31 January 2002

An international survey of Multiple and Intensive Land Use (MILU) --- A Case Study of MILU in Hong Kong What is life like in a high density, high-rise, high floorarea ratio city?
Stephen Siu Yu Lau Center for Architecture & Urban Design for China and Hong Kong Department of Architecture University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China ssylau@hku.hk

Ton Kreukeis Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Utrecht T.Kreukeis@geog.uu.nl

Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Abstract Introduction Background Multiple use of space: Hong Kong definition MILU: a spatial planning explanation Case Studies Conclusion Footnotes Bibliography Acknowledgements Credit for Diagrams

1. Abstract The study of Multiple and Intensive Land Use MILU is an international research project initiated by the Dutch research institute of Habiforum, which is based in Gouda, the Netherlands. In the first round of the study, international researchers from six countries are invited to work with their own Dutch counterpart to undertake a critical study of the impacts and prospects of MILU in each of these countries. Included in the study are Germany, Great Britain, France, Netherlands, United States, Japan, and Hong Kong China. The study addresses four specific issues relating to the characteristics of MILU: a. Intensification of the use of space b. Combined use of the same space for different functions c. Use of the third dimension of space (high-rise and underground) d. Use of the fourth dimension of space (time) This paper discusses MILU in the minute city such as Hong Kong, which is continuously striving for more land to build homes, offices and leisure grounds for its ever-growing population. Because of land shortage, acute topography, escalating population, and shortage of time, Hong Kong has little options left for its planners but to think vertical, who in no time created a densely and mixed use urban habitat packed with closely built high-rise apartments and offices whose heights astonish the world at large. But it is not just height that is staggering but what is more dramatic is the density, which has been generated. Today Hong Kong has an average density of 6,310-person per square kilometer and a peak urban density of 44,210 people per square kilometer that is among the top in the World. But what matters most however, is the underlying secrets which bred success for such compact city as Hong Kongs who manages to keep its inhabitants relatively cheerful and healthy, letting most of them enjoy short travels from home to work, enjoy leisure and spare time, and most of all, enjoy the glittering glamour of city life on a whole.

Case study of projects from the past and present are selected to illustrate the citys debate over the concept of MILU. The first project illustrated the first

residential MILU development introduced to Hong Kong in the early Seventies of the last century. The second and third projects illustrate yet the second-generation conceptualization of residential MILU arising from new attitudes in urban lifestyle for the new Millennium. The final and fourth project represents office-commercial-transport MILU as economic demands rose in the Eighties. The concluding section discusses the like and dislike rather than the pros and cons of living and working in a high-rise, high density and a high plot ratio (or floor-to-area ratio), compact and mixed intensive land use, prospering city and ends with an academic critique on MILU as an alternative solution to future city form. In the case of Hong Kong, the author argues that MILU is a successful deployment for Hong Kong, past, present and future. 2. Introduction Hong Kong represents a singular case of its own. Hong Kong is unique because it stands out as an acute case of overcrowding, escalating population, scarcity of land, intensification of land-use activities, absence of raw materials and natural resources. Yet, Hong Kong represents a success in managing limited resources, and unique living and working culture. Hong Kongs success story paves the way for many others in the region, particularly the 600 budding cities of China, where there is a cultural and ethnical affiliation. Such assertion implies that there is a correlation between social-cultural preference, behavior, way of life and their impacts on the coexistence of man and nature, as well as on built environment. For Hong Kong, intensive mixed land uses are common practice to counteract pressing demand for rapid urbanization ever since the citys economic expansion in the early nineteen seventies. Over the years, the urban habitat of Hong Kong exhibits a high-rise and high-density feature, where live, work and play all take place in close proximity within each other in urban centers. Surely, Hong Kongs vertical living experience offers invaluable field data for further research and study of MILU. Diagram 1 Vertical City of Hong Kong

3. Background

3.1Hong Kong past The 150 years of Hong Kong as an overseas colony of Britain has left the ex-colony with unique features that distinguish the way of living for its Chinese inhabitants from the rest reside elsewhere in the Mainland or in other oversea localities. Like Singapore and Shanghai, Hong Kongs past dealing with the nicknamed Foreign-souls or Kwai-Los is deeply rooted in the daily deeds of locals to this day. Benefited by this European linkage, Hong Kong has worked itself up as an international city from the last century to the present. As in the words of Social Anthropologists like Amos Rapoport, Hong Kong is a classic example of cultural globalization by English language. The proficiency in English in daily business dealings, its usage by most schools as an education medium, and the adoption of western concepts of business practice has rendered Hong Kong people a winning edge over its neighboring business rivals as a result of ex-colonialization. 3.2 Hong Kong present

