South Wanchai Residentials

Addition+Alternative
Schematic Design
Studio Ulrich+Fai / 2022

GFA: 11000 sqm
100m Max. mpdH

The project breaks the convention, on top of regulations, to build on top of a non-domestic program and to use status quo transfer plates and pilotis system. Instead of alienating the residential, the project rethinks transfer system via exoskeleton splitting and twisting applied on a podium tower, both help defining interior space and view directions. In the investigation phase I looked at a multitude of aspects reflected in the building code - in terms of projections, architectural features, site coverage, transfer system, voids, façade.

Further Information:
https://www.arch.hku.hk/gallery/arch/what-the-code/

Day

Night

The debate between empirical and cultural practice has always been renewed – the battle between professionals heralding productions of instruments and services adhering to the building code and culturalists pushing new transdisciplinary idea vessels and constantly challenges tradition. Architectural design pedagogy has distanced itself away from the practice, for good reasons – codes and regulation hinder design from testing novel ideas. Design practice as a dynamic and ever-changing pursuit performs its duty as frontrunner of contemporary cityscape, and codes are to be amended and bettered.

Tower Prototype

Concept Model

The original Lui Kee Education Bureau building marks a location that most Hong kong people know about but have never noticed. The building sits on a plot that housed 150 years of educational purpose building, earliest being the first catholic school in Hong Kong Island, and the first public school in South Wanchai.

In 2022, Swire Properties won the land bid for this plot of land and its plan is to build luxury residential and demolish the educational building. The project aimed at preserving and repurposing the existing school, building residential on top of it via novel structural system. This project in- volved a site investigation - the South Wanchai neighborhood and structural systems of the local and global precedents.

Massing Studies

The project conducted a series of massing studies to explore the relationship between the bulk and podium of the building. These studies addressed aspects such as orientation, scale, structure, transfer, porosity, and functions. The transfer zone and structural system were identified as key factors in ensuring optimal views for residents. The existing school, which served as the foundation for the residential bulk, had columns more suited for educational spaces than commercial purposes. To address this, the decision was made to elevate the ground and create a unique area with distinctive architectural features that fostered a sense of belonging for residents.