Co-Design with Architects – Design Charrette Resource Kit Co-Design with Architects Resource Kit for Design Charrette 2019 organized by Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) For Community Stakeholders, Heritage Groups, Construction / Design Professionals & Architects "I want to take Tradition in Architecture to mean a shared and continuous development of a way of doing things towards practical artistic and social ends, … not old fashioned or nostalgic.” Edward Cullinan (British Gold Medalist Architect). 1 Our Vision and Mission: The Architectural Heritage of Hong Kong encapsulates the story of Hong Kong people expressed through the historic architectures. UNESCO promotes not just preservation of old buildings, but instead pro-active expression of the “Spirit of Place”1 by best practice conservation. This can involve sensitive upgrading old buildings to suit modern functions, or innovative adaptation of old buildings to contemporary community uses, while still keeping the traditional characters, and conveying the historic message that we still treasure. The heritage of Hong Kong belongs to the people, thus Architects will work together with community members to explore opportunities and challenges, through this design exercise of adaptive reusing historic buildings to people’s use, and expressing the people’s values. Fig 1: Administrative Blocks and Play Field at Central Valley Zone 2. Our Project and Exercise: Our Co-Vitalize Our Heritage Events: We, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA), thanks to grants from Built Heritage Conservation Fund (BHCF), organize a series of public participation events in 2019, known as Co- Vitalize Our Heritage2, which aims to share our professional knowledge with public, and explore future ways to energize community efforts in conservation of our heritage. In the past six months, we organized Co-Craft with Master events for public to try out traditional building craftsmanship guided by craft masters, Co-Create with Students events for secondary school students to present 1 International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Quebec Declaration on the Preservation on Spirit of Place, 4 October, 2008. 2 Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA), Co-Vitalize our Heritage, http://hkia-covitalize.hk/en Hong Kong Institute of Architects September 2019 1 Co-Design with Architects – Design Charrette Resource Kit artworks inspired by urban heritage, and Co-Tour with Docents events for community members with an interest in becoming heritage docents. In September, we are holding our final event, Co-Design with Architects, which is a Design Charrette, where stakeholders join a two-day workshop with architects on a hypothetical exercise of adaptive reusing a historic site for community use. What is a Design Charrette: Charrette is a get-together design process pioneered by the esteemed French art and architectural school of École des Beaux-Arts. “Most professional architects now equate charrettes with interactive brainstorming sessions; these kinder, gentler charrettes, held early in the design or programming stages of a project, place the client and other stakeholders, as well as all or most of the professional disciplines that will contribute to the project, in the same room for, usually, one to three days”3. But it may also be used as a community engagement exercise focusing on the “interactive process” rather than the result. As such, hammering out a professional design or delivering an agreed solution is not the prime objective of this kind of charrette. Rather, it provides a platform that stakeholders from diverge perspectives, gathering in discussion groups, can come around to explore the opportunities of a design challenge. Fig 2: Examples of Design Charrettes held by HKIA (Photo Source: HKIA) Our Co-Design with Architects Event: In this Co-Design with Architects event, we explore the issues of adaptive reusing historic building, balancing the task of providing modern community functions with preserving historic characters. We invite Community Stakeholders, Heritage Groups, Construction / Design Professionals, and Young People, to join our Architects, in this collaborative exercise in the field of adaptive reusing historic sites or buildings of Hong Kong. Our young Architects will support the groups by sketching out the intentions suggested by members. This exercise forms a stepping stone for the ongoing dialogue between community and professionals, upon which, we both learn in the process of interactive heritage conservation. 