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Even as architecture moves deeper into the digital realm, drafting and rendering by hand remains quintessential to the craft. The George Architect channel on YouTube—managed by Reza Asgaripour and Avdieienko Heorhii—aims to inspire both practitioners and fans of architecture by demonstrating new ways of depicting the built environment with impeccable style. Tune in to see how you can improve your own sketches.
A longer version of this article, written by current ArchDaily intern Sharon Lam, was originally published in Salient, the magazine of the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association, titled “In the Shadow of the Kowloon Walled City.”
It is the 1970s in Hong Kong, and you are eleven years old. Early one evening, you go out to a nearby neighborhood for dinner with your family. A five-minute walk from your primary school, it is also a place you frequent with your friends. The food here is good and especially renowned for its fishball noodle soup, which is what you always get. You’ve been here so often that navigating the subterranean corridors to the noodle stand is easy, and you know where to step to avoid the ceilings that drip the most. Your bowl of noodles arrives and you slurp them down, unaware of the fact that over the next couple of years this very neighborhood will peak in its population and its infamy, and remain even decades later as one of the most remarkable social anomalies in recent history.
At its peak, the Kowloon Walled City was home to 33,000 people in just two hectares of land—the size of about two rugby fields—making it the densest place on Earth at the time. It was a hastily put together conglomerate of tiny apartments, one on top of the other, caged balconies slapped onto the sides and connected through a labyrinth of damp, dark corridors. All the while, the rest of Hong Kong went about as normal, seemingly unaffected by the crime and squalor within the Walled City.
Courtesy of City of Darkness Revisited
This unique society and its complete neglect by the rest of Hong Kong was born of the equally unique political conditions of the Kowloon site. Initially a Chinese outpost for the salt trade during the Song Dynasty (960AD–1279), it was later turned into a military outpost with an added coastal fort in the 1800s. When China lost to the British in the first Opium War, Hong Kong was ceded and officially handed over in 1842. However, the Kowloon site was an exception, with the British allowing the Chinese to stay at the site as long as they did not politically interfere. China went on to fully reclaim the ownership of the Kowloon site in 1947, but its separation from the mainland meant they did little to enforce laws, while Britain also went with a “hands-off” policy. Free from both sides of the law, squatters soon flooded in, and so began the legend of the Kowloon Walled City.
By 1950 the population had grown to 17,000. People moved to the Walled City out of bankruptcy, lack of choice, and to either flee or exploit the lack of law. Construction proliferated alongside population, a truly modern vernacular free from any building regulation or code. Within the darkness of the Walled City, crime, unregulated businesses (everything from opium dens and brothels to plastic bags and spring rolls) and family life went on day after day.
It wasn’t until 1984 that both governments decided the Walled City had become enough of a backwards embarrassment and eyesore that they had to tear it down. In 1992, residents were evicted and given monetary compensation, and the site was converted into a public commemorative park.
Despite my many, often lengthy, trips to Hong Kong, I have never visited the park. It is not a well advertised or well heard of tourist attraction, nor is it a place of local pride. In fact it was from the mouth of a Swede that I first heard of the Kowloon Walled City and each time since then that the Walled City has come up, it has been from Caucasian commentary. In my urban design paper, the Kowloon Walled City was brought up as an example of a “slum” that showed the consequences of the lack of building regulations. There was no mention of the delicious bowls of noodles one could find there. Rather, the Kowloon Walled City is in conversation usually described as “post-apocalyptic,” “scary” and “crazy.”
Compare this to the way in which my dad talks about the city—a smirk broke across his face as soon as the name was mentioned, and I was surprised to learn that his primary school was just next door from this “crazy” mass of drugs, gangs and crime. In fact, most of our conversation focused on the food that you could find there. He describes the place as “very special,” both as the only place in Hong Kong that went unaffected by British rule and as a unique community in itself. He went on to describe the physical environment of the place, with an energy that I have only otherwise seen during one of his jam-making frenzies. Smiling, he recalled the constant dripping of water leaks everywhere and the surreal disappearance of the sky once you entered. He also went on about the many unregulated businesses there, with special mention to the many unlicensed dentists that could operate liability-free, and also the dog meat stalls, which found success while canine cuisine was illegal in the rest of Hong Kong.
