleviate the rising temperatures."

[wenders]

this is what I call "horror show"

[hkskyline]

Group wants MTR project to be reviewed
11 March 2008
South China Morning Post

A green group has demanded new restrictions be placed on the development of a Sha Tin site in a bid to curb possible "wall effects" created by high-rise buildings that block air flow.

Green Sense said yesterday that it would apply to the Town Planning Board this week for a review of the zoning of the MTR Corporation project atop the Che Kung Temple station. The site covers an area of about 18,000 square metres.

Thirteen developers submitted expressions of interest in the HK$6 billion project by deadline yesterday. The MTR Corp has plans to develop four residential blocks of up to 40 storeys on top of a two-storey podium, offering some 1,240 flats with an average size of 72.4 square metres.

Green Sense project manager Gabrielle Ho Ka-po said: "The present plan will see the future blocks lining up along Shing Mun River like a wall. It will block air flow and also block the views of people in the neighbouring lower-rise residential blocks."

Ms Ho said her group would ask the Town Planning Board to impose height limits of 110 metres, and cap the plot ratio at 4, instead of the existing 5. Plot ratio is the ratio of the gross floor area of buildings to the site area. A higher plot ratio means taller buildings are allowed.

Ms Ho also submitted her group's proposals yesterday to the MTR Corp.

Public concern about "wall effects" caused by high-density buildings has increased in recent years. Green groups claim it affects ventilation and leads to a rise in temperatures.

An MTR Corp spokesman said yesterday the corporation had noted Green Sense's proposals but added that the Che Kung Temple project had been endorsed by the Town Planning Board.

[Shezan]

..don' t really like this kinda architecture :ohno:

[timothy_tw]

who saids Hong Kong doesn't have low rise?
This is where i live - Fairview Park, Yuen Long, NT., Hong Kong SAR

http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0009.jpg
http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0010.jpg
http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0011.jpg
http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0013.jpg
http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0015.jpg
http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0020.jpg
http://www.flyufo.net/Timothy_Personal/PICT0022.jpg

[ZZ-II]

never seen such pics from HK :)

[timothy_tw]

never seen such pics from HK :)

coz this place is designed and developed by the Canadian.

[jpq21]

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20070702/IMG_6731.jpg

My dad lives in the one on the right. Its called Sky Tower. He lives on the 48th floor of tower 3, the one the farthest to the right facing Kai Tak. You could say that he's supporting the vertical greening system, because his balcony is packed with plants.

[gladisimo]

Two of my family friends used to have holiday homes in Fairview Park, then they realized they almost never used them and sold them.

Fairview Park is "Gum Sao Fa Yuen" right?

I must say, when I went there as a kid, it was quite exciting to see suburban style housing...

[EricIsHim]

Fairview Park is "Gum Sao Fa Yuen" right?


Yes.

[I-275westcoastfl]

Two of my family friends used to have holiday homes in Fairview Park, then they realized they almost never used them and sold them.

Fairview Park is "Gum Sao Fa Yuen" right?

I must say, when I went there as a kid, it was quite exciting to see suburban style housing...
Isn't that funny how in America its the opposite, we are excited to see big cities, not suburbs.

[zdaddy233]

Isn't that funny how in America its the opposite, we are excited to see big cities, not suburbs.

part of that is due to the vast population located in rural areas or smaller cities

[EricIsHim]

^^ You get the same "wow" effect for kids that grows up in New York City, especially those live in Manhattan. They think Fairfield County, Connecticut is a country side; and in fact that is the most developed urban area in the state.

[hkskyline]

High-rise freeze call in warm Kowloon
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A green group wants a freeze on skyscraper development in Tai Kok Tsui in west Kowloon to slow urban warming and to prevent the wind-blocking encirclement of its town center.

"It is a common complaint of local residents that the area's temperatures have been rising steadily over the past decade, while the only major changes have been the series of high-rises forming a ring around Tai Kok Tsui," said Greensense president Roy Tam Hoi- pong.

Tam's group, which is calling for the government to construct roof-top gardens on the district's low-rise apartment buildings, will meet the Buildings Department to call for a hold on tower developments in the area and the disclosure of further building plans in the neighborhood.

Tam said the old town center clustered near the intersection of Tai Kok Tsui Road and Fuk Tsun Street is being choked by a series of high-rises.