Hong Kong today is a city with phenomenal changes. A closer count of basic data reveals Hong Kong to be a Compact city (1), as in U.K. researcher Mike Jenkss words, a Mega-city (2) as in United Nations definition; a financial city according to O.C.E.D. classification; and a global city, as on the Hong Kong governments wish list. Population wise, Hong Kong has too many people on too small a physical entity 1,040 square meters divided by as many as 235 no. Islands. Natural resources-wise, Hong Kong has too little to offer, as almost all its agricultural lands have been converted into building land, leaving no alternative but to import drinking water and daily supplies from across the Hong Kong-Mainland border on a daily basis. Aftershocks from the 1997 Asian economic turmoil had added to the deficiency list diminishing leisure time and less income. What is worst though, is an apparent shrinkage of individuals confidence in the economic performance of the city. Because of the growing disparity between highest and lowest income group in society, there are worries over growing social discontent. 3.2.1 population, land and resources

Hong Kong has continuous problems of land scarcity and increased population. The fact that only 11% of Hong Kongs land area is build-able imposes tremendous pressure on the need to house more and more people. Hong Kong is one of the worlds density cities with as high as 44,210 people per sq. km. in its densest area (Mongkok and Kwun Tong are two localities which exhibit extreme density). Diagram 2 is a location map of Hong Kong in the Far East. Diagram 3 is a picture of urban Hong Kong, a famous image of highrise high-density Hong Kong with both Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbor as backdrops. Shortage of land and increasing populating has been a major cause for a high-rise and high density Hong Kong. Over 50% of its 6.7 million population (mid-2001 figure) live and work in urban centers for convenience and efficiency proliferates the intensification of human activities within urban centers. Latest government census in 2001 reveals that about three Million people live in self-owned private homes in high-rise apartment blocks. This is translated to a total of one Million numbers of private homes. The rest of the population live in rented homes. Arguably, the strive for building taller and taller is a basic survival need for Hong Kong. The relocation of the former international airport in the city center of Kowloon Peninsula takes away with it the ban on building height that would otherwise endanger flight paths. In no time, the peninsula encounters budding towers of two hundred meters heights. (Before the removal of the ban, the central business district of Kowloon Peninsula was restricted to be around 60 meters heights.) Socially, Hong Kong population is made up of primarily immigrants from different provinces from Mainland China. To date, the influx is as much as 150 numbers of legal immigrants daily. This seemingly small figure is actually a prime contributor of a population increase of one million every decade throughout past decades, with the first generation of immigrants from the Mainland arriving in early Nineteen Fifties. Thus the immigrant society continues to generate pressing demands for infrastructure supports of all sorts throughout recent history of the city. 3.2.2 globalization and internationalization

For the businessmen from outside world, businesses in Hong Kong practiced globalization much earlier than the concept of the word was created. It is probably due to Hong Kongs past which cultivated a refined case of east meets west, for one easily encounters traditional Chinese values of family, social customs and other social beliefs, in the daily acts of the westernized locals. Pluralism of cultures (as there are as much as 343,950 of international nationals, accounting for 4.1% of overall resident population) is manifested not only in the socio-cultural aspects of life in Hong Kong, but is also exhibited in the subtle aspects of lifestyle, such as fashion and entertainment. Under this scenario, one may find a predominance of Western influences on Asian minds without difficulties. What is more impressive though, is the degree how foreign concepts, ideas, more visibly trends and fashions are assimilated by the local host. It is argued that for the case of Hong Kong, such assimilation takes place much easier and faster than any other places in the Region. The best part of the assimilation is the readiness and skill to take something alien and then transformed it into something local. This readiness, and maturity to assimilate cross-cultural influences is de-facto in the ordinary walk of life in Hong Kong. Thus, one could easily find traces of non-local Asian (for example, Japanese) concepts mixing with Western cultures. As a result, such marriage of cultures produces a characteristic mutation of Hong Kong - East meets West culture. The Planning Department projected that the population of Hong Kong will continue to increase and will reach 7.5 if not 8 Million by 2011 or thereabout. A side effect of this growth would label Hong Kong as a Megacity, a term created by an United Nations Study in the mid seventies which alerted government and urban managers that a Mega-city is an urban phenomenon concerning mainly developing cities due to rapid urbanization and population expansion, resulted in unprecedented pressures for manageability and provision of infrastructure facilities. 3.3 Hong Kong Challenges

The Hong Kong Challenge for the 21st Century is a complex one. The first is for Hong Kong to maintain its positioning in the economic race with other Asian cities. Arguably, there is in fact no race. If any, it is a race for everyone in the arena of world cities. It is a race for every city to improve its competitiveness, in all respects perceivable. For Hong Kong, the race is first of all, a challenge to achieve better performance on ones own

accord. For instance, how Hong Kong evolves with respect to changing market forces of the world, and of the region; and secondly, how it would participate and how could it projects itself in the world arena of events.

