HONG KONG | Blue House Revitalization

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Safety issues spark rows between government and conservationists
28 October 2009
South China Morning Post

Safety issues have triggered a tussle over two historic buildings, pitting government officials against conservationists and residents.

An order by the Buildings Department to modify a staircase at the North Kowloon Magistracy building in Tai Po Road, Sham Shui Po, has led to efforts by its new tenant, an arts college, to save the original design.

In another dispute, Wan Chai residents are upset that some of the boards of the decades-old wooden staircases at the Blue House have been replaced.

The North Kowloon Magistracy staircase flouted building regulations because the space between the balustrades was "slightly wider" than the standard 10cm set to prevent children accidentally getting their heads trapped, said Eric Lee Chung-ming, an architect consulting with the building's tenant, the Savannah College of Art and Design. The balustrade was also about 18cm short of the standard 1.1 metres, he said.

In its application for an exemption to the order, the college argued that any modification would ruin the staircase's distinctive appearance.

Lee said: "It is undesirable to make any changes to the existing ironwork balustrades. We hope we can keep it as it is to preserve its wonderful appearance."

The Antiquities Advisory Board backs the stance. Board members who met yesterday to hear the impact assessment of plans for two heritage sites - the magistracy, a proposed grade two building, and the Lai Chi Kok Hospital - called on the Antiquities and Monuments Office to press for the exemption.

Lee said the college, which was due to open next September, would ensure the staircase was used only during special functions to minimise any danger.

If its application failed, he said, the college would install a temporary rail or glass barrier on the balustrade, and remove them when regulations were relaxed in the future.

Over the weekend at the Blue House, government contractors replaced most of the wooden boards on the staircase linking the ground and first floors, and half of those on the staircase to the second floor.

Residents said the staircases, which have been in use for nearly 80 years, were features protected under the government revitalisation scheme.

Commissioner for Heritage Jack Chan Jick-chi said yesterday the boards that had been removed were damaged by termite infestation and posed a danger. He said staff from the Antiquities and Monuments Office had examined the stairs carefully before work began.

He said the stripped-out boards had not been disposed of and would be checked by the antiquities office to see whether they could be reused.

Tom Ming Kay-chuen, the antiquities office's executive secretary, said the three boards inscribed with marks definitely would be kept.

The Blue House, in Stone Nullah Lane, is a government-owned site and will be offered to non-government organisations on short leases.

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SCS visits Wan Chai District
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Government Press Release

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Denise Yue, this afternoon (January 28) visited Wan Chai District to see the hustle and bustle of the vibrant district.

Accompanied by the District Officer (Wan Chai), Miss Angela Luk, Miss Yue first visited Queen's College, the oldest government school with a history of more than 140 years in the territory. She chatted with the principals and student representatives on the school's initiatives to enrich students' school life. While touring the campus with the student representatives, she also took a closer look at the school's various facilities.

She then proceeded to the "Blue House", where the Wan Chai Livelihood Place is located. This is Hong Kong's first livelihood museum set up by the St James' Settlement and a group of enthusiastic inhabitants in 2007 to preserve and publicise the cultural inheritance of Wan Chai.

During the visit, Miss Yue expressed interest in an exhibition, "The Magic Box", which displayed television sets and exhibits on local TV programmes produced over the years. The exhibition revealed how television had integrated into the lives of Hong Kong people of different generations.

Miss Yue said she was also impressed by the enthusiasm of the organisers and their efforts to preserve the district's culture. She was pleased to learn that the museum had built a sense of belonging and cultural identification among residents. The place has been well received by members of the public since its opening and attracted around 2,000 visitors a month.

Miss Yue's next stop was the Counselling and Integrated Employment Service Centre operated by the Methodist Centre. She was briefed on the wide-ranging vocational training programmes and the free employment referral service offered to young people and job seekers. Miss Yue also took the opportunity to visit some of the training classes in progress, including the classes on hotel reception and customer service and hair and beauty specialist.

Before concluding her visit, Miss Yue met some Wan Chai District Council members for an exchange of views on various district issues.

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Tear-down mentality falls out of fashion
12 April 2010
Vancouver Sun

When my family and I lived here in the 1990s one of our paths down into Wanchai district below our aerie on Kennedy Road was past the extraordinary "Blue House" on Stone Nullah Road.

Not that there was anything particularly extraordinary about the house itself apart from its brilliant, eye-catching blue paintwork.