He said Park Avenue and Central Park are dominating the south, and One SilverSea, Harbour Green, Metro Harborview and the Urban Renewal Authority's Cherry Street and Bedford Street projects towering above the north and west.

The group is also calling for a halt to the construction of Sino Land's Hoi Ting Road project which will complete the circle and turn the district into "Kowloon's newest walled city," Tam said.

An application by concerned student Bernard Tang Fai-cheong to view Sino Land's construction plan at the Buildings Department was rejected.

A similar request to Sino Land was also turned down.

A May survey of 283 residents found nearly 67.5 percent thought the building's orientation would reduce airflow, and 31 percent thought the blocks were too high.

The survey also found 71.8 percent in support of full public consultation for future projects, and 71.4 percent thought the skyscrapers were responsible for reducing airflow.

[hkskyline]

MTRC escapes need for wall-effect study
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, June 26, 2008

The government yesterday stonewalled lawmakers calling for height restrictions on two high-rise hotel blocks and 20 residential towers along the Tsuen Wan waterfront.

Lawmakers were told the Mass Transit Railway Corp development, said to be 194 meters tall, will not be subject to a "wall effect" assessment because approval was given 10 years ago.

The Town Planning Board has approved the project at the Tsuen Wan West Station of the West Rail, but work has not yet started.

Lawmakers called for the government to force the MTRC to study the "wall effect" of the project, which they claim will hamper air flow in the area.

But the government refused to push the rail operator to carry out an environmental impact study because the project was passed long before new air quality guidelines were introduced in 2006.

The Democratic Party's Lee Wing-tat, who raised the issue in the Legislative Council, said the project is a repeat of the Hopewell Holdings' controversial Wan Chai mega tower development, which faced fierce opposition over its effect on air quality.

"There is a public consensus the buildings have a high wall effect. The MTRC is majority owned by the government, and while it wants to reduce the density along the harbor, then why is this not being done?" Lee asked.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the project could not be undone as there would be "consequential losses."

Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan said the aspirations and demands of the community for better air quality and the environment have changed in the past decade and the government needs to respond to them.

He called for town planning laws to be reviewed, so that projects approved before 2006 would need to face a second round of approval.

[hkskyline]

Greens renew attack on Tsuen Wan 'wall'
14 July 2008
South China Morning Post

An environmental group has criticised the government for not heeding its calls to reduce building densities at Tsuen Wan West's developments.

Green Sense said the quality of life for about 70,000 Tsuen Wan residents could be at stake if 22 residential buildings and hotels were built along the waterfront, creating a wall 1km long blocking airflow.

Group chairman Roy Tam Hoi-pong said the Town Planning Board had agreed to the master layout plan of the project near Tsuen Wan West station, which included 20 residential buildings and two hotels.

The group wants the authorities to scale down the development projects by nine tower blocks, a move that Mr Tam said would create an 80-metre corridor for ventilation.

While he could not estimate the decrease in value of the plots that would result from the reduction, he said the move would bring long-term benefits for people's well-being.

"I think the health of the citizens is more important. When the government has such a surplus, it is important to consider carefully projects that could bring permanent damage to the community," he said.

The group also plans to apply for the rezoning of a hotel project at Lot 393 Yeung Uk Road to open space. He said a high-rise hotel would add to the so-called wall effect created by the row of buildings being planned along the coast.

The group has opposed the construction of high-rises packed in rows, a style often used so that buildings share the best view, saying the long-time approach to the city's development would harm the city in the long run by pushing up temperatures and decreasing ventilation.

Mr Tam said the government had ignored the group's call for scaling down the Tsuen Wan West project while having agreed to reduce density in other railway property projects in Yuen Long and Nam Cheong.

He said it was necessary for the authorities to review the development plan, even though it had been approved by the Town Planning Board, because the plan was approved when the consequences of wall effects was not well known.

[hkskyline]

Group wants project's plot ratio reduced
29 July 2008
South China Morning Post

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080729/img/sn01072909_big.jpg

http://orientaldaily.on.cc/photo/20080729/new/0729nhko21b1.jpg

An environmental group is to file an application with the Planning Department demanding a reduction in the plot ratio of a development in Tsuen Wan West, in an effort to lower temperatures in the town centre.