He admits that he knew of people being mugged and that people generally avoided the place after dark, but otherwise my dad complimented the Triads on their organization of the Walled City. Acting as a de facto city council (albeit one funded by drugs and enforced through violence), the Triads organized a volunteer fire brigade and rubbish disposal, and resolved civil conflicts, particularly those between competing businesses.
The way my dad speaks of the Walled City, with something approaching pride, gives a very different impression to its popular depiction—it is much easier to tell a story of depraved lifestyles in a dark maze of inhumane living conditions. This isn’t to say that this wasn’t the case, but rather that this wasn’t the only story that the Walled City had to tell.
A documentary on the Walled City chronicled this complexity firsthand. Filmed by an Austrian with English subtitles, the 1980s film gives an intimate look at life in the Walled City. We meet a breeder of illegal racing pigeons (an alternative to betting on horses), a kindergarten, and even a Triad-funded pensioner. All these stories, however, are set against a dark, dim architectural backdrop. It is a strange experience—harrowing English subtitles that compare the people to “the dead rats nobody takes umbrage at,” but their attempt at shock-horror is heckled by the background Cantonese, with children wittily mocking the camera crew. This, perhaps, best represents Hong Kong—scary from the outside, but energetic normality within.
While it would be false to say that the documentary makers were exaggerating the extent of the squalid conditions, poverty and cramped spaces, these qualities are only striking in their intensity—not at all in their absurdity. In fact, the most Louis Theroux-ish thing in the whole documentary is an English missionary who resides in the Walled City, curing heroin addicts through her “spiritual touch.” The rest of the picture is grossly inhumane, yes; but illogical, no. Given the conditions and consequences in which the city was conceived, and its complete neglect, it could have turned out a whole lot worse.
Infographic showing the Kowloon Walled City, produced by the South China Morning Post in 2013. Image Courtesy of South China Morning Post
The surprising liveliness and community of the Walled City shows that when free from law and liability, things aren’t going to be that great, but they do not have to be an entire failure. When the Kowloon Walled City was torn down by outside forces, many of its residents were dissatisfied with their eviction and not even financial compensation restored the community they left behind. Many, years on, even when fully resettled into the rest of Hong Kong, look back to their days in the Walled City as a “happier time.”
When still under British rule, it is important to remember that the Kowloon Walled City was not the only place of such density in Hong Kong. Contemporary to the Walled City were other urban squatter settlements, also ad hoc conglomerations but only of one storey, and roomier with just 4900 people per hectare—about 2 square meters per person. The settlements sprang up from the population boom of the 1950s, when Chinese refugees fled into the city following political turmoil in the mainland.
After their family land was taken and relatives killed, both my dad’s mother and my mother’s mother were such refugees, and they both experienced some time in informal settlements upon arriving in Hong Kong. They were both lucky, however, and were soon able to settle into more comfortable and stable conditions, helped by the government’s public housing schemes. With this ancestry, and my own upbringing as a Hong Kong-born New Zealand citizen, it irks me to see the persistent fascination with the current density, of housing in particular, in Hong Kong. While physically long gone, the shadow of the Walled City and its colonial conception remains. The multiple photography series, gawk-tourism, and critique of the city’s never-ending apartment towers has not-so-distant roots to the outsider curiosity that drew British colonials to the Walled City as a tourist attraction in its early days.
The common, lazy judgement thrown upon unfamiliar cultures is everywhere. Online, in conversation, and even from university tutors, I have come across phrases like “how can people live like that” and “so crazy how cramped it must be” in regards to small living spaces in Hong Kong and other South East Asian metropolises. Often these phrases are followed by a smug thankfulness that they themselves not have to live in such “terrible conditions.”
