Blue House cluster : developing an assessment model framework for community-involved urban conservation in Hong Kong

Abstract

Generally, architectural conservation in Hong Kong is all about hardware while the software is ignored. In many cases, only the façade and building fabrics were being preserved, the soul and spirit of the built-heritage were neglected nevertheless. It means that often are the individual buildings conserved without retaining the authentic uses and people associated with the buildings. Recent redevelopment projects in old urban districts have destroyed many neighbourhood and communities, such as Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai. The Street was originally a cluster of wedding card businesses, named ‘Wedding Card Street’ by the local, then redeveloped into a luxury housing development. The original cluster was emphasized strong community cohesion and collective identity due to the mutual help and everyday life of the community members. After the redevelopment, the local community vanished, including the cultural heritage as a local wedding card business cluster. In inner Wan Chai, such an old urban district, redevelopment projects have been ongoing in recent years, threatening the various neighbourhood communities in the district. Meanwhile, the Blue House Cluster revitalisation project seems to have successfully created an unprecedented community-involved approach for urban conservation in Hong Kong. The revitalisation project has achieved “Retain Houses and Tenants” –safeguarding the resident’s living spaces with the heritage building preserved. The cultural significance of Blue House Cluster has not only been retained tangibly, the intangible sense of community has also been sustained, maintaining their way of life at the same buildings with the same community in the same neighbourhood. This thesis aims to examine the case of the Blue House Cluster revitalisation project to analyse whether or not it is a successful community-involved urban conservation project with an assessment model which will be introduced in the thesis. The case study would show how the assessment model be applied in a revitalisation project. The model could also be applied for future revitalisation of urban heritage in Hong Kong. The scope of this thesis is on the assessment of the Blue House Cluster revitalisation project. With the introduction of an assessment model for community-involved urban conservation in Hong Kong, the revitalisation project will be assessed how the community participation and involvement accomplished in the project.