‘Check all pre-war structures before demolition’: conservationist advises after reservoir saga
All pre-war structures should be scrutinized by experts from different fields before demolition, an architectural conservationist suggested after a century-old underground reservoir narrowly escaped destruction.
The lack of knowledge from modern architects and engineers about historical water facilities was partly to blame for the close call, said Lee Ho-yin, who heads the architectural conservation program at the University of Hong Kong.
The Water Supplies Department — responsible for the abandoned facility — might have overlooked the heritage value of the reservoir because of an overemphasis on functionality, Lee said in a Radio Television Hong Kong interview on Wednesday.
The reservoir’s underground nature also meant that few people knew about it, he said, adding that heritage officials focused mainly on overground structures.
The cavernous reservoir on Bishop Hill, Shek Kip Mei, features brick and stone arches that many netizens said were reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture. Its demolition was halted on Monday following a public outcry.
The Commissioner for Heritage Ivanhoe Chang blamed miscommunication between government departments for the incident. His office did not take a closer look at the site initially because the WSD called it a “tank,” he explained.
However, Apple Daily reported on Tuesday that the WSD had supplied a layout of the reservoir in 2018 to Shita Lam, who was studying architecture at the time, contradicting the claims by Chang and the WSD that they were not aware of the structure’s architectural features before the planned demolition.
Sham Shui Po District Councilor Kalvin Ho attributed the incident to government officials’ negligence. Information about the reservoir’s architectural features was available at the WSD but officials were “too lazy” to dig it out, he said.
The reservoir should be open to the public after repairs, he suggested.
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