My grandmother has, from her arrival into Hong Kong to the current day, lived in public housing. These towers are the most ubiquitous building form in Hong Kong, largely identical and replicated over and over across the city, often painted in pastel for both differentiation and a “happy” aesthetic. There are over 680,000 apartments across 160 public housing estates, with 15,000 more apartments built each year.
Just as with the Walled City, there is rarely any mention of the lives within the towering walls nor the delicious bowls of noodles. Photos of these seemingly endless modules disregard and crop out any sense of thought behind the buildings, ignoring what have in fact been decades of design evolution and an increasing quality of public housing. The average living space has changed greatly over the years, and current legislation makes site-specific considerations, sustainable implementations, thoughtful interior and master planning mandatory.
The Kowloon Walled City’s lack of prominence in Hong Kong itself is not due to political embarrassment, but because it is culturally unremarkable. Today, problems often associated with density, such as crime and sickness, are not notably prevalent in Hong Kong. In fact, crime rates are low on an international scale, and the city has the world’s fourth-lowest rate of infant mortality and also fourth-highest life expectancy. Intimidating and eerie from the outside, dedicated public housing allows even Hong Kong’s elderly to stay self-sufficient.
Density will always be a fact of life in Hong Kong, manifested to its extreme in the Walled City and resolved in public housing today. The city’s cultural apathy toward density sees it excel in other forms—but in the shadow of the Walled City, those without access to public housing still face squalor. The quarters given to the populous domestic maids really are too small, and immigrant housing is an increasing concern, with people renting out taped-off sections of rooftops for residency.
If the energy of young designers in both Hong Kong and abroad were focused less on criticizing places that are actually doing fine, there are real urban and social problems in Hong Kong that are currently, like the Walled City once was, being neglected.
Hartrow is a private residence renovated by Ström Architects. It is located in Winchester, England and was completed in 2014. Hartrow by Ström Architects: “Hartrow is a substantial detached 1960s house in Winchester. BACKGROUND: We were approached by the client in 2010 to look at completely remodelling and extending the existing house – which had not been touched since the sixties and was in dire need of a complete overhaul…
Exercising and making dietary changes are often two sure-fire ways to improve our health.
Unfortunately, it is truly much easier said than done.
Making lasting health changes to our lifestyles is no easy feat. It requires the introduction and development of new habits which can be significantly different to what we have traditionally done in the past.
Additionally, for these habits to stick, they need to be both simple and manageable, fitting in seamlessly with our daily routines.
The following tips provide 5 easy ways to introduce healthy habits into your current lifestyle without making any large and unsustainable changes to your current routine!
Tip 1: Drink more green tea
Green tea consumption has been shown to have a number of positive effects on various markers of health, and implementing it into your daily routine is simple – all it takes is drinking one or two cups of green tea per day!
The increased consumption of green tea has been linked to increases in both metabolic rate and fat metabolism, which can lead to an increased rate of fat loss over time. Furthermore, drinking green tea has shown to reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
Whether at home or at work, having snacks readily available to stave away our hunger is very commonplace. Unfortunately, most of these snacks are high in processed carbohydrates, sugars, and preservatives (yes, even those ‘health food’ bars).
By simply trading these snacks in for fresh fruit, we can significantly reduce our daily energy consumption while also reducing the amount of processed carbohydrates we consume. As an added bonus, fruit is full of micronutrients that influence health positively and improve immune system function!
Tip 3: Add veggies to ALL your meals
While this may sound like a lot of effort, it actually isn’t. By simply adding vegetables to the meals you are already cooking, you will not only add extra flavor to those meals, but also increase your consumption of essential vitamins and minerals.
These vitamins and minerals can have a number of positive health benefits, including increased cardiovascular functioning, and improved memory.
Tip 4: Break up long periods of sitting
Whether at home or at work, it is easy to fall into long periods of sitting without even noticing. Unfortunately, when we sit for long periods, our body stops secreting a hormone called Lipoprotein Lipase (which acts as a key fat burning hormone).