3.3.1Local issues economic, social and environmental For Hong Kong, the first test is its capacity to cope with changes. It begun with July 1997, which staged an era of change for the ex-colonys governmental culture as well as administrative structure. November 1997 brought a second wave of change to the economic structure for many Asian capital markets including Hong Kong. Ever since, Hong Kong suffered from record negative GDPs to an estimated +0.5% growth (2001), and an unemployment rate of 5.5% (2001). The economic downturn since 1997 stubbornly prevails and becomes a chronic threat to social stability and social hierarchy, as disparity between highest income group and that of lowest income group tops Hong Kong on a recent Asian count. High land costs, which boosted property rental and sale price, together with high salaries, are guilty as blocking stones for economic recuperation. In panic, the Government initiated discussions of reengineering Hong Kongs economic operations and future outlook, with its planners initiated studies on Hong Kongs future, into Year 2030 (4). In desperation, New York and London were brought in as models for future Hong Kong. Yet, it is lamenting to say that, opposing to New York or Londons richness in city fabric; the tourist board for instance found difficulties to romanticize Hong Kongs image either by a long gone sailing junk or by a poorly defined slogan of city of life. So in vain was the Governments search for a quick solution to resolving the challenge to find a new future outlook for Hong Kong. On the other hand, the government has committed two years efforts (Mid 2000 - Mid 2002) to undertake the 2030 Study, hopefully to identify tangible solutions to Hong Kongs future growth. Apart from economic and social challenges, environmental challenge continues to escalate and motivate the general public much readily due to a hyperactive news media supported by similar world awareness in this topic. Raising community awareness for the environment is a popular growing social concern in most cities. Hong Kong is no exception. It is interesting, however, to differentiate that most members of public are more concerned

with the quality of life -- standard of living, costs of living, emerging lifestyles, etc. rather than quality of the environment; though they do not easily see an inseparable connection between these two concerns, most citizens realize that environmental challenge has a strong impact on the quality of life. Recently, the search for better quality of life becomes a research subject for many cities, such as Tokyo, London and Hong Kong. The University of Hong Kong for instance initiated inter-city comparative studies of urban sustainability contributors such as density, lifestyle, and space usage (5)

3.3.2 International, regional and national issues world city, and global city Preceding paragraph discussed the governments frantic act in world repositioning of Hong Kong and its implication. In the minds of some, the franticness comes from an internal fear rather than an external threat, that is, Hong Kongs acts of world re-positioning is backed by a concern at national level upcoming competition from Chinese cities such as Shanghai or Beijing which are developing at surpassing if not equally frantic speeds. Arguably, such desire for Hong Kong to be a World City, or a Global City is a self-assuring exercise to boast self-confidence, more than an act in strengthening economic positioning. As can been seen, international, regional and national issues are inter-related concerns that shape policy of sustainable development. 4. Multiple use of space Hong Kong definition, attributes of MILU For Hong Kong, the multiple use of space has a long history of practice. The use of multiple spaces is a unique character of Hong Kong; its definition however is blurred because the interpretation of MILU is responsive to changes in societal preferences that in them are subject to changes over time. Here, the discussion is proposed according to the following formulating concepts as observed by the authors. 4.1 Concept of space borrowed The author of the book Hong Kong borrowed place, in a borrowed time (6) hinted a Hong Kong mentality for survival, which may be interpreted as an existence of uncertainty. The thought that one only remains in Hong Kong

on a temporary basis, and sooner or later one would leave Hong Kong for good, to somewhere else for a better life, was a saddening but determined mindset for the temporary settlers of Hong Kong. On the other hand, here we are referring to another facet of the Hong Kong transient way of life, where everything is too space-constraint and tight as to constitute a phobia, it became an irresistible need for many families to borrow space whenever one feels the need. Some nicknamed this to be a concept of self-help extendable space, practiced by countless number of local home dwellers who would extend or borrow a space out of metal cages and wooden floors added onto existing windows of living rooms, and kitchens. For the law enforcers, these are better known as illegal space. But the concept of borrowed space does not necessarily be confined to the extended living or dishwashing space. Another category of borrowed space in Hong Kong refers to the extension of social space by means of restaurants, coffee shops or street eating. In Hong Kong when most apartments have a relatively small floor area, many families prefer to entertain their guests or friends in places other than their homes. As a result, there is a frequent usage of restaurants and all kinds of social entertainments in commercial spaces. In this way, the borrowed space concept becomes a cross over of residential and commercial land use my dining room is always the so and so restaurant, and my living room is always the so and so Karaoke bar across the street, instead of my home! This is particularly true as one skim over the built up city for many MILU buildings. One becomes puzzled to classify if a building is in fact a commercial or a residential building. Diagram 4 a MILU building built in the early seventies, found in TsimshaTsui, the commercial hub of Hong Kong. 4.2 Concept of space proximity In Hong Kong, where everything is too close to each other, the physical and psychological interactions between spaces, between people, and ultimately between man and environment are often too close and unacceptable! Often, the impression for a stranger when entering Hong Kong soil is that everything is so close to each other everywhere ones visits! However, this lack of distance apart, or territorial space is for many locals, a natural way of life that exists almost as old as the city itself. Interestingly, This closeness in space does not necessarily led to uneasiness from the inhabitants as one would expect from text books on urban space (Lau survey 2001)(7). In the case of Hong Kong, space proximity is taken as a tolerable rather than an acceptable spatial attribute.

