Hong Kong Today Culture in Vernacular Architecture [Student Notes]

Liberal Studies Teaching Kit for Senior Secondary Curriculum Hong Kong Today Culture in Vernacular Architecture [Student notes] Organizer Sponsor Research Team Contents Liberal Studies | Preamble Learning plan i Lesson 1: Culture in Vernacular Architecture Architecture in Vernacular Culture 1.1 Vernacular Architecture for People 01 1.2 Case Studies: Various Cultures in Vernacular Architecture of Hong Kong 04 1.2.1 Tong Lau or Tenement Houses 04 1.2.2 Stilt Houses 07 1.2.3 Walled Village 11 Exercise: Examine a nearby Vernacular Building 13 Summary, Key words and Further reading 15 Disclaimer Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. © 2012 Hong Kong Institute of Architects Topic 01 Culture in Vernacular Architecture Major teaching areas Interdisciplinary teaching areas Design and Applied Technology: Liberal Studies: Module 2 Hong Kong Today Liberal Studies | • Theme 1: Quality of Life • Strand 1 Design and Innovation • Theme 3: Identity • Strand 2 Technological Principles • Strand 3 Value and Impact Related teaching areas Architecture in Vernacular Culture Liberal Studies: Module 5 Public Health • Theme 2: Science, Technology and Public Health Learning objectives • To distinguish the difference between vernacular and professionally designed architecture • To understand the characteristics of different typologies of vernacular architecture in Hong Kong • To understand the connection and interplay between architecture, lifestyle, social context and environment Learning plan Lesson Contents Lesson 1 • 1.1 Introductory photos of vernacular and professional architecture • 1.1.1 Concept and definition of vernacular architecture • 1.2 Case studies focusing on three types of vernacular architecture and their connections to residents’ lifestyle, social context and environment • 1.2.1 Tong Lau or Tenement House • 1.2.2 Stilt House • 1.2.3 Walled Village i Lesson 1 Culture in Vernacular Architecture 1.1 Vernacular Architecture for People Are these buildings vernacular architecture? Why or why not? Liberal Studies | 1 3 2 Architecture in Vernacular Culture 4 Tick the boxes and explain your answers: 1. Palazzi of Venice, Italy 2. Schröder House, Utrecht, The Netherlands 3. Tenement house, Hong Kong 4. Houses in Cinque Terre, Italy 01 1 3 Liberal Studies | 2 4 Culture in Vernacular Architecture in Vernacular Culture Tick the boxes and explain your answers: 1. Tulou, Fujian, China 2. IFC 2, Hong Kong 3. Bamboo theatre, Hong Kong 4. Houses in Suzhou, China 02 Some would simply define vernacular architecture as ‘architecture without architects’. American architect Frank Lloyd Wright defined vernacular architecture as ‘folk building growing in response to actual needs, fitted into the environment by people who knew no better than to fit them with native feeling’. Characteristics of vernacular architecture are as below: • Use of traditional or locally available construction skills • Use of simple technology and commonly available materials • ‘New structure with old techniques’ as experiment and innovation are more costly than repetition • Evolved slowly through numerous experimental trials and errors instead of specifically designed by a professional • Functionalistic and simple design which fulfils basic needs of the people Liberal Studies | • Born of people’s needs, culture, tradition and adapted to local climate Culture in Vernacular Architecture in Vernacular Culture The stilt houses in Ma Wan are examples of vernacular architecture. They were not designed by architects, but instead were developed slowly through time by the local people to adapt to the environment and their living style, and were built with the most handy materials. 03 1.2 Case Studies: Various Cultures in Vernacular Architecture of Hong Kong 1 2 Liberal Studies | 2 1.2.1 Tong Lau or Tenement Houses - architecture for a dense population What is Tong Lau? 1. A series of Tong Lau at Shanghai Street Architecture in Vernacular Culture The history of tenement houses or Tong Lau (唐樓) dates 2. Architectural details of Tong Laus at 10-12 Li Chit back to the mid-19th century. The ground floor of a tenement Street (built in 1920s). The Tong Laus have been house is occupied by a shop while the mezzanine and demolished and only one of the façade was other storeys are for living. Multiple tenants usually shared conserved after renovation. one flat due to the shortage of living space at the time. Eventually this grew to be one of the most common building types in Hong Kong, South China and Southeast Asia, with Media Corner particular stylistic flourishes in each place. Hong Kong Stories (Series 15) - When Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842, the Our History Episode 10 - A Roof Over Our population