3 Willies, Daniel, “Are Charrettes Old School?”, Harvard Design Magazine, http://www.harvarddesignmagazine.org/issues/33/are-charrettes-old-school Hong Kong Institute of Architects September 2019 2 Co-Design with Architects – Design Charrette Resource Kit 3. Our Heritage Site and Architecture: The Choice of this Site: For this Co-Design with Architects exercise, we propose to use the Old Lei Yue Mun Barracks in Chai Wan, which is now used as Lei Yue Mun Park. This site is chosen for this exercise because: (a) It tells the rich unique history of Hong Kong, (b) The historic topography and structures are still relatively intact, (c) Its extensive terrain and many buildings of diverse architectural characters offer opportunities for holistic conservation and innovative designs. The harmonious low-rise blocks scattered around the natural landscape can be adapted to a pleasant environment for the hypothetical brief of a community old-people cum child-care centre. Some background drawing information and conservation management analysis we now use for this Charrette are borrowed from a class exercise for the Cultural Heritage Management (CHM) Class and the Professional Design and Architectural Studies (PDAS) Class of HKU Space in 2012. Fig 3: Conservation workshop of HKU Space Class in Lei Yue Mun Park in 2012 The History: “The old Lei Yue Mun Barracks was one of the earliest and most important British Army fortifications in Hong Kong. Situated at the northeast corner of Hong Kong Island overlooking the eastern approach to the Victoria Harbour, Lei Yue Mun occupied a strategic position. … The main barracks, built at different times from 1890 to 1939, mainly served as offices and married quarters for the British Army. By the 1890s, the fortifications at Lei Yue Mun had fully become an important point of coastal defense and continued to expand in the following decades…. On 19 December 1941, the Barracks fell to the hands of the Japanese in the Battle of Hong Kong…. (Nowadays) The central area and the western ridge have become the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village since 1988, whereas the military installations at the headland were restored to form the Museum of Coastal Defense which was opened in 2000”4. The detail explanation of the historical significance 4 Antiquities and Monuments Office, “Declared Monuments in Hong Kong –75, Chai Wan Road, Block 7 of the Lei Yue Mun Barracks, https://www.amo.gov.hk/en/monuments_112.php Hong Kong Institute of Architects September 2019 3 Co-Design with Architects – Design Charrette Resource Kit of the site will be presented by our expert historian at the beginning of our workshop, and thus will not repeated here. Fig 4: Lei Yue Mun Barracks 1935-41 (Photo Source: Hong Kong Public Record Office) The Architectures: Up to Eleven (11) of the buildings in this site are now Graded Historic Buildings and Three (3) are Declared Monument (see Appendix). Most of them, originally used as military offices or quarters, are generally low rise brick structure and timber roof / floor buildings of simple rectangular or L-shape plans, considered of “Colonial Vernacular” style, featuring characteristic wide open verandahs, sometimes of simple ornamental entrance doorways or chimney stacks, simplified classical-like piers, and low segmental arches. There are other buildings, including a small simplified gothic chapel (block 5), an Art-Deco style barrack (block 3), a few utilitarian gardener’s sheds, and modern supporting facilities. The detail explanation of the architectural significance of the site will be presented by our expert architects during seminars and site-walks, and thus will not repeated here. Fig 5: Declared Monuments and Graded Historic Buildings in Lei Yue Mun Park Hong Kong Institute of Architects September 2019 4 Co-Design with Architects – Design Charrette Resource Kit The Conservation: Most of the buildings, fortunately, had not been substantially interfered with, except adding modest facilities, since originally built. But they appear not to have received high attention in repairs, and some lesser used structures appear to suffer from dilapidation. One of the significant buildings, Block 7, a Declared Monument, was recently conserved and upgraded to a pleasant and welcoming café by HKIA member architect, and the design attains the HKIA annual awards, Finalists in Heritage & Adaptive Re-use and President's Prize. “The design has to revive its original glamour to match its architectural characters of the colonial style” (extract from web-site of the architectural practice: ArchiPie). The architect not only sensitively restored the architectural features like the floor-tiles, fireplace, windows, and cornices, but also sensitively relocated modern installations to allow re-opening of arches and reinstatement of the open verandah in keeping with the historic design and ambience. The detail explanation of the project will be presented by the project architect during the charrette and thus not repeated here. Fig 5: Block 7 adaptive reused