(Design Competition)

Our concept focuses on revealing the damage the bridge has suffered over the years, aiming to highlight the importance of heritage conservation to visitors of the site.

The bridge was built in the late years of the Qing dynasty; it was a vital part of the Kowloon City Fortress, the main Chinese outpost in the region. It acted as a link between Hong Kong, the Qing government and western world, having a pavilion add later on to welcome arriving Chinese officials.

Despite its importance in history, like many other historical sites in Hong Kong, over the years it has been intentionally damaged and covered over in the name of development. In some cases, foundation for airport terminals had even been set right on top of the artifact.

Building on this we came up with the architectural solution of using frames of different angles, sizes and density to relate to the extent of damage that different sections of the bright have suffered. Where the new seawalls cut though the bridge the frame angel’s change to align with angle of the destruction. Where pillars from the Kai Tak airport terminal have damage the bridge, frames are densely positioned, reflecting the harsh damaged this has caused.

Relationship with neighbourhood

The light design of the frames fits into the local environment, unlike a solid structure, a frame design provides emphasis on the artefact without obstructing the open view. The open design of the frames also gives visitors an interactive experience with the remains, allowing them to get close up/ touch or even sit on parts of the bridge.

Other than this if the bridge is viewed from either end of the site, the frames will form a tunnel, taking ones focus away from the surrounding modern tower blocks, to create an environment for visitors to immerse themselves and reflect on the history of the area.

Interconnectivity with other heritage resources

With the aim of allowing the site to act as corridor between the other heritage resources in the joining districts, using the frames the design has integrated pedestrian paths at three different gradient levels. Other than just providing a passageway, these paths give visitors the opportunity to view the artifact from different levels, with the lowest level even giving visitors the chance to walk amounts the remains.

A clear theme for the Preservation Corridor and future design

The clear frame design can be used throughout the adjacent heritage site to both unify the experience and highlight the damage that the other heritage sites have suffered.