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Wo Che Estate in Sha Tin: Blooming Flowers beneath the Pyramid Peak, Resembling the Beauty of the Louvre

by aikooosan 2022 年 7 月 9 日

There are many public houses in Sha Tin that are worth recommending. Not only they have their own characters and look beautiful, more importantly those public housing have been designed with the real needs of residents. Following the previous Kwong Yuen Estate, at this time I would like to introduce the 2nd public housing estate in Sha Tin : Wo Che Estate.

As the first new town developed in Hong Kong, there are a total 23 housing estates in Sha Tin. Wo Che Estate is the second public housing estate to be completed and flat in-take after Lek Yuen Estate, the first established public housing estate in Sha Tin.It was occupied as early as 1977 and had 12 blocks before 2003, including Hong Wo House(康和樓), Fung Wo House(豐和樓), Shun Wo House(順和樓), Tai Wo House(泰和樓), Yan Wo House(欣和樓), Hip Wo House(協和樓), Tak Wo House(德和樓), How Wo House(厚和樓) and Chi Wo House (智和樓),etc. Until 2003 when King Wo House was completed and merged into Wo Che Estate, there are currently 13 blocks in Wo Che Estate.

As for the most familiar Wo Che Estate in recent months, its shopping mall top is like the triangular design of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. It is believed that its top design is actually to allow the shopping mall below to have more natural lighting and increase the sense of space, rather than paying tribute to the Louvre Museum.

Many neighbors reported that the former “Sha Tin version of the Louvre” had no fences as early as the 1980s, and some children even brought their own paper sheets and slid down from the roof to make their own slides, which was more to reflect that the neighbors (or more precisely, children) of folk wisdom. Later, due to the security & safety issue, the top was set up with a fence afterwards.

As for the more familiar ways in Wo Che Estate, it is believed that the old-schooled food stall Chan Ken Kee(陳根記) and the Hong Kong movie “Weeds on Fire”(《點五步》) were filmed in the housing estate.

There are 5 types of blocks in Wo Che Estate, of which the most well-known is its twin-tower building, which looks like two hollow squares joined at one corner of each square.Each block comprises two “towers” of different heights, although their shapes are the same. In Wo Che Estate, there are a total 6 blocks adapted from the twin-tower building, like Hong Wo House, Fung Wo House, Shun Wo House, Man Wo House, Tai Wo House and Fu Wo House.

【info】

location: 1-9 Hip Yan Street

transport: MTR Sha Tin Station or Fo Tan Station ; Bus 280X,81,72,48X,88X,80K

2022 年 7 月 9 日

Explore Estates Estate Highlights Features Hong Kong Island Preservation & Policy Stories

Kennedy Town Sai Wan Estate: Over 60 Years Old, Second Oldest Public Housing Estate, Sole Housing Authority Estate in Central and Western District

by aikooosan 2022 年 7 月 8 日

Following the previous location, we have arrived to the second estate of the series. This time I will introduce an estate that is located in Kennedy Town, the Central and Western District of Hong Kong Island. It is also the only housing estate under the jurisdiction of the Housing Authority in the Central and Western District – Sai Wan Estate.

If we were to calculate the age of the buildings, Sai Wan Estate is already a home for the elderly in terms of the existing public housing in Hong Kong that has not been demolished and rebuilt. Sai Wan Estate, which is more than 60 years old, was occupied as early as 1958 ( it is about the same age as my father!), so you’re not alone in the sense that the buildings in it feel relatively old.

The lands of Sai Wan Estate actually belonged to the hills of the Mount Davis area. At that time, the Hong Kong and British governments announced the construction in 1955 and officially named Sai Wan Estate before it was occupied in 1958.

Since Sai Wan Estate is located on the hillside of Cadogan Street, it is 250 meters away from Victoria Road. At that time, the site was square and included multiple hillsides. Therefore, the actual hillside area of the estate is only 3.7 acres (it is only slightly larger than two standard football fields), and the terrain is naturally steep. Therefore, the housing estate is designed and built based on the terrain. As well as being limited by its small land area. The whole estate is designed to only accomodate 5 buildings with a total of 636 units.