A spokesman for Green Sense said Tsuen Wan suffered from the heat island effect, which meant temperatures in the town centre were higher than those near the sea. Cement in the town centre absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, leading to higher temperatures than elsewhere in the district.

In a study done on Sunday, Green Sense found the temperature in the town centre was 38 degrees Celsius, three to four degrees higher than areas near the sea. The group will apply to the department for the plot ratio of a proposed seven-building development in Tsuen Wan West to be reduced to three from five.

Plot ratio defines the total floor area of buildings allowed to be erected on a site. It is calculated by dividing net floor area by the net site area.

The Green Sense spokesman said the number of buildings would have to be cut to four if the plot ratio was lowered. "Tsuen Wan district residents' health and air quality are more important than developing these buildings, which would create a wall effect."

On Friday, the MTR Corporation sought expressions of interest for the proposed development of seven residential buildings, comprising 1,776 flats.

It is one of three sites the rail company plans to develop in the area. One of the other two sites is on top of Tsuen Wan West station, where 11 residential buildings are planned.

The MTR Corp inherited these sites from the merger with Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation.

[hkskyline]

Opinion : Lawmakers should help citizens in fight against 'wall-effect' buildings
14 September 2008
South China Morning Post

Many Hong Kong people are now standing up and opposing developments which block airflow and raise the temperatures in the areas where they live.

This makes me happy because they are finally taking responsibility for the protection of their own living area. Many who were indifferent about society have now abandoned that attitude.

What saddens me is that our government and politicians seem to be doing nothing about this problem.

You read reports about a new building project [known as a wall development] which will cut off breezes to the flats behind it.

However the powers-that-be seem happy to turn a blind eye to this problem.

The Hong Kong government seems happy to sell land on the waterfront to developers so they can construct these [wall-effect] buildings.

Rather than thinking about what effect these buildings will have on the residents who are already there, it is more concerned with the fortune it will make from the land sale.

I hope those lawmakers in the new Legislative Council will stick to any promises they made to voters regarding the environment during their election campaign.

They must make good on their promises in the Legco chamber. What Hong Kong people want is better living standards. We want our basic human rights given back to us.

Those lawmakers who have professional skills should put them to good use. If they have expertise in fields such as surveying and town planning, then they should be willing to give advice to these activists who are trying to curb the growth of the wall-effect buildings. Ordinary people who are just trying to ensure better neighbourhoods could do with a helping hand, to, for example, understand technical terms in town planning documents.

Those residents who are taking action against such environmentally-unfriendly projects are not asking for much. They just want to be able to get a breeze and some sunlight in their homes and to have more public open space in the areas where they live.

Karina Ng, Ap Lei Chau

[hkskyline]

Air flow study to be discussed
23 October 2008
South China Morning Post

The Town Planning Board will discuss tomorrow whether the MTR Corporation will have to conduct an air-ventilation study on a massive Tsuen Wan West development, which the Observatory suggests might block the prevailing winds blowing into the district from the sea.

The development calls for 20 residential towers and two hotels to be built along Tsuen Wan West Station. The environmental group Green Sense objects to the size of the project, arguing it will generate the "wall effect", blocking off air flow.

The proposed development is situated upwind, and Observatory data to be presented tomorrow shows the prevailing wind direction is mainly from the south to southeast, especially in summer. In the paper, the Observatory says it has no objection to Green Sense's application.

In July, Green Sense urged the board to review the plans. It asked the MTR Corp to lower the development density from 20 towers to 11 towers. In tomorrow's application Green Sense is proposing the number of towers behind Riviera Gardens be reduced from seven to four, a non-building area of about 1,700 square metres be designated northwest of the site, and a 20m wide non-building area be designated in the middle of the site.

Green Sense is also concerned about the urban "heat-island effect", which meant temperatures in the centre were higher than those near the sea. Cement absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, leading to higher temperatures.

The paper reveals the Planning Department does not support the application. The department says Green Sense failed to prove its suggestions would improve air ventilation and reduce the visual "footprint" in the area.

A spokesman for MTR Corp said it was not required to conduct an air ventilation study because its master layout plan was approved in September 2005, which was 10 months before the government brought in new rules on the issue.

The corporation, however, would consider adding sky gardens and more greenery to the development to increase air flow to the inner city, the spokesman said.

The Planning Department said it had conveyed the concerns of the public to the MTR Corp but stressed the board had no provision to revoke the planning permission.