Diagram 5 - the living room of a mid-high income family is a tight space of 2M by 2M, the distance between the television set and the viewer is so close! 4.3 Concept of compactness In Hong Kong, where everything is so closely packed anywhere anytime, is a perfect case of a Compact City. Here one may find the intensification of land use, mixed usage in majority cases in the urban centers. The Oxford Center of Sustainable Studies pioneered the study of Compact Cities in an effort to map and analyze the making and impacts of compact cities in both developed as well as developing cities. Researchers from Oxford and Hong Kong are now collaborating to capture and analyze the attributes to a successful compact Hong Kong. In this exercise, Hong Kong offers itself as a perfect match specimen for study on compact urban form because she possesses almost all the theoretical attributes of a compact city - a urban system with high density, high floor to area ratio (plot ratio), mixed land use, short distances or efficient public transit system. A notable subject of study however is an analysis of the concept of convenience due to compactness, short physical distance between home and work, and efficiency of public transport facilities. The average travel time between home and work range from 30 minutes to an hour per journey, which compare comfortably with metropolis like Tokyo which has a 90 minutes or more per journey travel time.

4.4 Concept of verticality The vertical city image of Hong Kong is painted with thousands of two hundred meters tall towers of residential apartments, or offices of similar heights. The portrayal of extending this vertical city to 100 stories or 450 meters tall is not an Arabian Dream but rather an imminent scene for urban practitioners. Vertical concentration means convenience and efficiency for the Hong Kong dwellers! The UN Statistics Year Book of 2000 adds that the vertical city of Hong Kong by where stacking floors on top of each other like sardines are actually one of the most energy efficient per capita worldwide. A recent survey (Lau, 2001) interviewed 102 number of residential households who live in private and self-owned apartment buildings reveal majority of whom likes to live on higher floors for the enjoyment of better views and fresh air more than anything else (such as monetary benefit being on a higher floor). The same survey also cleared the

concern over damaging effect on the growing up of children who live their lives in high-rise apartments. Mothers are asked of the distancing and separation from the ground because of high-rise living. Majority of their reply are positive. The true answer is perhaps the artificial ground, which is common feature on the roof of most podium decks on which the residential towers sit. Diagram 6 - view of the city, from an 80-storey residential apartment, one of the newly built high-rise apartments in Hong Kong.

4.5 Concept of sky city In Hong Kong, activities do not happen on ground alone, always, they happen above ground! For many years, things have been going on two or multi-levels, as seen in a multitude of double layered web-like network of pedestrians walkways crisscrossing in and out of buildings, over pedestrian pavements or over vehicular traffic roads in most commercial or residential areas of the city. The segregation of pedestrian and vehicular movements arise not from planning theories but from necessity as there are just too many people on narrow pavements, outnumbered by cars.
For a long while the practice of sky city supports the physical growth of the city. Doubledecker bus, double-decker ferry and double-decker tram, double level pedestrian system, double-decker footbridges, all exemplifiers of the concept of sky city! Added to that is the emergence of sky malls in some of the citys new commercial developments. . As one architect remarked in his first visit to Hong Kong, almost all things happened on different levels other than the ground! This is a true 3-dimensional sky city! Diagram 7 the multilayered city of Hong Kong!

5. MILU: spatial planning explanation

Stage 1

Like a lot of cities, it started with the classic layout of shop on ground floor with residence in the rear, or on first floor. In those early days of Southeast Asia, this type of development is named Shop House, with most of which designed and constructed for climatic responsiveness. When the city expanded, the 2-stories shop houses took little time to be promoted to 4stories shop houses. Diagram 8 - a Shop House in dilapidated condition on Des Voeux Road, Old Western District, Hong Kong. First generation multiple use of space shop on ground and residence on floor above. Stage 2 The first massive deployment of the multiple use of space could be found in a mass private housing development happened in the early seventies. Case Study 1 The Mei Fu Shan Chuen is the first conceptualization of multiple and intensive land use in modular housing for Hong Kong. It was a phased project, which started from 1969, completed in 1970, and followed by successive phases of expansion over the years until 1989. Mei Fu today has something like 117 towers of 15 stories tall apartment buildings crowding on four adjoining sites constituting a Mei Fu self-contained township for its 46,245 residents or 13,068 households living on a small but compacted urban site. Diagram 9 - a distant view of Mei Fu and adjoining public transport connections Diagram 10 - view of Podium Street, reminiscent of the shop house concept. Diagram 11 - shops on the podium Diagram 12 - close proximity of apartments Diagram 13 - close-up view of balconies The development is a blown-up version of the shop on ground and residence on floors above, made practical by a coalition of ground and upper levels of ancillary facilities such as bus terminus, food markets, gardens, sports ground, cinema and shops, making it a self-sufficient city! The former seaward petroleum fuel storage yard and jetty site of Mobil Company is transformed into a livable city by the sea. The Mei Fu (Chinese translation of the name Mobil) Model soon became a model for many more to come in the following years.

