Projects
SMART CULTURAL PRECINCT @ CENTRAL
The Smart Cultural Precinct (SCP) in Central is a comprehensive, bottom-up, conservation place-making initiative involving participation of various stakeholders from the community, academia, public and private sectors to create a cultural precinct in the heart of the historic Central District. At the core of SCP is the Cultural Triangle formed by three historic landmarks, Police Married Quarters (PMQ), Central Police Station (CPS – Tai Kwun) and Central Market (CM) and the area within in Central. The Cultural Triangle was a concept that was developed when UDP International initially worked on the adaptive reuse of PMQ in 2009. Since then we continued to put in a lot of effort in undertaking the research, further developing the concept and in 2014 together with ISU we started to engage key stakeholders to bring this vision to reality.
SCP capitalises on the adaptive reuse of Government based conservation of PMQ, Tai Kwun and CM. The objective is to create a walkable cultural precinct in Central that promotes the city’s cultural heritage and re-brands Hong Kong’s city image and identity. SCP aims to conserve the traditional street culture and enhance the neighborhood vibrancy through urban design interventions, place-making, and traffic calming initiatives to create a pedestrian friendly environment with high quality public realm, streetscape, street furniture, signage and wayfinding within the cultural precinct.
ISU is currently working together with YWCA and UDP International, with local support from the Central and Western District Council, to host a series of community engagement events to educate and raise awareness of SCP, including the Kick Off Event, Work and Workshop, Walk and Tour, Community and Place Making Event as well as Final Forum.
EVENTS
KICK OFF AND CITY WALK
The kick-off event was held on 25th February 2019 at PMQ including a pre-walk and workshop. The kick-off event introduced SCP and the concept of the cultural triangle to the local community and how it can help revitalize and improve the district by creating a walkable cultural precinct in Central.
WALK AND WORKSHOP II
The Walk and Workshop II was held on 16th March 2019 at H6 Conet and gave a glimpse of the unique urban setting with some of its remaining heritage components, such as the historic tenement buildings and the adaptive reuse of major developments in Central. The walk covered PMQ, Taikwun, the CM and the areas in between within the Cultural Triangle.
WALK AND TOUR
The Walk and Tour event was held on 13th April 2019 including a city walk and building tours. The event gave participants a better understanding of the importance of SCP including the Cultural Triangle at its core especially the history, revitalisation process and adaptive reuse of PMQ, Tai Kwun and Central Market including H6 Conet.
COMMUNITY AND PLACE MAKING
The Community and Place Making Event was held on 25th May 2019 in Lok Hing Lane Temporary Sitting-Out Area. A place was created by decorating the sitting-out area with balloons, colourful mats and bean bags, it provided participants a unique and relaxing environment and transformed an underused open space into an active and inviting place with games, food and music attracting other passers-by as well.
WALK AND WORKSHOP III
Walk and Workshop III was held on 20th July 2019 at H6 Conet. The event organised different types of workshops including Chinese Calligraphy, Mahjong Carving including Hand Sketching for children. Experienced tutors were invited to promote the hidden and vanishing culture of Hong Kong attracting interested participants.
PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum – Walkable City was held on August 31st 2019 at the Laundry Steps in Tai Kwun. The event included music performances from the youth and elderly, through which they shared their thoughts on cultural heritage and their experience on previous SCP events. The SCP logo and map for the cultural precinct was shared with participants for their feedback. Panel presentations on SCP and the power of good design to create communities and cities promoting walkability and cultural heritage conservation.
PUBLICATION
Public Forum – Walkable City was held on August 31st 2019 at the Laundry Steps in Tai Kwun. The event included music performances from the youth and elderly, through which they shared their thoughts on cultural heritage and their experience on previous SCP events. The SCP logo and map for the cultural precinct was shared with participants for their feedback. Panel presentations on SCP and the power of good design to create communities and cities promoting walkability and cultural heritage conservation.