By standing up and doing a small amount of exercise (a brief walk, a few stretches etc.) in between longer bouts of sitting or lying down we can continue to stimulate Lipoprotein Lipase secretion. This is something we can do easily at work or at home that takes very little time and also has the potential to provide the additionally cardiovascular benefits associated with exercise.
Tip 5: Stay hydrated
It seems quite logical that if the human body is approximately 70% water, keeping well hydrated will promote optimal functioning. Unfortunately, not nearly enough of us even get close to drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water per day!
This is unfortunate as staying in a state of dehydration can limit cell functioning and lower our immune system. Fortunately, it is easy to rectify. By simply carrying around a drink bottle with us at work and home, and taking regular sips, we are much likely to consume enough water throughout the day without even realizing it!
Maintaining and promoting a healthy lifestyle does not have to be difficult. By introducing these simple and easy to implement tips into your current daily routine, you can maximize your health with minimal effort!
The world had never seen anything like the graceful iron form that rose from Paris’ Champ de Mars in the late 1880s. The “Eiffel Tower,” built as a temporary installation for the Exposition Universelle de 1889, became an immediate sensation for its unprecedented appearance and extraordinary height. It has long outlasted its intended lifespan and become not only one of Paris’ most popular landmarks, but one of the most recognizable structures in human history.
In 1884, the French government announced the planning of an international exposition to honor the hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution of 1789 – the fourteenth such fair to be held in France since the close of the 18th Century. Shortly afterward, the French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel proposed the construction of an iron tower 300 meters (984 feet) tall as a ceremonial gateway for the Exposition.[1] Similar proposals had been put forth multiple times at least since the 1830s, and in particular before the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876; however, these projects ultimately never came to fruition.[2]
Public Domain. ImageJuly 18 1887
Eiffel was well established in the field of ironworking in the mid-1880s. His firm, one of the largest in France, had designed a number of significant structures, including the internal framework for the Statue of Liberty.[3] Eiffel had also aided in the engineering of cavernous galleries and pavilions for the Expositions of 1867 and 1878. Despite this illustrious portfolio, the firm was best known for its major railway bridges, most notably the Viaduct of Garabit – then the world’s tallest bridge. It was the experience of creating these enormous wrought-iron structures in particular that would later inform the design of the Eiffel Tower.[4]
Public Domain. ImageDecember 7 1887
Although it was eventually named for Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower’s design was initially conceived by three of his employees. The initial sketches and calculations of the proposed tower were made by office manager Emile Nouguier and engineer Maurice Koechlin in collaboration with architect Stephen Sauvestre. Sauvestre, in particular, was responsible for many of the design elements intended to turn what was essentially an oversized bridge pylon into an aesthetically-pleasing building. These design gestures, including the arches at the base of the tower and the bulbous finial at its summit, were intended to appeal not only to the public, but to Eiffel himself.[5]
Public Domain. ImageMarch 20 1888
The proposed design did not initially impress Eiffel, who nonetheless applied for patents in his, Nouguier’s, and Koechlin’s names. Later in 1884, he bought the two men out and began working directly with Sauvestre to refine the tower’s aesthetics. It was this iteration of the design that the two men submitted for consideration in 1886, and which was one of the three entries chosen among 107 submissions. In the end, the designers responsible for the other two winning designs were commissioned to build other major structures for the Exposition, while Eiffel and Sauvestre emerged as the final victors in the competition for the tower.[6]
Public Domain. ImageMay 15 1888