It is representative of thousands of Hong Kong city buildings from 70 or so years ago between the wars. It has shops on the ground floor and three floors of apartments above, each with the characteristic laundry-festooned balcony.

Architects say the Blue House is special because it is better preserved and has not been altered as much as most buildings of its vintage.

Indeed, it has no flush toilets. It is one of the few residences left in Hong Kong that still requires the daily attentions of "Tao Ye Heun," the night soil merchant.

But in the last few years the Blue House -- along with many other iconic buildings, especially in surrounding Wan Chai -- has become a symbol of a new and highly vocal conservation movement in Hong Kong.

This movement is much more than a desire to preserve monuments of Hong Kong's past, something that has been an object of almost flagrant disregard until now.

It speaks to a new relationship between this place and the people who live here, especially those born in the 1980s who have come to awareness since Hong Kong's future was settled in 1997 with the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China.

It is instructive that one of the most popular temples here is Wang Tai Sin over on the Kowloon side, which is dedicated to the god of refugees. For 200 years Hong Kong has been a place of refuge for people seeking sanctuary from war, chaos and upheaval in China. Very often Hong Kong has only been a resting place before onward passage to somewhere else such as Canada, the United States, Australia or Britain.

No wonder then that the bonds of identity between people and place have been frail at best.

That is changing as Hong Kong grows comfortable in its new persona.

Lee Ho-yin, program director of the architectural conservation program at the University of Hong Kong, said when the city was in survival mode all the emphasis was on development and money-making. But, he said, those born in the 1980s, who became socially and politically active since the handover, are demanding a more sympathetic attitude toward conservation and the spiritual and idealistic aspects of communal life.

These emergent sensitivities became apparent 10 years ago with public opposition to further landfill in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour to create building sites.

The government got the message, but seemed quite unprepared at the end of 2006 when a decision was made to demolish the old Star Ferry terminal on the Hong Kong side. Although there was nothing architecturally special about the terminal, it featured in so many Hong Kong movies and postcards that it defined the city for millions of people. The riots around the Star Ferry demolition "took the government by surprise," Lee said. "This was the first time I have seen people chain themselves to a heritage building in Hong Kong."

The government caught the public's mood and in his 2007 policy address, chief executive Donald Tsang -- Hong Kong's governor -- announced a major restructuring of how antiquities, ancient monuments and buildings of historical importance would be dealt with by the government. Instead of being a powerless orphan dependent on the charity of many departments as in the past, heritage policy has been unified in the Development Department and given a budget equivalent to about $250 million a year.

But there remains a conflict, which Lee and his colleague, Canadian Lynne DiStefano, one of the world experts on heritage buildings, say revolves around the use of preserved buildings.

DiStefano said there is a mindset which predisposes government to make preserved buildings into museums, often with a massive real estate development attached. That, for example, is the outlined fate for Hong Kong's magnificent old central police station complex bordering the trendy tapas bar and fusion restaurant district of Hollywood Road and Lan Kwai Fong in Central.

But for many Hong Kongers preserving the culture and ways of daily life associated with old buildings has become as important as saving the structures themselves.

The gentrification of Wan Chai, made internationally famous by the 1957 book and 1960 movie, The World of Suzie Wong, about the red light district on Lockhart Road, is a matter of widespread concern. Lockhart Road and its current Suzies still offer solace to unappetizing male tourists and the new generations of sailors from around the world who tie up at Fenwick Pier by the Fleet Arcade, but there's more to Wan Chai than that.

Already Wedding Card Street, whose name tells it all, has disappeared, though developers promise the new stores will retain a wedding theme. Yuk.

Wan Chai's wonderful wet market for flapping fresh fish and meat on the corner of Queen's Road East is behind hoardings as it becomes the ground floor of a new tower block.

My favourite treasure house rabbit warren of a stationery shop, Sunlight Office Appliances, is, thankfully, still there on Johnston Road as is the Hung Shing Temple on Queens Road East, though sadly the mangy old tribe of temple dogs that lived on the sidewalk has vanished.

The throbbing street market in Wan Chai Road, Cross Street and the interwoven laneways continue to flourish, but there is a disturbing invasion of chi-chi furniture stores and restaurants taking over such establishments as the very old and distinguished pawn shops on Johnston Road.

The Blue House was destined for a similar fate. It was part of a $14-million plan by the Housing Society and the Urban Renewal Authority to preserve nine Wan Chai buildings from the 1920s.

