MIXED DEVELOPMENT IN CHINATOWN

Abstract

The thesis serves as a demonstrative project in introducing a residential population in Chinatown to bring about the continuity of the complex evolution of the place. The site is located between New Bridge Road, a major thoroughfare with a heavy pedestrian traffic flow and Duxton Plain Park? a tranquil linear green park in Chinatown. The proposed building is perceived as an interface between the road and the park. The site commands high land prices, the project thus extend URA's masterplan for the site of having residential with commercial usage at ground level only and proposed a mixed development of shops, offices and housing units with common facilities. The projected residents for such a development are predominantly singles and young couples working within the city, particularly in Chinatown and even the elderly who used to live in Chinatown. There is also the introduction of dual-functional units allowing flexibility for the residents to both live and work within the development. The project also seeks to re-establish the continuity of the traditional fine grain urban fabric of Chinatown and to maintain an intimate scale and proportion for both the interior and exterior spaces. It deals with the duality of urbanity and density with individuality and tranquility. The development hopes to introduce a certain level of social communication and interaction within its context but yet maintaining a good degree of privacy for the residential units where the various thresholds from the public to the private are explored.