Prewar Tonglau in URA “Lung Shing” Area of Kowloon City Redevelopment Project – Stepping Experience in 68 Nga Tsin Wai Road

If you have read my last blog entry, you must know I am fascinated with tonglau. On 15^th October (Saturday), I am excited to join the Kowloon City tour guided by Alfred Ho, the founder of Urban Studies Institute since he introduced prewar and postwar tenement buildings in that area to enrich my knowledge on the differences of tonglau and European building, and facilitate my focus research on common-place heritage. 

As we know URA has commenced the redevelopment project of the Nga Tsin Wai Road / Carpenter Road Development Scheme (KC-017) in Kowloon City. There are four prewar tenement buildings within the redevelopment area which are all ungraded. Although URA plans to preserve their architectural elements, I am still worried about the situation of the building such as preservation, restoration and demolition. The urban landscape reflecting the district's character and community bonding may be disappeared. 

This time I choose 68 Nga Tsin Wai Road as the case study because only this building has a timber staircase with accessibility in Kowloon City. There are only 3 remaining timber staircases in Kowloon City. They are rarely seen nowadays because of urban renewal and non-compliance with the current Cap. 123 Buildings Ordinance.  

It is a 3-storey verandah-type tenement building built in 1935. The ground floor is used for retailing (currently shoe shop), and 1/F & 2/F (rooftop) is for residence but abandoned with no entry for a long time. The front elevation is supported by two columns to form a verandah projecting out of the pavement and a covered walkway in front of the shop. 

I find that there is a projected layer of bricks surrounding half of the left column, which may be used to support the building structure. There is also the molding pattern of geometric shapes like circles and square on the rear side of the left column. 

On the 1/F and the rooftop, there are 12 tenoned and pegged balusters on the façade middle’s horizontal rectangular hollow section of each floor respectively. On the top of right column, there is a geometric moulding decoration that a rhombus enclosed by a vertical rectangle and bottoms with four slim triangles, which may be the decoration in Art Deco style to add aesthetic value to the building because Art Deco is originated in Paris in 1925 and flourished in Asia between the 1920s and the 1940s that the period is consistent with the construction year of this building. The first floor has also been enclosed with aluminum framed windows which are estimated newly added. On the rooftop, there is an additional structure with a galvanized iron canopy for the residence. Between the first floor and the rooftop, there is a streamlining canopy to provide the shelter from weather conditions. Apart from the front façade, don’t miss the architectural details of the roof parapet wall on the side façade, the shape is in the stepped form!   

The narrow timber staircase is the lucky survivor not eliminated by the building ordinances. The riser and tread of staircases are all made of hardwood, as well with the timber handrail. Since the Buildings Ordinance of 1935 prescribes ventilation with a window in every storey (See Appendix 1). Building (Construction) Regulation of 1956 prohibits the construction of timber staircases inside the building for fire-resistance reasons (See Appendix 2). And the current Building Ordinance requires the staircase have no more than 16 steps in any flight. 

                  

I have counted that there are 24 steps on the stair from the ground to 1/F, while 18 steps on the stairs from 1/F to the rooftop. Therefore this straight-flight timber staircase is the key evidence and also the character-defining element with an exceptional level of significance to reflect the living condition and material used in the tenement building built in or before 1935.

 

In order to explore more about this building, I revisited it on 22nd October (Saturday). I inspected visually the stair slope pitch is around 60°-75°. I also found its squeaky and wet rot problem.

On the landing of 1/F, the original reddish-brown cement floor tiles bounded by rhombus-square are retained. The pattern is consistent with the decorative moulding on the right column of the front elevation. 

On this floor, there is also an entrance of the dwelling closed by a timber door on left, and a masonry wall with red bricks not covered by the exterior painted reinforced concrete wall, which reveals the actual building material of the wall. 

👈 My stepping experience in this building!!!!!!!

This awful experience let me imagine the living condition of the previous resident here. They have to walk down the tilted staircase everyday. It is inconvenient for people’s daily life, which highlights the need for redevelopment. Despite the inconvenience, the timber straight-flight staircase reflects the authentic setting and living condition of the prewar period. To conclude, the cluster of tonglau is still the best urban fabric to showcase the history and the livelihood of old district because the tenement building is the product of urbanization. It also implies the development of public health and building technology, which help us to understand the life of the community. Not only the artistic beauty, but also the disadvantage what the building brings to the people should be identified and told. Therefore, I hope URA should consider conserving the streetscape with genius loci, and also retain other significant intangible values, but not only focus on conserving the singular buildings separately, and make the tenement building become the aliens out of the rebuilt environment in Kowloon City.

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Appendix 1 Buildings Ordinance 1935

(Source: The University of Hong Kong Libraries. “Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online | BUILDINGS ORDINANCE.” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online. Accessed 24 October, 2022. https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/1877 )

 

Appendix 2 Buildings Construction Regulations 1956

(Source: The University of Hong Kong Libraries. “Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online | BUILDING (PLANNING) REGULATIONS.” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online. Accessed 24 October, 2022. https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/2542 )