The Blue House, it was mused, could become a museum dealing with traditional Chinese medicine. But in the face of a public outcry that this would not preserve the lifestyle and culture that the Blue House represents, the authorities have relented.

The Blue House is host to only a small museum of memorabilia of old Wan Chai and the building's residents are allowed to stay. But they must, of course, resign themselves to continuing to live without flush toilets.

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New life beckons for tenants as heritage scheme kicks in
The Standard
Thursday, September 16, 2010

Twenty-one residents of Wan Chai's historic Blue House will be allowed to stay put even as the building is being revitalized.

In addition to revitalizing the cluster of buildings of which Blue House is a part, the government has also decided to save the old Tai Po police station and the Stone Houses in Kowloon City.

The cluster comprises the Grade 1 Blue House, the Grade 3 Yellow House and the ungraded Orange House, all of which will be converted into a multifunctional services complex.

St James' Settlement, which will run the project, will organize a residential scheme for existing and new tenants, cultural and educational programs, run heritage tours, and operate a dessert house and a vegetarian restaurant.

Cocklofts will be conserved to show living conditions in the past.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor expressed confidence all the projects will preserve the historic buildings and serve the local community.

But she said the regeneration of the Blue Houses Cluster will be a challenge because of its current occupants.

"The challenge is ensure they are able to remain there comfortably. It is a 1920s building that does not even have basic hygiene facilities and access," she said.

The Blue House project is expected to cost about HK$56.9 million, with a further HK$4.1 million to subsidize operations of the "social enterprise" by St James' Settlement, a non-profit organization.

The former Tai Po police station, a Grade 1 historic building, will be converted by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden into a hub for sustainable living, complete with educational programs, training camps, a heritage museum and trails.

The Grade 3 Stone Houses will be turned into a cafeteria-cum-visitor information center by Wing Kwong So-Care Company to illustrate the area's history and heritage sites.

About HK$127 million will be spent on renovating the three sites and HK$8.3 million for initial running expenses.

It expects the projects to create about 180 jobs during renovations, and about 62 full-time and part-time jobs when work is completed in 2013.

Blue House resident Lee Kwok-leung welcomed the proposal and said he will consider taking jobs within the cluster.

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Opinion : Blue House a worthy project
28 September 2010
SCMP

Often the government implements schemes to generate more income. But with the Blue House project in Wan Chai its priority is revitalisation of an important heritage building. Residents will benefit from the project, as they will have lifts and all the flats will have modern kitchens and toilets.

Also, it will be in tune with traditional tong laus [Chinese-style tenements] with diverse uses, such as a dessert shop, vegetarian restaurant and second-hand goods shop.

The existing folk gallery will stay in the building.

This will help to save the collective memories of the past generation, and educate the next generation about old Hong Kong culture.

I am sure that the renovated Blue House will prove to be popular with tourists.

I appreciate that the renovation work will be expensive, almost HK$57 million. But this should not discourage officials from going ahead with the project.

Hong Kong citizens, who have lost a lot of confidence in the administration, will support its efforts with regard to the Blue House.

Li Chun-lok, Fanling

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Central sites expose patchy heritage regime
Mixed reviews for government performance on landmark conservation projects
4 October 2010
South China Morning Post

A year after Donald Tsang Yam-kuen announced his Conserving Central package to revitalise the area's historic sites, the government is getting a passing grade - but only just.

Some of the projects highlighted in the chief executive's 2009 policy address are getting the thumbs-up from district councillors and heritage activists for the transparent way in which public consultation has been conducted. But others have proved disappointing. As lack of consultation has led to public rejection, some projects are being held up or sent back to the drawing board, causing delays and potential rises in costs.

At the top of the class is the Central Market, for which the Urban Renewal Authority is conducting a thorough consultation, assisted by a committee comprising four district councillors and including a historian and conservation architects.

The one receiving the most criticism is the Central Police Station project, which was awarded to the Jockey Club without prior consultation and has gone back to the drawing board after the public objected to an obtrusive observation tower.

The selection process for the former police married quarters in Hollywood Road - where three of the four applicants declined an invitation to spell out their plans at a public forum, leading to its cancellation - has also been criticised. So has a proposal for an office tower on part of the present government headquarters site in Central. There appears to be no real standard by which a revitalisation project should proceed to meet public demands for transparency.

Central and Western district councillor Cheng Lai-king said that of the seven Conserving Central projects, the best approach so far was that for the Central Market. The consultation has involved a questionnaire covering more than 6,000 Hongkongers and tourists on possible uses, and workshops with residents and professionals.