The Eiffel Tower comprises four iron lattice piers laid out in a square, rising from an initial slope of 54° and curving upward until they meet, at which point the tower rises as a single, subtly pyramidal form until the campanile at its summit. Its form was dictated primarily by concerns about wind at high altitudes, a matter which affected even the size and placement of rivet holes in the tower’s iron members.[7] Three floors are open to visitors, with the first and second levels suspended between the four piers and the third housed in the campanile, 324 meters (1063 feet) above the ground.[8] Before construction began, Eiffel calculated that the tower would weigh 6,500 metric tons and cost 3,155,000 francs; as built, the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tons, and cost two and a half times as much as was expected.[9]
Public Domain. ImageAugust 211888
Despite its unprecedented height, the Eiffel Tower took a relatively small force of 300 workers only two years to build.[10] 18,000 pieces of ironwork were fabricated in Eiffel’s foundry in the suburb of Levallois-Perret, at which point they were transported to the Champ de Mars and lifted into place by steam cranes. Many of Sauvestre’s decorative flourishes were abandoned as the work proceeded, reducing both the construction cost and the weight of the tower. Surprisingly, there was only a single work-related fatality.[11, 12]
Public Domain. ImageDecember 26 1888
The growing tower provoked impassioned reactions in the Parisians who watched it rise beside the River Seine. Its wrought iron framework, seen as a symbol of the widening rift between architecture and engineering, was odious to much of the city’s artistic community. Some decried the tower as “monstrous and unnecessary,” while others compared it to a “black, gigantic factory chimney.” Its detractors included architect Charles Garnier, famed for the Opéra that bears his name, the playwright Alexandre Dumas, and writer Guy de Maupassant – the latter of whom frequently lunched at the tower in later years, as he claimed it was “the only place in Paris where I don’t have to see it.”[13, 14]
Public Domain. ImageMarch 15 1889
Opposition to the project proved fruitless, and Gustave Eiffel raised the French tricolor atop the completed tower in March of 1889, a full month ahead of schedule.[15] It was opened to the public two months later, drawing droves of visitors who wished to observe Paris as they never could have before. Those wishing to see an aerial view of the city ascended either by climbing one of the lengthy staircases hidden in the base pylons, or in one of a quartet of elevators designed on an articulated piston system that allowed them to follow the tower’s changing slope up to the first level. Here, visitors could take in the view from a covered arcade, as well as dine in one of four internationally-themed restaurants; the more daring could take two more sets of elevators to the second level, and subsequently to the campanile. At its opening, the system of elevators and staircases was designed to allow 5000 people to visit the Eiffel Tower each hour.[16]
The Eiffel Tower soon proved to be a sensational international success. Nothing like it had ever been seen – it was twice the height of the Washington Monument, previously the tallest building in the world, and its novel method of construction only added to the effect.[17] In the 173 days the Exposition was open, over two million visitors from around the world paid to ascend its slender iron form. It made back its initial budget within a year, vindicating the financial contributions of both Eiffel and his investors. However, public interest waned quickly in the years following the Exposition; in 1890, visitorship fell to a fifth of what it had been the previous year. As the intended demolition date of 1909 loomed on the horizon, Gustave Eiffel vigorously defended the tower as uniquely valuable for the study of physics and meteorology.[18] In the debates that raged over the tower, however, it was ultimately not scientific utility that would see it preserved but its ability to be used as a radio (and later television) transmission tower.[19]
In the last century, the Eiffel Tower has come back from the brink of demolition to become one of the world’s most iconic monuments. It held the title of World’s Tallest Building for forty years, and by the time it lost that honor to New York City’s Chrysler Building, it had acquired a newer, greater significance for the people of France. The iconic nature of the Eiffel Tower has turned it into a symbol of both its nation and the city of Paris, with numerous replicas built in cities around the globe. Seven million people visit the tower every year, with much the same desire as their predecessors in 1889: to see the “City of Lights” from a stunning vista made possible by industrial innovation, nationalist fervor, and human scientific progress.[20, 21]
References