Town Planning Board vice-chairman Greg Wong Chak-yan said the MTR Corp and the developer should take its own initiative to conduct the air ventilation study as a social responsibility.

"It would be unfair to significantly change the project's scale after the tendering exercise," he said. "But a responsible developer would ensure its design will not downgrade the environment of residents living behind the development."

[hkskyline]

荃灣西站 環團申降密度料不批
23 October 2008
香港經濟日報

長實（00001）投得的荃灣西站第七區用地，遭環保觸覺向城規會申請降低密度，港鐵（00066）隨即提出反對，並指會預留20米通風廊，而規劃署亦指該地應按原計劃發展，不支持該申請，恐本周五難於城規會過關。

港鐵反駁 城規指應按原計劃

規劃署表示，由於荃灣西站第七區用地規劃為「綜合發展區」，早年在評估該地的發展內容時，已設定限制，加上該地位處鐵路上蓋的交通黃金地段，應盡量利用土地以配合交通發展，同時又指環保觸覺沒有提供足夠理據，顯示該地若降低地積比率及減少幢數，可以對空氣流通帶來改善，故不支持該申請。

環保觸覺就荃灣西站第七區用地，向城規會申請更改用地之註釋，包括︰○地積比若由5倍減至3倍，使由原計劃的7座減至4座；擔在地皮的西北方設面積約1,700平方米的非建築帶，以確保眾安街的通風廊不會被遮擋；以及○在地皮約中間的位置設下20米闊的非建築帶，避免座與座之間距離太近。

有關申請於公眾諮詢期間，共接獲11份意見，其中港鐵以項目代理人身份，向城規會提出反對意見，並羅列理據逐點反駁，並透露項目內7幢大廈分成3組設計，將預留最多20米的通風及景觀廊，力證有關發展不會對同區屋苑造成通風或景觀的問題。

另華置（00127）就位於東半山肇輝台12號新輝大廈，早向城規會申請略為放寬高限，擬建12層高住宅（包括4層平台及地庫），提供24伙，惟規劃署指有關發展之高度較比鄰大廈高了一截，恐對景觀造成影響，故不支持該申請。

[hkskyline]

Residents out to topple tower
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, October 06, 2008

Fortress Hill residents-turned-activists have enlisted the support of the city's pro- democratic forces in a bid to stop the building of a 123-meter tower near the harborfront.

Candise Chan Yee-wah of the Coalition Against the Proposed Development on King Wah Road will set up a booth close to the site on Sunday to boost awareness and collect signatures against the development. Political muscle has also been enlisted in the shape of the Civic Party's Tanya Chan Shuk-chong and the Democratic Party's Kam Nai-wai who are expected to make an appearance.

Candise Chan said they had collected 600 signatures so far.

"Ordinary people have the right to be informed of developments around their neighborhoods, and I don't think we are getting that from the authorities whose responsibility it is to inform us," Chan said. "The harbor belongs to us."

The Henderson Land Development project, in a car parking lot at 14-30 King Wah Road, consists of a 30-story commercial complex, "with eating places, shops and services," according to the Town Planning Board's website.

Cheung Kong Holding's 165-meter Harbour Grand hotel is already a building-in- progress directly adjacent to the empty lot.

"We are worried about the `wall effect' that another skyscraper will contribute to the area," Chan said.

[gladisimo]

"Ordinary people have the right to be informed of developments around their neighborhoods, and I don't think we are getting that from the authorities whose responsibility it is to inform us," Chan said. "The harbor belongs to us."

"We are worried about the `wall effect' that another skyscraper will contribute to the area," Chan said.

This is totally ridiculous. First of all, the harbour belongs to all of HK, not just these people in Fortress Hill. I agree they have a right to be INFORMED, but not that they can do anything about it. The piece of land belongs to the government, not them, and they have no right to protest what the government does to that piece of land, as long as it is reasonable.

If that building has the potential to benefit more than harm, there's no basis for these residents' argument at all, and there's no argument whatsoever when it comes to the harbor argument.

And the hype about the wall effect is just becoming disgustingly out of proportions.

