The Last Tong Lau - A Panoramic Perspective
Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po (2014) Ki Lung Street (基隆街) runs through historic Sham Shui Po, a district situated in the northern Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong (香港). The nine-storey block featured in this panorama was built in 1963, and is a prime example of a post-war "tong lau ( 唐樓)" or "shophouse", a type of tenement architecture previously used throughout Southern China for mixed residential and commercial purposes. This block also features the much-loved curved corners at either end, an architectural feature that is increasingly rare in today's modern buildings. Given the high rate of urban decay in the area, Sham Shui Po is a major target for urban renewal projects and such traditional tong lau are rapidly being replaced by new high rises. Ki Lung Street - more colloquially known as “Button Street” - is one of the go-to streets in Hong Kong for purchasing wholesale fabrics, fasteners, sequins, feathers, buttons, and other garment accessories. The popup market stalls in this panorama are mainly dealing in ready-to-wear apparel; the wholesale fabric merchants are to be found along many of the neighbouring streets in Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan. Another notable feature of this panorama is the use of 100% natural bamboo scaffolding for construction, a traditional practice which is still used widely throughout Hong Kong today - 5 million bamboo rods are imported into the city every year.
Blue House, Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai (2018) The famous Blue House (藍屋) cluster of buildings, located on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai, is a prime example of pre-war tong lau architecture, and a case-study in successful heritage conservation. Once the site of a Chinese hospital, then a temple devoted to the God of Medicine, the tenement buildings now situated at 72-74 Stone Nullah Lane were built between 1922 and 1927. These Chinese shophouses were constructed with timber and bricks, featuring cantilevered balconies and wooden French doors. They once housed local shops on the street level, including a grocery store, a wine merchant and a Chinese bonesetter; while the upper 3 floors accommodated scores of local residents in around 20 subdivided apartments. While the exterior was originally painted white, when the government decided to redecorate the block in 1997, they used leftover paint from the Water Supplies Department, which is how the Blue House got its name. At that time, the section at number 74A was privately-owned and still painted white, so it was decided it should remain that colour until the present day. A grassroots campaign was successful in preventing the demolition of the Blue House structure, although the shops and apartments were in much need of upgrading. In 2013, the government began to revitalise the Blue House, together with neighbouring tenements known as the Yellow House and the Orange House. All of the Blue House’s historical features would be preserved, including patterned floor tiles, and ornate iron railings, but each of the apartments would be modified to include bathrooms, kitchens and air-conditioning. At that time, most residents had lived inside the cluster for over half a century; the only pre-war shophouse to retain a comprehensive social network. Local activists were able to persuade the government to allow the original residents of the site to move back into the accommodation once the renovations had been completed, with subsidised rents. The revitalisation project was completed in 2017 and now houses several family units who had been long-term residents of the site previously, as well as several restaurants run by social enterprises, and a community centre dedicated to recording and exhibiting Hong Kong stories. In 2017, the restoration was the first Hong Kong-based project to receive the Award of Excellence in UNESCO’s Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The jury noted how the Blue House Cluster “has safeguarded not only the architecture, but also the living history and culture of a neighbourhood.” 著名的藍屋建築群位於灣仔的石水渠街，是戰前唐樓建築的典範，也是保護文物的成功研究案例。藍屋前身曾經為一所醫院，後來變為用作供奉「神醫華陀」的廟宇。現在位於石渠道72至74號的四層高唐樓建於1922年至1927年間，這些「下舖上居」的中式店屋 (Shophouse) 以木材和磚塊建造，設有懸臂式陽台和木製法式門，是香港僅存擁有露台建築的唐樓。 居民們曾經在地下一層開設了不同的地道商店，包括一家雜貨店、一家酒莊和一家中醫館。而上面三層則是可容納約20個細分公寓的居民。雖然藍屋最初外觀是白色，但於1997年時，政府決定重新為其外牆髹上油漆，但因物料庫只剩下水務署常用的藍色油漆，結果成為了「藍屋」名字的由來。而當時74A的部分屬於私人擁有，因此仍然保持白色外牆，當局至今仍決定它應該保持相同顏色。 雖然樓宇結構需要修復升級，但基層運動成功地阻止了藍屋被清拆。於2013年，政府開始重建藍屋，以及鄰近的黃屋和橙屋。藍屋的花紋地磚和華麗的鐵欄杆等等富歷史感的特色，都成功被保留下來，而每間公寓都進行了包括浴室、廚房和空調的升級。當時大多數居民已經生活於內半個多世紀；是唯一仍然保留其獨有社區網絡的戰前店屋。當地社運人士成功說服政府允許藍屋的原居民在修復完成後搬回住所，並獲得補貼租金。活化計劃於2017年完成，目前有數個家庭單位曾經是該社區的長期居民，還有數家社會企業經營的餐館，以及一個致力於記錄和展示香港故事的社區中心。2017年，該修復工程成為香港首個項目，獲得聯合國頒發亞太區文化遺產保育保護獎最高榮譽的卓越大獎。陪審團注意到藍屋建築群「不僅保護了建築，而且保護了鄰里的生活歷史和文化。」
著名的藍屋建築群位於灣仔的石水渠街，是戰前唐樓建築的典範，也是保護文物的成功研究案例。藍屋前身曾經為一所醫院，後來變為用作供奉「神醫華陀」的廟宇。現在位於石渠道72至74號的四層高唐樓建於1922年至1927年間，這些「下舖上居」的中式店屋 (Shophouse) 以木材和磚塊建造，設有懸臂式陽台和木製法式門，是香港僅存擁有露台建築的唐樓。
居民們曾經在地下一層開設了不同的地道商店，包括一家雜貨店、一家酒莊和一家中醫館。而上面三層則是可容納約20個細分公寓的居民。雖然藍屋最初外觀是白色，但於1997年時，政府決定重新為其外牆髹上油漆，但因物料庫只剩下水務署常用的藍色油漆，結果成為了「藍屋」名字的由來。而當時74A的部分屬於私人擁有，因此仍然保持白色外牆，當局至今仍決定它應該保持相同顏色。
雖然樓宇結構需要修復升級，但基層運動成功地阻止了藍屋被清拆。於2013年，政府開始重建藍屋，以及鄰近的黃屋和橙屋。藍屋的花紋地磚和華麗的鐵欄杆等等富歷史感的特色，都成功被保留下來，而每間公寓都進行了包括浴室、廚房和空調的升級。當時大多數居民已經生活於內半個多世紀；是唯一仍然保留其獨有社區網絡的戰前店屋。當地社運人士成功說服政府允許藍屋的原居民在修復完成後搬回住所，並獲得補貼租金。活化計劃於2017年完成，目前有數個家庭單位曾經是該社區的長期居民，還有數家社會企業經營的餐館，以及一個致力於記錄和展示香港故事的社區中心。2017年，該修復工程成為香港首個項目，獲得聯合國頒發亞太區文化遺產保育保護獎最高榮譽的卓越大獎。陪審團注意到藍屋建築群「不僅保護了建築，而且保護了鄰里的生活歷史和文化。」