'Green Cadogan' Community Education & Recycling ◦ Hong Kong ◦ 2019

HONG KONG
COMMUNITY EVENT SPACES, WORKSHOP & RECYCLING CENTRE
IN PROGRESS: SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL
Design ◦ Public Consultation
with Joyce Kwok, in partnership with CollaborateHK and Wisdom Regeneration

Taking inspiration from the mission of the local recycling non-profit, this project sought to bring the simplicity of an adaptable module — based on a standard, unmodified sheet size — and the allure of the natural setting together to reinvigorate this abandoned, narrow and tricky-to-access site.

A former meat and vegetable wholesale market, built in 1937, the current ‘Cadogan Street Temporary Garden’ was built in 2000 as the second largest green space in Kennedy Town, and is home to dozens of large canopy trees. The project here involves a proposed Short Term Tenancy (STT) use for 9 of the extant ex-market booths, currently used for government storage and only accessible from one extreme end.

The orientation of the sawtooth walls corresponds to the steep angle of entry to the booths and to the view from the street. From this angle the project appears to be a band of gradiated colour, like the vivid Kennedy Town sunsets just beyond. And similar to a lenticular lens, as one gets closer, perspectives shift and spaces open up to the visitor—exposing all the lively workshops, events and swap meets inside.

A summary of the design considerations:

• Reduce - Costs, labour and material waste are minimized by using as many unmodified sheets of material as possible in a simple to achieve and climate-appropriate design

• Reuse - A unique but repeated frame is designed to hold the unmodified (or minimally modified) standard sheets of material, making walls and windows easily adaptable, adjustable, repairable and reusable without any special training. Gabion walls with recycled fill are proposed for unenclosed storage areas

• Recycle - Steel, wood and common polycarbonate sheets were chosen to preserve the ability to repurpose and upcycle the material after the tenancy period

The functionality of the spaces was coordinated with the future tenant, Wisdom Regeneration, to maximize internal flexibility, privacy and security.

This project was done in conjunction with CollaborateHK, a platform facilitating the temporary revitalization of underused (and often unknown) parcels of vacant government land by helping local non-profits navigate the complex approval process.