Stage 3 What followed and flourished over the next decades were not a repetitive copy of the Mei Fu Model but indeed an advancement of a highlysophiscated self-sufficiency concept that became a driving force for the next generation of multiple use of space. For sites which are much restrictive in areas, designers have no choice but to stack up the living and non-living activities in a vertical layout. What evolved are towers of multi-stories residential apartments sitting on top of a relatively big podium in which all support facilities are found. The second-generation model described i.e. the fully developed podium model became a refined MILU norm for the period from nineteen eighties to present. 6. Case Studies Case Study 2 Metro-City Residential Development, Tseng Kwan O New Town, Hong Kong Tseng Kwan O is one of the 10 satellite towns (8) of Hong Kong. Being the latest addition to our new towns, it is separated from most parts of Hong Kong by an hours over journey (our survey shows that most peoples commuting time from home to work in the Central District is 30 to 60 minutes, facilitated by an ultra-efficient public transportation system). The town is built over the old site of Junk Bay a seashore site for recycling steel parts and bodies from retired ocean vessels. Artificial land was created by massive reclamation achieved in a relatively short span of time, followed almost immediately by massive housing construction. Here one sees forests of bamboos shots-like apartment buildings popping up under the barking sun and monsoon breezes of the South Pacific seasons. The towers are as tall as 40 stories and more recently reaching 60 stores, making the town of TKO a showcase of extreme high-rise high-density livable urbanity. For the TKO Metro-City Development, it took its shape to the fullest in three phases with occupation from May 1997 to April 2000. Phase One contains 2,048 households or 6,700 residents in 6 towers of 43 stories tall. Phase Two houses 11 towers of 38 stories tall, has 3,344 households or 13,376 residents. Phase Three comprises 4 towers of 43 stories tall that have about 1,376 households or 5,600 residents.

What is significant about these towers is not their astonishing vertical scale, but rather an underlying guiding principle that governs the spatial and functional relationship resulted in hundreds of similar developments in Tseng Kwan O. Here, one finds a unique Hong Kong fixation of a Multiple Intensive Land-Use (MILU) application on a relatively small land parcel that afforded a floor area ratio of 10 times the land area, realized by 21 towers of over forty stories tall which houses a total of 6,768 families or 9,600 population. The unique feature of such MILU development is the fact that all of the residential super-high-rise towers sit on top of a 100% built over podium of 15 meters or 4 stories tall. In this case, the three phased developments are developed from three land parcels connected by 24 hours accessible covered walkways, and subsequently are conveniently connected to the Mass Transit Railway Station due to be operational by August 2002. On the bottom floor is a terminal for both long haul and local commuter buses, maxi-cabs and taxis. Next to the transport terminal are post office and food market and supermarket. Within the podium situates a two level car park for residents and shoppers. Then there is the shopping mall, which improvises retail, food, entertainment and all kinds of supplies and goods outlets. On the roof is yet a different land use, for there is the park, playground, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, club house, tennis courts and jogging paths, all for the exclusive use by residents living in the towers above the podium. Diagram 14 - a birds eye view of the TKO development, the towers sitting on a huge podium Diagram 15 - the podium and adjoining public transport facilities Diagram 16 extensive planting and covered walkways on the podium Diagram 17 - shopping mall in the podium Diagram 18 - looking down from a typical apartment unit Goes without saying, the Metro-City case too exhibits the art of connectivity as discussed in the concept of connectivity. The Metro-city podiums, like hundreds of other similar MILU podiums in the area, are connected with each other by covered walkways, making it in effect a connectable town. It is interesting to note that the three developments have in fact their own podiums of shopping malls, clubhouses and car parks, more facilities and other recreational facilities.