The committee, of which Cheng is a member, will go on to discuss the business model and select operators for the project, with meeting records uploaded to its website.

Cheng said the most undesirable approach was the one for the Central Police Station, a historic complex of law-enforcement buildings including the former Victoria Prison.

The government announced in 2007 that it would lease the site to the Jockey Club to run an arts and commercial complex. The subsequent six-month consultation resulted in the club bowing to public pressure and scrapping the observation deck designed by renowned Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron. It is due to announce the revised plan soon.

Activists are also unhappy about what they see as secretiveness by applicants for the police quarters site.

The forum proposed by Cheng and the Central and Western Concern Group was aborted on September 25 because only one of the four applicants accepted the invitation to introduce their proposals to develop creative industries on the site.

"People have in the past complained about noisy rock concerts organised inside the [disused] police quarters. It is important the operators hear what neighbours think," Katty Law Ngar-ning, convenor of the concern group said.

Law said the approach adopted for the Blue House tenement in Wan Chai, where residents were included in the process, was good and should also be adopted for the quarters site.

The Development Bureau has given an advisory committee on revitalisation of historic buildings, comprising professionals and government officials, the task of choosing an operator for the police quarters site.

Applicants include an NGO set up by Sino Land, a charity set up by a newspaper proprietor and a group of artists and designers.

Cheng said she felt annoyed that the applicants did not attend the forum. "We want to know what they will do with the heritage site and how much they will open the space to the public. The government has the responsibility to engage the public in the selection process," she said.

A bureau spokeswoman said it had conducted a three-month public engagement exercise in May 2008 before launching the tender.

Advisory committee chairman Bernard Chan said it was up to the government to decide how much consultation should be conducted.

"It is actually not bad to hear more views. In the Blue House project, we initially thought it would be difficult to make a judgment together with residents but it turned out to be the opposite," he said.

The recent announcement of the redevelopment plan for the government headquarters, which involves knocking down the west wing for a new office tower and mall, is also likely to run into opposition during the consultation, which continues until the end of next month.

Activists such as Law and lawmaker Tanya Chan are asking why the symbol and landscape of political power have to be commercialised.

Antiquities Advisory Board member Dr Ng Cho-nam said the landmark buildings in the heart of Central would inevitably draw attention and it would be wise to heed public views. "It's natural people are concerned to whom the government will hand over these key development sites. Without active consultation it's easy to think that the decision is made at officials' will," Ng said.

Ada Wong Ying-kay, a member of the only applicant for the Hollywood Road project that accepted the invitation to the forum, said the approaches to the sites were inconsistent and a mechanism to govern heritage revitalisation was lacking.

"It's all up to officials to decide which buildings are put up for revitalisation and who will take them. There should be a heritage policy that goes through the list of all heritage buildings and categorises them to identify which should be opened up to community discussion," Wong said.

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Colors from past offer hues of vitality
19 January 2011
The Standard

Most people know about the Blue House, the 1920s-era tenement on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai. But not so many people realize it is part of a cluster that includes a Yellow House and an Orange House.

Part of the Yellow House, just around the corner on Hing Wan Street, is from the same era as its blue neighbor, but an earlier section (with numbers 2-4) is believed to date from 1903 or even earlier.

Both parts share a similar Western style, with big windows but no balconies overlooking the narrow street. Wooden staircases are among the features.

The Orange House, on King Sing Street, was built more recently _ in the 1950s _ and unlike the other two it is not yet graded. It is a four-story concrete and steel tenement, lacking the decorative features found in the earlier structures.

Like the other two buildings, the Orange House was designed to house shops below and residential accommodation above.

This cluster of old buildings occupying much of one block may have ended up being redeveloped, but thanks to new thinking about our heritage it is now recognized as worth preserving.

However, this is not as easy as it sounds _ especially as the government has promised to allow existing residents to remain. The Blue and Yellow houses do not have indoor toilets, for example.

After a couple of years of work, however, this cluster will house restaurants and cultural and community facilities, and another important piece of our past will have been given new life.

Bernard Charnwut Chan, chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, sees culture from all perspectives.

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Originally Posted by hkskyline

New life beckons for tenants as heritage scheme kicks in
The Standard
Thursday, September 16, 2010

Twenty-one residents of Wan Chai's historic Blue House will be allowed to stay put even as the building is being revitalized.

