The life expectancy of Hong Kong people continues to increase, but housing demand is tight. Many elderly people live in old buildings in old districts. How to deal with the "double aging" of population and buildings will be a problem.
The Chief Executive Officer of the URA, Wei Zhicheng, stated in his blog today (31st) that in the face of the "double aging" challenge, the URA has applied innovative technology and data analysis to accelerate the pace of urban renewal, while maintaining knowledge on building maintenance and promoting preventive maintenance. And technical level, to keep the building in good condition, and slow down the aging of the building from the root: "Extending the life of the building is the original way to deal with the double aging of the building in the old district."
Before the refurbishment of Shuncheng Building (left), the utilization rate was low. After the refurbishment (right), it became a platform space overlooking the Victoria Harbour for residents to use.
(Urban Construction Bureau blog)
Four resettlement buildings adopt easy-to-maintain and durable materials to improve the useful life of the buildings
The four resettlement buildings under the management of the URA, including Shun Shing Building in Sai Ying Pun, No. 12 Soy Street in Mong Kok, Lai Chu Building in Sham Shui Po and Bet Fat Terrace in Tai Kok Tsui, are 30 years old and require comprehensive building survey and renovation works .
Wei Zhicheng stated that the "reconstruction and resetting" strategy was adopted in the rehabilitation of the four resettlement buildings to upgrade the building facilities to modern standards, and to introduce the "maintenance-oriented" maintenance concept, using easy-to-repair and durable materials to improve the usability of the building facilities. And improve the efficiency of facility maintenance.
Before Shuncheng Building was renovated, the entrance and exit of the ground floor lobby was relatively narrow (left picture). Later, the garbage room was moved to the other side of the building, making the current lobby (right picture) spacious and convenient for residents to come and go.
(Urban Construction Bureau blog)
Switch to aluminum ceilings for time-saving and low-cost removal
He took the renovation project of Shuncheng Building as an example. For some facilities hanging in common areas, including ceiling pipes, when using enclosed false ceiling materials, he switched from traditional gypsum boards to aluminum ceilings with more flexible loading and unloading. When repairs or inspections are required in the future, the engineers can easily disassemble the aluminum panels. Compared with the previous use of gypsum panels, the entire ceiling needs to be removed, which saves time and reduces engineering costs.
Wei Zhicheng said that the URA also provides a better living environment for the residents of the resettlement building from a "people-oriented" perspective. The garbage room in the lobby occupies about two-thirds of the entire lobby.
Therefore, during the renovation, the team moved the garbage room to the ground floor of the west side of Des Voeux Road in the building to make the existing lobby more spacious and convenient for residents to come and go.
The modified platform of Shun Cheng Building in Sai Ying Pun offers a view of Victoria Harbour
In addition, on the fourth floor of Shuncheng Building, on the side facing Des Voeux Road West, there was originally a covered walkway connected to a lift independent of the building, allowing residents to enter and exit from the gate of Des Voeux Road West. However, residents usually use it close to the Queen. The entrance and exit of the main entrance to the west of the avenue makes the utilization rate of the platform and elevators low.
In order to make good use of the space, the team removed the upper cover of the covered walkway and the abandoned lift during the renovation and resetting process, and converted it into a platform space where residents can overlook the view of Victoria Harbour for residents to use.
Add smart elements to promote predictive maintenance
Wei Zhicheng described the rehabilitation of the four resettlement buildings of the URA as a model for the practice of maintenance work for "middle-aged" buildings.
He believes that to achieve maximum results, a more forward-looking concept of building maintenance should be adopted, and "predictive maintenance" should be promoted. Through continuous monitoring of equipment conditions, an assessment can be made before a problem occurs and a long-term plan should be formulated. The maintenance plan and various budgets can move from building "old age" to "preventing the old", the long-term goal of urban renewal.
Wei Zhicheng: Buildings in old districts are aging and large-scale, society lacks financial land resources to cope
The URA announced the results of the Yauwang area study earlier. Wei Zhicheng said that he noticed many opinions in the community and focused on how to apply new planning tools at the regional planning level to speed up the pace of urban renewal.
However, he believes that the scale of aging in old districts and buildings is huge, and the society lacks financial and land resources to cope with the redevelopment of old buildings. It is the only way to deal with buildings in old districts by implementing multiple building rehabilitation strategies and models to extend the life of buildings. Double aging is the way to clear the source.
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