[hkskyline]

城規會接295人投訴 憂塞車空氣污染
太古地產建屏風樓被拒
01/11/2008
http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/img/endmarker.gif

【本報訊】政府提出修訂西半山分區計劃大綱圖，建議收緊多個地段的發展高度限制，包括太古地產仍與城巿規劃委員會進行法律訴訟的西摩道地皮；而太古地產提出反建議，高度上限不減反加，由政府建議的主水平基準二百一十五米，大幅增至二百七十三米，激發近三百居民及關注人士群起反對，炮轟太古地產的不合理建議會令附近一帶的屏風效應及交通擠塞問題加劇，損害公眾利益。城規會未有接納太古地產的反建議。

反建議放寬樓層限制
據現行規定，所有已獲批的發展圖則不受新修訂影響，但太古地產與城規會就西摩道地皮發展爭拗的官司仍未解決，一旦最終要改動在地皮建摩天屏風樓的圖則，將受新修訂規限，樓宇高度由五十多層減至三十層，太古地產因而提出反對，反要求城規會按其屏風樓的發展規模，放寬現有限制。

城規會公布太古地產的反建議後，接獲二百九十五份意見，反對太古地產的不合理要求，認為會引致附近交通擠塞、空氣污染、熱島效應等問題日趨嚴重。西半山關注組發言人李美娜指，一旦太古地產可成功建成屏風樓，會遮擋附近大廈，阻礙日光照射及空氣流通，居民難見藍天，令生活環境轉差。反屏風樓大聯盟六名成員亦在場外請願，要求城規會嚴守西半山樓宇高度及地積比率限制的重要關卡。

規劃署規劃專員區潔英表示，不支持太古地產的反建議，而城規會最終未有接納有關的反建議。

[hkskyline]

Opinion : Reluctance for air study in line with MTR's Orwellian vision
3 November 2008
South China Morning Post

It is distressing that the MTR is not showing the corporate social responsibility one would expect from an arm of our government which claims it is dedicated to sustainable development and whose chief executive placed resolving air pollution to the fore in his policy address.

I refer to the reluctance of the MTR to conduct an air ventilation study on its massive Tsuen Wan development. Of course we know why the MTR does not want this study. It will conclude that the wall of concrete to be erected on the Tsuen Wan waterfront will have a significantly negative impact on airflow and ventilation and an adverse impact on the health and well-being of residents with homes behind it.

Once again the usual excuses that we are weary of hearing are trotted out - comprehensive development area, master layout plans, approvals and planning permission granted in the dark ages and ventilation studies were not compulsory at the time. Well, in the year 2000 we still had blue skies; now we look out of our windows every day on to the grey pea soup that passes for air.

On October 23, ATV's Focus Asia: Business Leaders featured Chow Chung-kong, chief executive of the MTR Corporation. I hope that I was not the only viewer who was disturbed by his Orwellian vision for Hong Kong. He boasted that living in gated high-rise communities above train stations allows people to go back and forth to their work place, dine and shop in internal malls and never leave the "mother ship" of the MTR.

This concept completely ignores the benefits to a community of interaction among different classes, leaving one's comfort zone, exploring, feeling the sun on one's face, getting a little dirty and the myriad experiences that go towards the formation of a society that is both experienced and integrated. The MTR vision on the other hand promotes exclusion, division of the community on income levels, lack of initiative and an unhealthy lifestyle.

It is time the MTR revaluated its focus in line with the aspirations of its stakeholders, the Hong Kong public. Government officials must stop hiding behind lame excuses and put public interest first. The air ventilation assessment must go ahead.

Martin Brinkley, Ma Wan

[hkskyline]

A group of socially conscious architects are pooling their ideas at Dutch firm MVRDV to tackle the problem of urban density.
They even have some plans for Hong Kong
7 November 2008
South China Morning Post

ID-AFTERNOON IN Rotterdam, and I'm inside a former print works that has been converted into a laboratory of ideas. Soft autumn sunlight pours through large windows, casting long shadows over desks littered with blue Styrofoam models. One is a house that extends over the edge of a hill for 80 metres. Another is a 40-storey tower block designed as a vertical farm for 4,000 pigs. Each floor has a carpet of sod and all the power is generated from pig waste.

This is the Dutch headquarters of architectural firm MVRDV, where its staff of young visionaries are trying to save Holland, and the world.

"Many people hate cities but most human beings live in one," says Jacob van Rijs, one of MVRDV's three partners. "As architects we have a special responsibility to make living in cities and under dense circumstances not just habitable but preferable."