In addition, if you look at the photos carefully, you should not find that the buildings in the estate are terrace-connected buildings, each of which has different heights, ranging from 10 to 14 floors. Except for the East Terrace, which is an independent one, the other four are all connected by corridors. I believe that the above design is to facilitate interaction and communication between neighbors, so as to create the effect a close-knit community.

It is rare for neighbors to greet each other in Hong Kong today. On the contrary, it has become the norm for each family mind their own businesses. On the day of the shooting, it was not only neighbours Ms Chan and Ms Lee who greeted each other warmly, sharing parts of the daily lives. Even the neighbours living in the opposite building were engaging in conversation, which displays the deep camaraderie between them.

Moreover, since the estate is built accordingly to the terrain, it is not surprising to find that there are multiple stairs in the Sai Wan Estate, including the one shown in the picture. Later, based on factors such as the aging population of the housing estate and the location of the buildings on platforms of different heights, the former Building Construction Committee built a lift near the main pedestrian entrance of the housing estate, that is, near Cadogan Street, to facilitate access to the neighborhood.

As the only public housing estate under the jurisdiction of the Housing Authority in the Central and Western District, it is also the second housing estate of the Housing Construction Association (one of the predecessors of the current Housing Authority). In terms of naming, the housing estate is also different from the current common suffix “House”. Instead, it is replaced by “Terrace”. As for the prefix naming, it is based on the orientation of the building. For example, the location of the main entrance of Sai Wan Estate in the picture above, the closest building is East Terrace, and it is also the only building in the estate that is not connected to the other four.

As for the other four, they are the South Terrace, the West Terrace, the North Terrace and the Central Terrace.

In recent years, I have seen more news related to Sai Wan Estate. It is most likely due to the fact that the Government announced that it was included in the reconstruction plan. Regarding the reconstruction of Sai Wan Estate, I didn’t feel deeply personally. After all, the estate is very far away. I didn’t live in the area or have any connections to it.

But after visiting Sai Wan Estate, I was quickly attracted by its unique terrain and antique architecture. Although the exact timetable for the reconstruction has not yet been announced, to be honest, based on the experience of the government in the reconstruction of public housing in recent years, the rebuilt public housing are a bunch of very bland buildings. Although there have been improvements in design, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for the neighbourhood to be more comfortable than before. However, if it is rebuilt, the Government can think more about how to preserve the history of Sai Wan Estate (in recent months, the Housing Society has launched the “Ming Wah Dai Ha Documentary Project” website for the Ming Wah Building in Shau Kei Wan). I believe that for many neighbors, it can be said that it is to preserve and witness the memories of living in the past, and it must be of great significance.

【info】

Location: Ka Wai Man Road, Sai Wan

Transportation: About 3 minutes walk from Exit C of Kennedy Town Station of MTR Station; Minibus No. 13; Cross-harbour Bus 101, 104, 971, Hong Kong Island Bus 1, 5B, 10, 43M, etc.

2022 年 7 月 8 日

Explore Estates Architecture & Design Estate Highlights Features Kowloon Stories

Ngau Tau Kok Lok Wah South Estate: Blue Hour Tunnel / Pantone Pink Exterior Walls with Multiple Instagram-Worthy Spots, Featuring Forest-Themed Bread

by aikooosan 2022 年 7 月 8 日

Recalling my first encounter with Lok Wah Estate, it was when i worked as a magazine journalist a few years back. Due to editorial requirements, there was a time where i had to periodically write on topics regarding Hong Kong’s public housing ( in which indirectly contributed to my writing of this website). Before interviewing about public housing affairs, you needed to gather information, or find relevant respondents in advace, such as local people, experts specializing in public housing development, etc. At that time, I was able to meet with the staff of The Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage whom helped introduce and look for suitable interviewees.

I’ve lived in public housings since I was 11 years old and hold affection for them. In fact, I’ve always been interested in the development of public housing. Naturally, i was able to share common interests with the interviewees and the staff at Association Centre. I could casually make inquiries to the staff on which housing estates she lived in as a child. She uttered the name ‘Lok Wah Estate’ and it was the first time I became aware of it.

