Chin Han Ping
E-PORTFOLIO
The Walled City Of Kowloon
We were to write a reflection on this virtual visit on ‘The walled city of Kowloon’ and talk about how important it is the knowledge of the built environment and abiding building law to ensure healthy, safe, and positive life quality. We are also to choose a scene or situation from any references that have given an impact to us and express how we feel about it.
The Importance of Abiding Building Law to Ensure Healthy, Safe and Positive Life Quality.
Kowloon Walled City was a densely populated, ungoverned settlement in Kowloon, an area north of Hong Kong Island. What began as a Chinese military fort evolved into a squatters' village comprising a mass of 300 interconnected high-rise buildings. The city began as a low-rise squatter village during the early 20th century. After World War II, Hong Kong experienced a massive influx of Chinese immigrants. This led to a lack of housing in the city. In response, entrepreneurs and those with "squatter's rights" in Kowloon built high rise buildings on the space to capitalize on the housing demand. At its peak, more than 33,000 people lived in the 6.4-acre city. It was considered by many to be the most densely populated place on earth. The only regulation enforced at Kowloon was the height of the building. Because the airport was so close, the building was not allowed to be taller than 13 or 14 stories.
The Kowloon walled city is built without architects and engineers, hence not much consideration is put into it. Buildings were built on top of each other, like stacks, and sunlight didn’t even reach lower levels. Many apartments had no windows or access to fresh air because they were enclosed within the middle of the buildings. This making the environment dark and moist. Building laws set national standards for building work, whether it will be on a major new development or an extension or alterations. They cover all aspects of construction, including foundations, damp-proofing, the overall stability of the building, insulation, ventilation, heating, fire protection and means of escape in case of fire. They also ensure that adequate facilities for people with disabilities are provided in certain types of building. The buildings should be located in healthy surroundings and should have an aesthetic appearance. The Kowloon city is an example of not applying building laws when constructing a living space. Cramped, dirty with no zoning of the type of space. This results in an atmosphere that was ghastly, claustrophobic and a haven for crime. There was also no rubbish collection. Proper sewage and lighting facilities were ignored.
Memorable Scenes
In this scene, the woman is scared of being asked to film and take pictures, but the man explained that the video wont be shown in Hong Kong. This means that they are living in constant fear of the Hong Kong government. From the left side picture, we can see that their living quarters are unbelievably small, those pans and pots are hanging on the wall just with a string as there is no storage room. The ceiling is also very low, tall people have to always bend over to move around. Through the right side picture, I think that it is a trick to get women to expose themselves. So, I think that building laws is about contributing to individual's safety.