of Chinese immigrants grew quickly. Tong Lau Heads 20-3-2011 Duration: 22 min. were the quick and convenient answer to the housing problem. Chinese version http://programme.rthk.org.hk/ rthk/tv/programme.php?name=tv/ Life in a shophouse hkstories15&d=2011-03- 20&p=5013&e=134356&m=episode Most prewar (built before 1945) Tong Laus are 3 to 4-storey high while later tenement houses after 1950 have 8 storeys English version at most. Early Tong Laus were long and narrow, accessed http://programme.rthk.hk/rthk/tv/programme. by a long, dark staircase without any natural lighting and php?name=tv/hkstories_ourhistory&d=2012- ventilation. There was also no provision of elevators and 01-25&p=5227&e=165561&m=episode toilets. or http://evideo.lib.hku.hk/play.php?vid=4692654 What is the architectural style of Tong Lau? Hong Kong Tong Laus are unique in their details which display a mix of Chinese and Western styles. Very often, Tong Laus have balconies or verandahs which project over the pedestrian pavement. Kee lau (騎樓) type tenement houses have columns to support the projecting floors, forming a continuous arcade on street level. 04 How were Tong Laus built? Early Tong Laus were supported by brick or stone load-bearing walls and beams. 1. Blue (grey) Canton bricks were chosen for the walls as they were cheaper than the stronger red bricks. 2. The ground floor was laid with Canton tiles. 3. The upper floor was made of Chinese timber floor planks supported by timber rafters. 4. The pitched roof was clad with unglazed clay tiles. Architectural details of Tong Laus at 1168 Tong Laus after 1935 were built in reinforced concrete. Canton Road (built in 1940s) Common Materials in Tong Laus Liberal Studies | Canton Brick Canton Tile Timber Planks Clay Roof Reinforced Concrete Tile How do Tong Laus adapt to the climate of Hong Kong? Effects of building design on lives of people To accommodate different families resulted from the influx Architecture in Vernacular Culture Despite the cramped living condition and poor design of immigrant workers, each flat was divided into front of the earliest Tong Laus, they are built to respond to the room, middle room, end room (Fig. 1) or even smaller climate. cubicles. 1. High ceiling (approximately 4-5m high) Rooms were separated by partitions which were 2. large windows, built lower than the ceiling height to leave a gap for 3. balconies, and ventilation since there was no window in the whole flat 4. verandahs except at the front of the building. As partitions were thin and without any soundproofing, privacy was a critical are features which help create a well-lit and well- issue. Hygiene condition was also poor as all tenants had ventilated interior as a solution to the hot and humid to share the only bathroom and kitchen. climate of Hong Kong. Section 3 1 1 5 1 4 2 5 2 1 6 6 Section Ground Floor Plan Section Elevation Fig. 1 Typical plan, section and elevation of Tong Lau at 10-12 Li Chit Street in 1920s. Legend: 1. cookhouses 2. shop 3. smoke hole through the roof and floor 4. cockloft or platform above tenement cabins 05 5. tenement cabins 6. street in front of building Liberal Studies | Culture in Vernacular Architecture in Vernacular Culture Tong Lau at Wing Lee Street with ventilated staircases What are the problems in early Tong Laus In the early days of Tong Lau, there was no regulation on its design. The buildings were tightly packed, built side to side and back to back without any space for natural ventilation and light could not penetrate into the interior and the building blocks were long and narrow (Fig. 1). How did the government regulate the Tong Laus design? Prompted by the outbreak of bubonic plague in the over- crowded tenement block quarters around Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan in 1894, the government finally implemented the first buildings’ control under the Public Healthy and Buildings Ordinance in 1903 to regulate the design of Tong Laus in order to ensure the quality of construction and living space. 1. Improvement of Tong Laus A back lane and open space had to be provided, which means that more space had to left between buildings. Building height was restricted to the width of the street it was facing to ensure enough daylight penetrate, and building depth was limited to 12m to improve natural lighting condition of the interior. 2. Official Buildings’ regulation on Tong Laus The statutory regulation over Tong Lau design was further strengthened with the Buildings Ordinance 1935. Allowable building depth was further reduced to 11m. Adequate light and Fig. 2 Typical floor plan of a Tong Lau designed in ventilation was to be provided at every storey on every staircase, compliance to Buildings Ordinance 1935.

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