Case Study 3 Multiple Use Development at Kowloon Station Site, Hong Kong The Kowloon Station is a major transport interchange designed to connect the new international airport with the urban centers. The Station is owned and operated by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation MTRC, a public owned company. Prior to the Kowloon Station Development, the MTRC has been an excellent practitioner of MILU, brought huge successes in combining transportation with commercial and residential activities along its subway station lines. For the Corporation, the Kowloon Station will be a MTRC flagship of mixed land use development. Four joint ventures have been created to pump investments to provide for 5,8282 families in 16 number apartment towers ranging from 30 to 60 stories tall; 231,778 square meters of office and 330 rooms hotel in a 102 stories commercial tower. To add to the dynamism of the development is a twin tower of 64 stories each, with one as a service apartment and residential tower, and the other as a 1,060 rooms hotel. All the above 19 super towers sit on a massive podium with a park on its roof. As one would expect, within the podium box will be a shopping center and a multi-level car park for 6,000 cars. Finally there is the transport interchange on the Station level. The Kowloon Station is presented to illustrate the ultimate evolution of MILU in the Hong Kong pursuit for a high quality living and working urban environment Diagram 19 a model view of the Kowloon Station Development Diagram 20 a close-up view of model of the development Diagram 21 view of the apartment towers Diagram 22 views onto the residential podium, with residientsclub and extensive planting Diagram 23 the podium deck provides connection with the train station Diagram 24 facilities at the residents club - indoor games hall Diagram 25 outdoor swimming pool Diagram 26 harbor views from within an apartment unit

Case Study 4 Exchange Square I, II, & III Office/Commercial Development, Central, Hong Kong

Exchange Square is not a new version of MILU development in Hong Kong. It is presented as a significant case MILU application in Hong Kong, as its success story continues to influence and pave the way for the followers who are interested in Mega-projects and practiced large-scale developments in the City. The Exchange Square was developed in three phases, first and second phases completed in 1985, and the third phase in 1989. Comprising three 5251-52 stories office towers, which housed most of the citys stock exchange, and many international financial clearinghouses, trading houses, banks, consulates and business associations. It houses as much as 30,000 daytime office workers. The significance of the project is its overall strategic planning of combining Varied but supporting land-uses in a coherent manner. In this case, the offices towers do not just sit on top of a podium deck 18 meters above ground, but are physically connected and supported by what is below these towers. Underneath the podium deck is a public transport interchange, with double-decker buses and light buses connecting office-workers from work to home and vice versa. The public transportation system is further connected to a nearby underground subway network. On the podium deck is a series of delicately planned open spaces created to add that important bit of color to an otherwise frantic, chaotic, and polluted urban life in a business center, by means of event courts characterized by sculptures, water fountains, eating places, flowers and plants, chairs and seats for hang-outs. Over the years, the development has continued to serve as a social hub/ urban park in the central business center. An important and essential feature of a MILU realization is its connectivity with activities happening directly above, below and in the surrounding. As in the words of local Architect Rocco Yims, the city architecture of Hong Kong demonstrates a deep appreciation for connectivity of buildings in a cramped and lousy urban set-up. In the case of Hong Kong, the maturity of the connectivity concept is achievable mostly by local designers sensibility to connect buildings and therefore connects movement and activities not only in an efficient manner, but also at the same time achieved a sense of aesthetics in making these connections. Rocco describes this connective architecture as the aesthetics of connection, as seen in the over 90 number office buildings in the Central District, all connected in an efficient and elegant manner in the central business district. An interview with the Senior Management Group by the author brought up the point about the sustainability of MILU over changes in use over time. In the case of the

Exchange Square, there have been cyclic acts of overhaul to upgrade the infrastructure of the office towers to handle new demands for technological and I.T. requirements to meet tenant needs. Diagram 27 External view of the Exchange Square Development Diagram 28 Connectivity 1- Exchange square and the rest of the CBD (Central Business District) Diagram 29 Connectivity 2 - pedestrian and public transport Diagram 30 MILU amenities sculpture garden Diagram 31 MILU amenities on the podium deck Diagram 32 MILU amenities within the podium Diagram 33 MILU amenities in the Tower the American Club on the top floor.

7. Conclusion
MILU is a familiarity with Hong Kong residents, planners, architects,

developers and officials. It has been around for a little bit over two decades. Survey (Lau 2001) shown that the response to MILU applications in Hong Kong have been welcomed by majority of the stakeholders concerned. Hong Kong MILU relies on the podium concept, which is in effect a deck built over 100% of a site. The vast coverage gives flexibility to the designers and planners to provide a range of ancillary and supporting functions pertaining to the needs of home dwellers. 1. The podium serves three roles. Firstly, it is the recreation space - fully equipped to provide for landscaped gardens, jogging paths, sports and recreation both outdoor and indoor for the family via the provision of a fully facilitated residents clubhouse. In new podiums, the author has seen the emergence of mini-farms and plant nurseries on the podium roofs, and soon became popular with children. 2. The podium is the equivalent of the ground in a real and psychological sense. Shizuo Harada, researcher from Waseda University studied and theorized the podium as an artificial ground. He proposed the artificial ground application for a 1 KM tall vertical city known as the Hyper Building research project undertaken by the Japanese Government. In this way, he and his team believe that the podium or artificial ground is a clue to resolving the physical and emotional dialogue between human and his surrounding in a super-high rise city.

