Author Description

Hong Kong can in some ways be considered a model city. It combines lively streets with lush parks, beautiful waterfronts, and a perfectly arranged public transportation system. Its density is ecologically high efficient. And it has an intense housing program that creates a socially attractive model. This deserves attention, though. The housing towers are based on the simple extrusion of a relatively uniform floor plan; all packed closely together, creating a truly monotonous 'sea of needles'. The approach not only produces unattractive and low quality housing stock, but it reduces economical variety and hampers social diversity. This model of development fails to make use of the enormous potential inherent to such a dense metropolitan city, and in many ways, it impedes Hong Kong's competitiveness with surrounding cities. Towers of Choices is an invitation to designers, planners and politicians to envision and realize a more varied Hong Kong cityscape through a focused investigation of Hong Kong's housing typologies and towers. The publication stems from a series of studios hosted at Hong Kong University that examined Hong Kong's existing housing stock and its relation to building regulations. New means have been proposed with which a more harmonious balance between population density and quality of life has been explored. This book synthesizes this body of research and proposes various new concepts for housing towers - concepts that go beyond simple extrusion.