(c4-2) Gontrol of Gity Skyline lndispensable for Protecting Harbour Vista Once Kai Tak Have Gone Richard L.K. YU BAAS MScUP MHKIP MRTPI RPP(PRBHK) Member, Urban Design Group, U.K. Chatered Town Planner NomomeÍic Design and Planning Consultants Synopsis Th€ ma¡tr urban area ofHong Kong is encircled by a number of undulating hills with a Victorla llarbour at the center which hrd beeome the most famous fcåture of the clty. wlth the relocåtiotr of the K¡i Tak a¡rpoñ of Hotrg Kong which w¿s sit[âted ¡midst the city centre in July 1998, the h€ight restrict¡on of buildings imposed based on aeronautical safety reasons over the surrounding Kowloon area x,¡s relaxed, bu¡lding heights on Kowloon side have therefore been ållowed to increase dr¡m¡ticatly. Howeve¡, it is understood that the Llon Rock in the Kowloon Peninsula and the Victori¡ Pe¡k in the Hong Kong Island h¡ve been playing signilicant rol€s in complementing rnd contributing to the vicw and meaning ofthe H¡rbour. It follows that ¡f there is no surrogate urbân d€sign control meesures in the ne¡r future to monitor build¡ng heights after Ìelax¡tion of the beight control, ultra-hlgb rise buildings will inevitably be büilt sporadically in large pârts of the city ¡nd the harbour vista will d€nn¡tely be undermined- In order to avoid this undesirable situation from happening, surrogate measures restricting helght of buildings psrticularly alorg Koll loon sides of the harbour should be immediately implemented, Cities around the world iflcluding Paris, London, Seoul and even Beijing sll have effective urban design meâsures named Urban Skyline Protìle Control Strategy on controlling the building height in order to preserve the distinctive urbån form and visual characteristics of the city. However, there is r€grettably no similar plânning framework on controlling the urban form of Hong Kong. The pres€trt study proposes an Urban Skyline Profile Control Strstegy for the Kowloon Petrinsula aiming to find out and lead to â proper building height profile for n€w d€velopments and redevelopments in Kowloon' It is aÌgued that the same would provide for â more hurÍan-scaled ând elegânt 3-dimensional spatiâl form ofthe city; in â way thãt is ultimately contributing to the preservation of the character ofthe hârbour vista as an invaluable and unrecoverable nâtural heritage of Hong Kong. Keywords: buílding height control, hdrbour vista, high rße buildings, urban sþline profile, yicforia Harbout Contact: Room 1908, Kowloon Plaza,485 Castle Peak Road, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, CHINA Tel: (852) 2310 1878 Fax: (852) 2370 8852 e-mail: [email protected] 30 Oclober 1999 Control of Cily Slqline lnd{sperìsoble fot Prolecling Hortrour Vìsto Once Ko¡ fqk Hor'e Gone 1 . Introduction Victoria Harbour is situated between the island of Hong Kong and the peninsula of Kowloon. Both sides of the harbour are sheltered by encircling hills, while the city of Hong Kong is in between (Figure 1). The encircling hills sheltered the harbour from the prevailing easterly winds and the onslaught of typhoons. The water was deep enough for ocean-going ships drawing up to 13 meters. The peninsula and island sho¡es have led to a long waterfront. The harbour is open at both ends resulting in a low tidal range of only 3 meters and tidal scor¡rs to keep the harbour naturally dredged. The u¡ban growth of Hong Kong took place principally along the coastal strips along both sides of the harbour and they became lhe city centre of Hong Kong and the centre of business activities. As a result, Victoria Harbour have become the most common place for amenity, recreation, relaxation and enjoyment by the public. From a visual standpoint, the encircling hills particularly the Lion. Rock in the Kowloon Peninsula and the Victoria Peak in the Hong Kong Island have also been playing significant roles in complementing and contributing to the view and meaniûg of the Vicùoria Harbour. Due to the spectacular vista this sÉecific topogaphy and land / sea rnix have bestowed, during the years the harbour and the hills combinedly have become part of the identity ofHong Kong. In the past, the height of buildings at Kowloon Peninsula was controlled by Hong Kong Airport (Control of Obstructions) Ordinance on aeronautical safety reasons and it had sculpted the existing Kowloon into a prdominantly low to medium rise morphology. With the relaxation of the building height control due to the relocation of the aþort in July 1998, building heights at Kowloon side had been 'de-controlled' overnight and was allowed to increase dramatically. The harbour vista, in which Kowloon and Hong Kong island was 'framed' by hilly backdrop and afronted by water, will defrnitely be damaged and one of an important identity of Hong Kong will be severely undermined foreve¡. In order to conserve the attractive views of Hong Kong, immediate control on the building heights is urgently needed. The present study aims to propose an urb¡n design measure entitled Urban Sþline Profile Control Strategr for Hong Kong in which the overall 3-dimentional urban morphòlogy and the visual effect of the city form are robustly considered. This study attempts to recommend a new building height control for Kowloon Peninsula, in order to maintain the overall harmony and coordination of the urban form of the main area of Hong Kong and conserve the natural heritage ofthe harbow and its vista. 