TV news video of the revitalization plan (in Cantonese) :
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/webapps...news_id=342225

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Ins and outs of heritage protection
The Standard
Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Public awareness of heritage issues has risen a great deal in the past 10 years or so, and the government and other concerned bodies have also started to take the issue more seriously.

Those who care about conservation may be interested in a small example of how we are seeing a more active and professional approach: the guidelines academics drew up on how the famous 1922 Blue House in Wan Chai can be adapted for future use.

The guidelines call for minimum intervention to preserve as much of the exterior as possible, and to restore it where necessary to its original appearance. Any new additions that are necessary should be reversible without causing any damage to the original structure.

Some of the changes made to the exterior in the past can be kept. (This last point is interesting: a 1950s addition may be as valuable a part of our heritage as the original structure - a building is a living thing.)

The interior guidelines are crucial, because the plan is to revitalize the Blue House and the adjoining old structures. The interiors may be altered where necessary to install modern building services, and also, if appropriate, to allow for new usages. However, any changes like this should not affect the external appearance, or the structural integrity.

This is a brief summary, but I think it shows a sensitive and practical approach, and a good example for use in similar heritage situations.

Bernard Charnwut Chan, chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, sees culture from all perspectives.

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Source : http://www.shotxy.com

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House of rising fun
The Standard
Friday, June 01, 2012

The Blue House is not really blue - at least from a sociocultural perspective. While blue often represents a feeling of sadness and calm, Wan Chai's Blue House is being kept lively and dynamic by a conservation management plan named Viva Blue House.

The house and two adjacent buildings, its Yellow and Orange peers on Stone Nullah Lane, will be restored and reincarnated as a living museum, assisted by the government and St James' Settlement.

From Sunday to June 16, the Viva Blue House Festival 2012 will be held in the neighborhood to kick off the revitalization scheme, with the public invited to experience the old community culture that has been vanishing due to rapid urban renewal in the SAR. In the old days, people living in the neighborhood had a much closer bond.

"It's common to know your next- door neighbors or people living in the area because everyone likes to hang out in the public areas just to relax," says Him Lo, curator of the festival.

Some would dry their cotton quilts in the park, while a bunch of old men would crowd around a small table to watch a Chinese chess match. Kids would run around playing hide and seek, and moms would yell from the balconies of the apartments to get their children to come home for dinner.

However, all this is getting less common as high-rise buildings invade Wan Chai and other old districts, and privacy and security become more vital for a so- called good neighborhood.

"You can hardly find anyone chilling out at these new buildings or any community activities taking place in those areas," Lo says.

"It feels so isolated and discreet, completely different from the old days. And more and more of these high-rise buildings are appearing in Hong Kong, meaning that this warm community culture will soon disappear."

Through the Viva Blue House scheme, Lo hopes to preserve the living heritage, tangible or intangible, and sustain the local network and culture. A series of cultural and social activities has been prepared for the festival, promoting the multifunctionality of public space and what old Hong Kong was like.

Two actors will pretend to be real estate agents and lead tours inside the Blue House to introduce the design characteristics and cultural significance of the old-style buildings. They sound just like those real agents who are keen and aggressive on making a deal - but these units are not for sale.

The paper puppet theater will stage a show about the time when residents fought for their right to stay and asked the government to keep the Blue House cluster.

Three football teams will play against each other for the Blue House Cup using a plastic ball with orange and white stripes that resemble a watermelon.

A handful of housewives living in the area will scout around the dry and wet markets in Wan Chai and prepare popular local snacks for those taking part. Movies will be screened in the space outside the Blue House.

"Over the past two decades, Wan Chai district has gone through rapid, drastic changes," says Suki Chau Hei- suen from St James' Settlement community development services. "Much of the local color has been lost."

She finds urban development plans for different districts are pretty much the same. Large corporations usually take the lead in developing these districts, and they all end up looking similar.

"You will certainly find the leading chain restaurants and grocery stores in those areas, and family-owned businesses and small boutiques are forced to close down because of the high rental rates," Chau says.

Through the Blue House revitalization plan, Chau hopes to preserve the local culture of Wan Chai and promote recognition of the importance of preserving heritage. The past two months have been a trial period for the plan and both Chau and Lo have had positive feedback from residents and the public.

"Apart from sustaining the characteristics of the old Wan Chai, we also respect Blue House residents," Chau says. "We try not to cause too much disturbance to their daily routine and we ask their opinions whenever we come up with new ideas for social activities in the area."