This statement has to ring bells with anyone in Hong Kong. We live with some of the highest population densities in the world. Yet most of the tower blocks that crowd Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Sheung Wan are brutal to look at and unpleasant to live in.

MVRDV believes Hong Kong can do better and its track record suggests it has the ideas to get the job done. When a Rotterdam couple wanted to extend their top-floor flat, MVRDV built them a rooftop village with three houses in the same shade of bright blue they use for their architectural models. The structure is a perfect example of MVRDV's belief that existing spaces must work harder if cities are to survive current rates of population growth. Density is a fact of life, the issue is how we deal with it and survive.

This is MVRDV's obsession and has been ever since the company was created by Winy Maas, van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries in 1991 (the trio's initials were used to create the company's name). When I met Maas and van Rijs in September they had just begun to develop a strategy for MVRDV's appearance at Hong Kong's Business of Design week, which takes place early next month. The working title for its presentation is Fantasies for Hong Kong and includes a plan to build what the maverick company calls a "flat skyscraper" with three tubular cities stretched from a single point in West Kowloon to three "landing points" between Sheung Wan and Central. The buildings would include mixed-income flats, parks and markets.

"It would be very different from the other high-rise buildings," says Maas. "It would give Hong Kong something special and would lead to an enormously symbolic connection between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon."

A look at MVRDV's past shows it's capable of getting its madcap ideas turned into steel and concrete. In Madrid, in 2004, it was asked to design a large apartment building for a housing estate already littered with inhuman, humourless slabs. The company designed a conventional rectangular building with a courtyard in the middle and then upended it on its side, so that the open space became a skypark with views of the Guadarrama Mountains. The building, called the Mirador, is a triumph and has become a tourist destination as well as a highly desirable place to live.

A new venture for MVRDV is the Logrono Montecorvo Eco City in the Spanish province of Rioja which includes 3,000 homes. This is a social project, to provide houses for Logrono's less wealthy citizens. The firm's design confines the houses to just 10 per cent of the site, its linear form allows the development to meander through the landscape provided by two hills on the site, giving every flat views towards the city. The energy required for the site is generated entirely by a combination of solar and wind power, giving the Eco City a neutral carbon footprint. By restricting the housing to just one-tenth of the site, MVRDV has been able to build an eco-park that provides recreation, beauty and unlimited energy.

"There is a tapestry of solar cells built into the mountain," says de Vries. "This covers the hills in a golden reflection of sunlight. On top of the two hills are windmills that generate energy and act as landmarks for the development, giving residents a sense of identity."

One fears that if Logrono were in Hong Kong a developer would seize the 90 per cent of land not used for housing and slap in tower blocks with small flats and tiny windows - he wouldn't be rushing to build an eco-park. The Harbour Place development in Hung Hom is a perfect example. Seven 36-storey towers with small windows, no balconies and featureless flats rise like concrete totem poles above a six-lane highway. Despite adding features such as a swimming pool and Duravit bathroom fixtures and Siemens kitchens the complex looks like a warehouse where people will be stacked like boxes. The complex maximises density at the expense of human scale. According to MVRDV such a strategy is doomed.

"Building something on a human scale is easy," says Maas. "An inhuman environment is not created by numbers but by political and economic choices. If there is the political and economic will to build on a human scale it can be done. It seems Hong Kong does not have the will to do that."

Politics and the human will are at the heart of MVRDV projects. In this sense they are not architects concerned with form, function and aesthetics, but more like anti-architects or no-brand architects, viewing the design of a building as a way to solve social problems.

The most extreme version of this guerilla approach to architecture is MVRDV's exercises in science fiction, designed to confront us with our own terrifying future. These research projects began as brainstorming sessions involving the three partners and their young team (which now numbers 57 architects). They evolved into mind-boggling documents like KM3:Excursions on Capacities, which warns that the Earth has only 25 per cent of the resources required to support the current rate of consumption and population growth. MVRDV's answer is to maximise the amount of land left available for agriculture while building ever upward, creating "a city in which ground-zero no longer exists, where the street is replaced by simultaneous distribution and division of routes and is expanded by elevators, ramps and escalators".

If this sounds like the Mid-Levels, then it's no accident, for MVRDV has often studied the way Hong Kong deals with the extremes of its ur