3. The podium is a container of activity. It is a big box inside which there is the full range of retail food and beverage, entertainment facilities and all of that, which would satisfy the social needs of the consumers. 4. The podium is a transport interchange and garage for cars. Because of its sheer size, the podium easily acts as a terminal for public buses, taxis and franchised light buses, loading and unloading for cars and even in some locations bicycles. Planning regulations also set the standard of the number of car parks to be provided, which work out at an approximate ratio of one space per five families. 5. Apart from the podium concept, success of MILU examples in Hong Kong shown that its acceptance relies on a knowledgeable manipulation of how and when to mix, and what the mix is about, achieved by a managerial flexibility and ability to master the mix and intensification of different functions in a podium. As in the example of the Exchange Square story, its almost 30 years of operation and success standing as one of the top grade office complex is explained by a responsible and receptive management who cares about world market changes and users demands. MILU is not a one-off decisionmaking but a continuous series of tailoring acts to regroup and reinforcement of leasing powers on the side of the property owner. 6. MILU is a way of life. In Hong Kong, where living and working in high-rise buildings has been accepted since 1970s has a lot to be said about user response. The Oxford study of the compact city model in developed countries (1999) as well as in developing countries (2000) has yet to substantiate compact city model as an alternative solution to the urban sprawl as practiced in many of the European and North American cities worrying that it is after all, a way of life that suits particular society. As it happens, majority of the worlds Mega-cities are in Asia (Beijing, Tianjian, Bangkok, Jakarta, New Delhi, Decca, Tokyo) where there is overcrowding and overpopulation. In the case of Japan, Tokyo as a Mega-city exhibits high-density and overcrowding despite a decline in national birth rate. Recent study (9) by the author shows that there is a growing demand for high-rise apartments and MILU developments in central Tokyo. For all of these Mega-cities, high-density living rather than the urban sprawl becomes a practical norm. 7. As for Hong Kong, the Multiple and Intensive Land Use realizable by high-rise, high-density, high floor to area ratio (plot ratio) planning offers urban dwellers an exciting and comfortable lifestyle continues

to prosper, and indeed influence the present and future of the 600 or so expanding cities in China.

8. Footnotes (1) Mike Jenks directs the study on Compact City at the Oxford Center of Sustainable Development Cities, Oxford Brookes University co-edited two books on the topic of Compact Cities for the developed and developing countries. (2) The United Nations commissioned a Study on Mega-cities in the mid Nineteen Eighties when there was an international concern over the issues of those cities with immense population growth. The Study recommended that any city with a population of 8 Million would be identified as a Mega City. In 1985, there are 27 Mega cities, majority of which are in Asia or Latin America, with less than five of them in the First World. The following is the list of top Mega-cities according to the Population Counter 1996: Tokyo 29.20 Million New York 18.09 M. Seoul 17.58M. Osaka 16.21M. Sao Paulo 15.41M. Mexico City 14.99M. Los Angeles 14.53M. Shanghai 13.34M. Moscow 13.15M. Bombay 12.59M (3) http://info.gov.hk/censtatd gives key data of Hong Kong based on the 2001 census. (4) The Planning Department of Hong Kong is carrying out a 2 year study on the title Hong Kong 2003: Planning Vision and Strategy Study. It has four main objectives are being identified to steer planning policies for Hong Kong with respect to population growth and movement, ties with Mainland China, economic competitiveness in the region, and sustainable development. (5) Since the fist international conference on Mega cities was organized and held in the University of Hong Kong by the author in February 2000, the Center of Architecture & Urban Design for China and Hong Kong at the University has initiated and set up a research network between various

researchers from cities interested. These are the city of Tokyo, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Oxford, Eindhoven, Madrid, New York and Sao Paulo. The Mega-cities discussion will be staged in the Universade de Sao Paulo, Brazil in October 2002. (6) An infamous book by Hughes, the Far East Correspondent, on the future of Hong Kong with 1997 approaching. The book described Hong Kong Today, Hong Kong Yesterday, and Hong Kong Tomorrow. The sub-title Borrowed Place Borrowed Time is first used by writer Han Suyin in her article Hong Kongs Ten-Year Miracle published in Life (1959). (7) This is a 9-month research survey carried out by the author on subjective responses of households towards various aspects of high-rise living. A total of 102 families in Hong Kong was interviewed and asked about their opinion towards the pros and cons of high-rise living. Of the 102 surveyed, 98 households enjoyed high-rise living as an acceptable form of urban living. (8)The development of satellite new towns in Hong Kong takes four phases. Which begun from 1959. They are Tsuen Wan, Shatin, Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Fan Ling and Sheung Shui, Yuen Long, Tseng Kwan O, Tin Shui Wai, Tung Chung and Tai O. (9) The author Lau and researchers in Hong Kong and Tokyo were awarded a grant from the Japan Foundation, Japanese government in 2000 to carry out a joint research study entitled Re-thinking our future cities, Hong Kong and Tokyo as model for Asian cities empirical investigation of social, technological and ideological impacts of diverse cultures in making of cities into the 21st Century. The study entails exchanges of researchers from both cities to undergo short stay in both cities between May 2000 to April 200. A public seminar was held in Hong Kong with keynote speakers from both cities delivering their respective views based on the research title. The study resulted in the single out of socio-cultural preferences as the ultimate deciding factor in the choice of the lifestyle. After the end of the study, the author is engaged on an extended 2-year study to compare the lifestyle for young couples in the city of Tokyo and Hong Kong. Lau has also invited similar study by his research counterpart in Shanghai. 9. Bibliography Brown, Lester R., State of the World 2000 A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society,

