Of design and conservation : establishing the guidelines for infill design in the conservation of religious heritage sites in the context of Hong Kong

Abstract

The aim of this research is therefore to form a fundamental discourse for the essence and ‘best practice’ or ‘holistic approach’ (referred in this paper) in the design philosophy of infill design in aid to the local practicum on infill proposals similar to the initiative case – BBS Infill Project. To the end, the scope of the discourse on infill design is also expected to be reviewed, studied and justified along the process of discovery and exploratory research being conducted. Deriving from such research aim, the two main research objectives are:  To study on the discourse of infill design in both the international and local perspectives in the context of conservation to critically evaluate the discrepancy and shortcomings in the local practicum of infill proposals. And draw lessons from the above,  To establish a set of guides with imagery and table illustrations to help capturing the essence of the design philosophy and potentials for the local practicum derived from all the studies.

The second key words in the objectives are therefore framed into the sub-heading to elaborate from the main subject of this research – INFILL IN THE CONTEXT OF HONG KONG. Developed from the research aim and objectives, this dissertation seeks to answer six key research questions in a logical sequence: 1. How should we understand infill and infill design in definition and terminology in the context of heritage conservation? 2. What are the prevailing heritage conservation principles for infill design being championed by international charter, other national and regional best practices? How are they formulating the holistic approach for its new unconventional design methodology? 3. Beyond scope of design, to what extents does the local practicum facilitate the holistic approach of infill design in practical aspects? 4. Are there any phenomenal issues for its specific typology that have shaped the local practicum for infill design? Are there any lessons to be drawn from its local compatible cases, e.g. which have led to the success and controversy of their design? 5. What project issues, design issues were involved in the BBS Infill Project for its application procedure to the relevant B/Ds? What are the best ways to ensure its infill would be good fit and complement with the contained historic BBS main building? 6. What are the best ways forward given the current situations for infill design, both ideally and realistically? By answering these research questions, this dissertation hopes to provide detailed answers to the fundamental discourse of infill design to identify and consolidate the appropriate guidelines for such unconventional design that involves the doctrine in heritage conservation (Design and conservation aspect), for its local practice (Practical aspect) and for one particular case-supported architectural typology (Project aspect).