2. Policy Basis for Protecting the Victoria Harbour Vista Although the issue about protecting the visual environment of the central harbour was started somewhat earlier by the planning authority of Hong Kong, the matter had not been treated seriously until perhaps recently. One of an important blueprint for planning the main urban area of Hong Kong entitled Metroplan had set up Urban Design Guidelines for 'protection and conservation of Nornornelr/c Des ign ond Plonning Consu/fonfs 2 *,jil;1- Ál t_a Fþure 1; Victoria Harbcx;r iE shEltErgd by endrcling'hl$s 30 oclobìer ì 999 control of city sh¡ine lndispensoble tor profectìng Holf,our vìsto once Koi Tok Hove Gone prominent ridgelines, peaks and hill slopes to provide a green backdrop for the cþ (Planning Department, i 991)'. However, the idea of Metroplan only stays on the conceptual level and it was never pragmatically translated into a more solid planning policy or guidance. On the other hand, the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance required all large scale development to conduct visual Impact Assessment, but the assessment being conducted is on a project-by-project basis, it does not consider the overall morphology of the city. The Protection of the Harbour ordinance which was enacted in 1997 provided a legal basis that '1he central harbou¡ is to be protected and preserved as a special asset and a natural heritage of the Hong Kong people and for that purpose there shall be a presumption against reclamation i¡ the central harbour" is by far the most direct and foremost basis for protecting the harbour. However, the ordinance suffered from the fact that it did focus on proteeting the physical size of the hgxbow but not the height of the buildings erected on lands around. From the standpoint for the comprehensive Protection of the victoria Harbour, tho h¡rbour is a heritage bec¿use of the .images' it had historicaþ formed ¡s mentâI imprinb upon the people. Judging from this angle, reclamations is strictly speaking not the root cause of damaging the view of the harbour. The high rise buildings that block the ridgeline of the encircling hills shoutd rather be the real thing to blame. Thus, the protection of the Harbour ordinance alone is not adequate to protect the central harbou¡. planning Recently, the Town Board of Hong Kong has announced the'viston & Goats for victoria Harbour' statpment; which proposed to issue new statutory outline Zoning Plans covering the harbou¡ and the waterfront areas to enhance the image of the Victoria Harbou¡. Neverthelessly, it seemed to be only aiming to protect the harbour and a small strip of areas around the waterfront, but not considering the importance on protecting the ha¡bou¡ vista and the most valuable topographical backdrop of the city i¡ra holistic manner- with the growing aspiration for a high quality of life and a better environment of the people, obviously the above existing policies does not lend enough strength to the aspects_ of protecting the victoria Harbour AND its visual environment. strategy for controlling the building heights such as an u¡ban skyline profile control straægy is therefore desperately needed for Hong Kong. 3. Experiences of Other Cities A'Skyline' can be defined as "boundary line between the sky and land cove¡" in natural or man-made landscape. Skyline conservation and management have received much attention as a planning control in other cities- cities around the world including paris, London, Seoul and Beijing all have effective urban design measures *rn"J u.b* Skyline Profile control strategy on controlling the building heights in order to preserve the distinctive cha¡acteristics ofthe area. 3.1 Beijing Nomomelrlc Des/gn and Plonn¡ng Consultonß 30 October I999 Control of Clty SMlne lndlspensoble for Prolecting Horbour Vtsto Once Koi Tok Hove Gone The Beijing municipal government have great concern in preserving the historical heritage of the city. It had designated 'cultural conservation zones' and 'development control zones'to try to protect the historical buildings, features and the vistas they have induced, like the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Sanhai and Jingshan in which building heights of the surrounding fabric was strictly confolled.