Delving into the captivating 100 year history of Causeway Bay and the iconic Lee Gardens area, this community tour was almost a step back in time uncovering the fascinating stories hidden within.
The tour led by Hysan Development, included local RIBA architects, architecture students and families, to access Hysan’s newest commercial developments, as well as participating in a hands on sustainable workshop.
The tour commenced with a brief introduction by Hysan's tour guide and a few words by Mandi Tong, RIBA Hong Kong Chapter's coordinator for this event. The location spots were specifically chosen towards an architectural audience in conjunction with RIBA. The day proved to be a great success of visuals and learning of both historical and new architecture in the local region.
Tour Highlights Part 1: Commercial architecture and history
The tour’s first stop was the bustling Hysan Place itself, the city's very first green shopping complex. A 40 storey retail and commercial development that opened in 2012 and was originally designed by architecture firm Kohn Pederson Fox Associates. The area was further developed by Hysan Development since the 1920's and boasts office skyscrapers, glossy shopping malls and historic tenement buildings from the 1950's, scattered through out the area.
Here, the group gained architectural insights at the shopping mall's spatial design and impressive sustainable design principles. Hysan Place was notably the first building in Hong Kong to receive pre certification for the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating - Platinum for a green building framework.
The building also boasts an urban rooftop farm, aptly named Hysan Farmland, covering an area of approximately 5,000 square feet. A variety of organic vegetables and herbs are planted allowing locals the opportunity to grow their own fresh produce and experience sustainable farming in a compact city. The fresh food is sold at the local market, serving the communities needs for organic and low carbon foot print produce.
Navigating onwards towards Lee Gardens area, the tour highlighted the blend of old and new structures, from towering skyscrapers to heritage low rise tenement buildings. Lee Gardens is a commercial area located in Causeway Bay, and one of the busiest districts in Hong Kong.
Tour Highlights Part 2: Culture, community and art
The tour continued with visits to:
- Bakehouse, a popular bakery pit stop and social landmark
- Nose in Books, the city’s first non profit library of the humanities
- gLEEful Rooftop, colourful spaces serving as playgrounds - on the roof tops
- Lan Fong Road, historical and famous filming sites
- Mural Façade, by a talented local artist
- Plant Plant, innovative growing sustainability workshop
- The Colours of Causeway Bay, photo exhibition
Hidden behind an incredibly busy and tiny shop front, the tour group were amazed entering the very popular and majestic Nose in Books library. This literary establishment holds a unique role, in that the books are donations from locally retired professors.
Next, Hysan's gLEEful rooftop is a placemaking project revitalising eight, bright and colourful rooftops within the area. As many of these inaccessible disused rooftops slowly start to decay, One Bite Studio partnered with Hysan Development and explored how to revive these forgotten spaces and engage local communities. Drawing inspiration from local childhood games as part of the city’s unique rooftop culture, the project serves to inspire more engagement and exchange within the local community. From the top, the tour group enjoyed panoramic views of the entire Lee Gardens Area.
The tour continued by viewing multiple tenement buildings and revitalised properties in the Lee Gardens area, inviting attendees to appreciate the architectural features and design details preserved from the last century. This is including the very first generation of Hong Kong’s residential elevators and mosaic tiles from the 1950's and 1960's.
Each street in Lee Gardens precinct possesses its own unique character, infusing the entire community with colour and vibrancy. Lan Fong Road, in particular, has earned recognition as a historic filming site, served as the backdrop for numerous Hong Kong classics, including Wong Kar-wai's film - In the Mood for Love and the film 2046.
Both films featured the iconic Goldfinch Restaurant in Hong Kong (now branded as Saint Honore Cake Shop), has stood for over half a century. The Red Pepper Restaurant in Hong Kong also made an appearance, as it was utilised as a filming location for the martial arts classic Game of Death, starring the legendary Bruce Lee.
The tour group were amazed when viewing illustrations by talented artist - Calvin Ho's. His striking red and black statement mural, located on Pak Sha Road is particularly spectacular. Calvin painted the mural for Leica's Hong Kong flagship store in conjunction with local architect firm LAAB Studio. LEICA aimed to combine the local culture of Hong Kong, whilst paying tribute to the art and history of photography. This was achieved by combining four classic photos, one of which is The Eiffel Tower Painter 1953 caricature taken with a Leica camera.
Entering the co-working space just above the Leica store, the tour group were ready to take on their next challenge of a sustainable botanical workshop.
Hosted by local business - Plant Plant, the workshop provided an educational experience, introducing PAFCAL material, a new planting technology from Japan currently utilised in green buildings in the Hong Kong region.
Plant Plant organisers shared a presentation on the future possibilities of the product gaining widespread potential in architectural façade/roof garden usage as well as corporate and community areas.
The group learnt how to transfer delicately a mini plant from soil to PAFCAL material, before proudly being able to take their own plant home to nurture, as a souvenir commemorating Hysan’s 100th anniversary. Former RIBA Hong Kong Chapter treasurer William So, lent his support by translating within the workshop.
The tour’s final stop at Lee Garden One featured The Colours of Causeway Bay photo exhibition, showcasing rare historical photographs and artefacts that chronicle the transformation of Lee Gardens over the past century, including rarely seen photographs of Lee Theatre’s construction in the 1920's.
The tour promised, and greatly achieved an experience showcasing a harmonious blend of old and new. From towering skyscrapers to low rise tenement buildings, the tour journey itself was immersive illustrating the cultural contrast and diversity of the Lee Gardens area, through the eyes of place makers.
By witnessing the integration of trends such as fashion, sustainability, spatial design, and architectural elements, whilst learning how the area is curated, will be greatly poised for generations to come.
The event provided a close knit opportunity for locals to network with RIBA Hong Kong Chapter, as well as forging connections with local developers. Networking opportunities during the refreshments followed with positive ideas and discuss for further future architecture based activities.
Tile image: gLEEful rooftop playground of hopscotch - a popular children's playground game.
Find out more
To find out more about RIBA Hong Kong Chapter's events and opportunities contact: HongKong.Chapter@riba.org or follow RIBA Hong Kong Chapter on LinkedIn.