[1] Tissandier, Gaston. The Eiffel Tower a Description of the Monument, Its Construction, Its Machinery, Its Object, and Its Utility. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington St Dunstan’s House Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C., 1889. p16. [2] The Eiffel Tower: Marvels of Engineering. 2014: Marvels of Engineering. [3] Hanser, David A. Architecture of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. p63-64. [4] Lemoine, Bertrand. Gustave Eiffel. Paris: F. Hazan, 1984. p126-130. [5] Hanser, p65. [6] Cowan, Henry J., and Trevor Howells. A Guide to the World’s Greatest Buildings: Masterpieces of Architecture & Engineering. San Francisco, 2000: Fog City Press. p240-241. [7] Tissandier, p18-31. [8] “Key Figures: Visitors, Height, Lighting, Number of Steps, Paintwork…” La Tour Eiffel. Accessed October 11, 2016. [access]. [9] Hanser, p66. [10] Cowan and Howells, p240. [11] Hanser, p66. [12] Ayers, Andrew. The Architecture of Paris: An Architectural Guide. Stuttgart: Edition Axel Menges, 2004. p139. [13] Cowan and Howells, p241. [14] Hanser, p66-67. [15] Ayers, p139. [16] Tissandier, p69-81. [17] Tissandier, p16. [18] Hanser, p66-67. [19] Cowan and Howells, p241. [20] “Key Figures: Visitors, Height, Lighting, Number of Steps, Paintwork…” [21] “The Eiffel Tower in the World.” La Tour Eiffel. Accessed October 11, 2016. [access].
In collaboration with Kistefos Museum, photographer Frédéric Boudin has captured Jeppe Hein’s installation “Path of Silence,” now permanently located in Jevnaker near Oslo. The sculpture is inspired by the topography of the Kistefos Sculpture Park, creating a conversation between the installation and its site by adapting the park’s stepped slope and terraces to a freeform profile.
A labyrinth of mirrors encloses the sculpture’s three spaces of silence marked by contemplation, expressed through a series of high mirror steles to draw the eye toward the sky; nature, emphasized with a tree linking interior to exterior; and activity, which is underscored with a constantly evolving view resulting from walls of rushing water.
Overall, the pavilion is intended to encourage visitors to clear their minds and be present with the different kinds of silence from their surroundings. The water flow, for example, refers to silence by acting as a noise that causes all other sounds to fade. The experience of walking through the installation is therefore designed to promote inner silence alongside contemplation, introspection, and connection to nature.
From the architect. Sivas is located in the cold-dry climate region of Turkey, so its winter is strong and the city is under heavy snow in long periods. This parameter is foreground in the design decisions of Sivas Stadium. Energy efficiency is designed according to ecological design criteria, high passive air conditioning measures, active energy production systems, rainwater harvesting and gray water cycle.
Courtesy of Bahadir Kul Architects
Due to the fact that stadium is located in a cold climate zone, the building shell is designed to be compact and inward, and this makes a buffer zone for cold winds in the north side of the facade. Creating this kind space in the inner shell to provide thermal insulation with air. In the summer, reserve covers on the north side are opened, allowing for air transfer between the walls. If the north facade is not exposed to direct sunlight, this part will be colder than the other fronts, and on this side there will be low pressure points between the walls. This will result in a continuous and stable airflow in the wall, which will also reduce the energy used for building cooling actions in the summer.
South Elevation
Section
In genaral, eastern and western facades are exposed to solar radiation three times more heat than the south and north side facades. Because of this reason, window spaces were created in Sivas Arena on the east and west facades for allow to take solar heat. This approach is thought to significantly reduce building heating actions.
Courtesy of Bahadir Kul Architects
Floor Plan
Courtesy of Bahadir Kul Architects
Floor Plan
Courtesy of Bahadir Kul Architects
Stadium’s roof area, rainwater canal designed for falling rain and snow water. The collected water will be stored in the reserve area to be used in the environment water and wet spaces. This approach will significantly reduce the amount of building water consumption. Moreover, in the roof area, the solar panels will be positioned on the south side to receive the sun’s rays and will generate 798,000 W of energy per day. When it is assumed that a house consumes 5000 W of energy per day; the energy generated in the stadium corresponds to the energy that 160 houses spend. In this context, the building will reduce its energy costs to a minimum by producing its own energy.
