Giving the Fifth Facade back to the Community
In a dense urban devoid of open space, how might we repurpose under-utilised rooftop spaces to be desirable places to foster a sense of community?
The Challenge
Rooftops represent an underutilised spatial type which could provide much-needed recreational, social, and visual respite for urban dwellers in Hong Kong.
The Outcome
Through collaborations with partners such as Gaw Capital’s People’s Place, Sunlink Holdings (HK), and Hysan Development Company, onebite seeks to foster inclusion, vitality, and playfulness to unlock the potential of the fifth facade in our urban landscape.
Rooftop Paradise
Many older Hong Kong residents had recollections of spending time on the rooftops of tonglaus, Hong Kong’s version of low-rise tenement housing, and the early generations of public housing blocks. The images of martial arts parlours and lion dance studios located on the rooftops of tonglaus, as well as rooftop schools on the top level of resettlement blocks in Shek Kip Mei and Wong Tai Sin districts, are amongst the city’s treasured collective memories.
Issues of safety and security in recent years saw rooftop access for most buildings curtailed or limited only to maintenance agents. In other cases, such as roof level parking and maintenance areas were deemed to be not suitable or undesirable for recreational activities. According to University of Hong Kong Professor Matthew Pyror’s study on potential rooftop space for farming, he estimated a total of 695 hectare, or 6.95km2 of aboveground land which could be repurposed for farming or other activities. This figure is surprisingly vast, larger than Tin Shui Wai New Town (4.30km2) and almost the size of Fanling New Town (7.80km2).
Given the scarcity of urban land and the high premium it commands in Hong Kong, how might we repurpose under-utilised rooftop spaces into loveable places for the community?
Revitalising Rooftop Playspaces
One Bite worked with People's Place to revitalise a 40,000 square-foot roof-top sports ground at Siu Hei Court, Tuen Mun. Inspired by the name of the estate, Siu Hei, which rhymes with the Chinese characters “笑嘻” meaning laughter and joy, the revamp was developed around the theme of happiness.
One Bite Design Studio was given the opportunity to put ideas into action after receiving a commission by Gaw Capital and People’s Place in 2018. The brief called for the revitalisation of a generic basketball court located above a shopping mall in Kai Yip Estate, a suburban public housing estate located in Kowloon Bay.
This arrangement was enabled firstly, by the privatisation of commercial spaces in public housing estates under Link REITS (Real Estate Investment Trust) in 2005, and subsequently the divestment of retail malls to real estate developers, including Gaw Capital’s People Place (民坊). It currently operates over 29 assets and facilities within public housing estates, including existing recreational facilities such as basketball courts, sports grounds, and play facilities which offered generic but uninspiring amenities that are often overlooked.
Co-designing Kai Yip
Working together with Graphic Designer SLAB HK, onebite aims to transform the lacklustre basketball courts located at the rooftop of the Kai Yip Shopping Mall into an attractive recreational facility that demonstrates social inclusivity.
The unique resident profile of Kai Yip Estate, dominated by three-generation extended families and young nuclear families prompted onebite to approach the revitalisation of Kai Yip Recreational Centre with the twin goals of attracting a wider segment of local residents. The design aimed to foster greater social inclusivity and improve the basketball playing experience for serious amateurs all over Hong Kong, positioning Kai Yip as a must-visit “pilgrimage site” for basketballers.
Working together with graphic designer SLAB and the local street basketball community, the design for the new basketball courts drew inspiration from the neon-light signs of Hong Kong’s streetscape and the classic look of analog sports timer and score boards. The contrasting black and yellow colour palate evoked the atmosphere of a high-tempo street basketball match while eye-catching graphics, witty slogans, and innovative ways to challenge friends for “Shooting Hoops” games enhanced the court’s playful atmosphere.
To attract users of different ages and needs to use the revitalised grounds, new functions were added, including a new running track inside the sheltered part of the centre and an outdoor zone which incorporated a fitness training area with battle ropes and floor markings for games.
Injecting Local Identity into Public Spaces
Ming Tak Sports Court (2021) is envisioned as a ‘girls-prioritised’ basketball court for all to enjoy. The highlight of the new design is the pixelated gradient forming a double V shape, which reads as ‘W’ on one side and ‘M’ on the other, subtly hinting at the court’s girls prioritising identity and the concept of diversity in the spectrum of gender.
The success of Kai Yip Recreational Centre prompted more collaborations between onebite and People’s Place to redesign other rooftop recreational spaces, including Siu Hei Court Play Space (completed in 2020), Tsing Yi Court (2021), Ming Tak Sports Court (2021), and HANDS (2022). The ingredients for making these successful revitalisation projects remained the same but with different design outcomes as a result of the participatory design process adopted by onebite.
The studio focused on making these play spaces inclusive by co-designing them with community stakeholders and key user groups. Each project start by identifying the communities’ needs and wishes, and thereafter injecting local visual design elements and artistic inputs from local residents, as well as onebite’s signature graphic style to create a colourful play space that would brighten the mood of every visitor. Above all, as the recreational facilities would form an essential part of users’ lifestyles, the design had to be durable for prolonged outdoor use while the limited space must be organised efficiently to accommodate more play spaces for users of different ages and abilities to play together.
The More We Get Together…on Causeway Bay’s Rooftops
Hysan Development Company Limited partnered with One Bite Design Studio for the “gLEEful rooftop” project to recreate children's games on the rooftop of tenements blocks at Pak Sha Road and Lan Fong Road, Causeway Bay.
More recently, onebite partnered with Lee Gardens Association, a local business association in Causeway Bay, to launch the “gLEE rooftop” project on the roofs of low-rise tenement blocks located within its popular shopping district. While most of the district has developed into high-rise towers, a group of 1950s six-storey walkup apartments was retained and revitalised as an edgy lifestyle area complementary to surrounding shopping malls. The difference in height between the two building types naturally invite shoppers to glance down at the tenenments, creating the best opportunity to turn the fifth facade into a visual spectacle.
This term was first popularised by renowned architect Peter Eisenman in 1989 as he sought to mitigate the Columbus Convention Centre’s boxed-in site arrangement surrounded by flyovers to create an interesting facade to be seen from above. In the same way, onebite wanted to make Hysan’s rooftop spaces a creative resource that would value-add its lifestyle services. A total of eight rooftops were revitalised with artworks recalling Hong Kong childhood games such as “Hopscotch”, “Red Light, Green Light”, “What’s the Time Mr. Wolf”, “Hawks Catching Chickens”, “Paper Aeroplanes”, and “Plastic Soccer Balls”. These playful designs appealled to the young, while the memories of playing these games would bring a smile to everyone young at heart. A series of activities such as music performances, exercise workshops, mindfulness activities, community photography, and cultural events are regularly held on the rooftops to bring the local community together.
In an interview, onebite’s Managing Director, Mr Alan Cheung mentioned his favourite rooftop is the one featuring “What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf?”. He also described the challenges of the eight designs and the immense satisfaction after completion, “Every artwork’s composition is colourful but complicated and they require detailed planning beforehand. Even though the rooftop is not accessible to the public, we hope viewing the colourful patterns from above can help people to relax”.
Many people rediscovered the appeal of rooftop during Covid-19 lockdowns. It has become a safe space to socialise, a platform for group exercises while keeping a safe distance, or simply a haven for family members to gather and bask in the sun’s warm glow. Rooftop spaces remained a precious but untapped urban resource which onebite hoped to influence and spark its transformation into places loved by communities.