Landscape – Great Idea! X-LArch III - Department für Raum ...
Landscape – Great Idea! X-LArch III - Department für Raum ...
Landscape – Great Idea! X-LArch III - Department für Raum ...
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110<br />
Serveral private sectors initiate connecting green ideas<br />
with commercial projects. For example, the Sino Group’s<br />
Citywalk is a green shopping mall. It presents a Vertical<br />
Garden the size of a standard tennis court and “Citywalk<br />
Piazza” with landscaped water features and a hybrid chiller<br />
system that improves air quality and recycles waste<br />
water. It is the perfect blend of nature and shopping.<br />
Fig. 3: GMP for Tsim Sha Tsui (adapted from: http://www.cedd.gov.<br />
hk/eng/index.htm, 2008)<br />
suitable locations for planting with desirable themes<br />
and species. The GMP first started in two of the busiest<br />
districts of Hong Kong, namely Tsim Sha Tsui and<br />
Central. The short-term greening works were completed<br />
in 2007 [Fig. 3]. Given the constraints of the sites, the<br />
comprehensive improvement with the addition of a<br />
large number of plants achieved a preliminary success.<br />
Although short-term GMPs cannot increase open spaces<br />
immediately, the significance of change is that streets<br />
become safer and greener than ever before. The GMPs<br />
for the remaining districts is underway [Fig. 4].<br />
Besides the GMP, the Architectural Services <strong>Department</strong><br />
has conducted a Study on Green Roof Application in<br />
Hong Kong (2007) and in practice has completed 68 projects<br />
between 2001 and 2006. At present, the application<br />
mainly covers government buildings, such as schools,<br />
hospitals, community facilities and government quarters.<br />
At the same time, the Environment and Conservation<br />
Fund will encourage different organisations to integrate<br />
greening and landscape design in suitable buildings.<br />
Vertical greening is the <strong>Department</strong>‘s next step after roof<br />
greening. A remarkable Vertical Garden as mentioned<br />
above, currently the largest of its kind in Hong Kong,<br />
plays a key role not only in providing aesthetic appeal,<br />
but also in reducing ambient temperature, providing thermal<br />
insulation, acoustical control and air purification.<br />
Slopes and retaining walls can be seen everywhere in<br />
Hong Kong. Based on many years of working experiences,<br />
the Geotechnical Engineering Office (under the<br />
Civil Engineering Development <strong>Department</strong>) worked<br />
out a Technical Guidelines on <strong>Landscape</strong> Treatments<br />
and Bio-enigeering for Man-made Slopes and Retaining<br />
Walls. Numerous landscaped slopes have been examined<br />
during raining seasons which are still protecting<br />
residents from landslide, providing visual release, and<br />
contributing to surrounding environment.<br />
In summary, we can draw a three-dimenstional green<br />
space network by putting all the efforts together.<br />
Improvement in urban greenery is evident at multiple<br />
elevation levels - on the ground level along the footpaths<br />
and driveways, on the elevated walkways and under<br />
the fly-overs, on the podium and roof-top level, on the<br />
slopes and vertical structures etc. More green areas<br />
are provided during planning and implementation, and<br />
Fig. 4: Short-term GMPs for<br />
different districts (adapted<br />
and revised from booklet of<br />
GMPs, 2008)<br />
Fig. 5: Different green spaces<br />
at different scales