However, when it comes to the first real visit to Lok Wah Estate, it should have been almost 4-5 years ago, because I was meeting up with friends who resided there. However, since it was nighttime, and I was merely focused on sitting downstairs and chatting with my friends in the housing estate. Thus, my first impression of Lok Wah Estate was not memorable.

On the contrary, it was only this year that I really visited Lok Wah Estate for the first time. You read it right, that is, it is just a matter in 2022.

It’s not the same. For the first time, I made the decision to visit Lok Wah Estate during the day. Of course, it was influenced by the trend of taking pictures and sharing them on the Internet. I saw many people taking pictures of the blue tunnel of time and Pantone pink exterior wall of the estate, so I wanted to bet on the estate’s true character.

But Later, after researching more information on the estate, I discovered that the distinctive design of the Estate actually has a number of short stories behind it, and many of them are worthy of everyone’s attention. Therefore, it is inevitable that many will decide to snap pictures here, but while you’re at it, it’s better to share tales related to the estate. So that readers can learn more about the history, development behind the housing estate and much more.

Tracing back the history of Lok Wah Estate, it was completed in four phases between 1982 and 1985. In order to facilitate management, it was split into the current “Lok Wah South Estate” and “Lok Wah North Estate” in 1984.

As for the origin of the name “Lok Wah Estate”, it is actually has quite the meaning behind it.

It turns out that “Lok Wah” is taken from the phrase “Fai Lok Zhong Wah”, meaning “happy China”. According to Wikipedia, the original design of Lok Wah Estate with Chinese style and minimalist style was written by architect Yang Junjie. “The design permeates the elements of Chinese architecture and echoes the design ideas of Happy China. For example, a moon gate is set up at the entrance of Qu Ti to the estate. Above, there is a granite plaque engraved with the three characters of Lok Wah Estate in Chinese calligraphy, the main entrance of the shopping mall, the color selection of the exterior wall of the building, the Chinese-style tiles of the shopping mall, the black wooden pavilion, the red triangle decoration on the footbridge, etc. Are also abstract from the details of Chinese architecture, and then expressed in a modern and simple way, north to Zhen Hua Road, south to Gongle Road, east to Corning Road. “Therefore, the many picture taking spots that everyone saw turned out to have quite interesting stories behind their birth. It can also be seen that the architect’s thoughts on the design of the housing estate at that time.

If the southern and northern estates of Lok Wah Estate are added together, there will be a total of 14 buildings in the estate, 6 in the South Estate and 8 in the North Estate.

Among them, the oldest buildings are Zhanhua Building and Hui Wah Building, which were completed in 1982 , located in the southern estate. They use the old long-shaped building that was popular from 1950 to the 1980s, which is a central corridor type, connecting buildings E+ and E.

In addition, the types of buildings in Lok Wah Estate include Y1 type, double-linked I-shaped (commonly known as “H-shaped building”) and so on. As for the double-linked I-shaped blocks, all of them are concentrated in the North Estate. This type of building will appear more often from the end of 1970 to the end of 1980.

In addition, the Lok Wah Shopping Mall in the northern estate. It is 3 storeys high and covers an area of more than 10,000 square feet. It was completed in September 1985. The shopping mall is located on a slope, and the design uses red, orange and yellow as the main colors, which are very traditional Chinese colors.

The day before filming Lok Wah Estate, I received a renowned item from a friend who lives in Lok Wah Estate: bread. You read it right, it was indeed bread, but at that time she bought orange-chocolate flavored bread. At that time, I was shocked when I took a bite: I didn’t expect public housing to have such delicious bread! So on the day of the shooting, I also visited the birthplace of Lok Wah’s famous product in the mall: Forest Bread, and bought orange-flavored chocolate bread and mochi bread that my friends claimed to be the Lok Wah’s most notable product.

【info】
Location: 50 and 70 Chun Wah Road, Happy Hill, Ngau Tau Kok

Transportation: MTR Kowloon Bay Station Exit A or B (about 15 minutes walk); bus 2A, 13X, 28, 619, etc.

Source: Wikipedia

2022 年 7 月 8 日

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