London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2000, ISBN: 1-85383-680-X, 275 pages Coupland, Andy, Mixed-use developments History, 1997,ISBN 0419213600, 296 pages Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Mixed-use Developments, London: RICS, 1998, ISBN 0854069321, 75 pages Macionis, John J., Parrillo, Vincent N., Cities and Urban Life, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001, ISBN0130884162, 474 pages [this book talks about the urban anthropology of city and culture, lifestyles and cities in the developing world] Mesarovic, Mihajlo, and Pestel, Eduard, Mankind at the Turning Point, the Second Report to the Club of Rome, the successor to the Limits to Growth, New York: Signet, 1974 (1976 reprint) Rapoport, Amos, (editor), The Mutual Interaction of People and Their Environment: a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Chicago: Mouton Publishers, 1976, ISBN90-202-90042-8, 501pages Hong Kong Hughes, Richard, Hong Kong Borrowed Place Borrowed Time, London: Andre Deutsch Ltd., 1968, SBN 233-960118X, 173 pages P & T Architects & Engineers, Exchange Square, Hong Kong, 1986, 34 pages Planning Department, Hong Kong 2030 Planning Vision and Strategy, Stage 1 Public Consultation Report, Hong Kong: Printing Department 2002, 141 pages Leung, Ping Wa, Heritage of the Central and Western District, Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Central & Western Provisional District Board, 1999, ISBN: 962-85382-2-5, 332 pages

Sit, Victor F.S., Hong Kong: 150 Years, Development in Maps, Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., 2001, ISBN 962-04-1481-0, 192 pages Sharma, Suresh, (editor), Exchange Square, Hong Kong: Vision Architecture & Design, 1988, Issue 32, Pages 20 51 Zaman, Q.M.M., Lau, S.S.Y., So, H.M., The Compact City of Hong Kong: a sustainable model for Asia? Jenks, Mike, Burgess Rod, (ed.) Compact Cities sustainable urban forms for developing Countries, London: Spon Press, ISBN 0-419-25130-8, 2000, pp.255-268 Chang, Shu, Essay on Architecture, Urbanism and Architecture Education, Taipei: Architectural Information Quarterly Publishing (H.K.) Co. Ltd., 2000, ISBN 957-97848-7-6, 270 pages

10. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank the Habiforum Research Foundation, Netherlands, for their sponsorship of this research, and the invitation for the authors participation in an international workshop organized by Haliforum on the same topic. Thanks are due to the following for their invaluable supports, by way of providing photographs, project documents and publication, interviews and discussions with author. Mr. Mike Arnold, Executive Director, and his team of managers and colleagues of the Hong Kong Land Company Limited, Developer and Owner of the Exchange Square Development, had a discussion with the author on January 2, 2002 in their office with a critique of the authors draft essay. Mr. Arnold had in particular highlighted the Managements consciousness to respond to changes in market forces, and technology impacts on the sustainability of a top-grade office environment for the business users.

American Club Hong Kong at the Exchange Square, for an interview and tour of the Clubs activities on February 6, and permission to use photographs of the Club. Mr. Rimo Riva, Chairman, Palmer & Turner, P&T Hong Kong Architects, Architect of the Exchange Square Development, kindly provided literatures, photographs and drawing to enrich the understanding of the Exchange Square development. Mr. Patrick Sit, Assistant General Manager, Henderson Development Limited, Developer of the Metro-City Development, had kindly arranged the authors visits and interviews with the Estate Managers of the three phases of the Tseng Kwan O project on January 10, 2002. Mr. Michael Ho, Real Estate Manager; Mr. K. Y. Chan, Senior Project Manager, Miss Yvonne Yiu, Mr. David Chung, Project Manager, Mass Transit Railway Corporation, Developer and Owner of the Kowloon Station Development Project, arranged a presentation as well as a site visit to the Kowloon Station Development on January 8 and 9, 2002 to the author. Mr. N. H. Sitt, Project Director, Harbour Vintage Management Limited, Joint Venture Developer of Sites 5, 6, 7 of the Kowloon Station Development Project, had a hour long discussion with the author on January 30, 2002 to introduce the challenges of MILU as seen by a developer. He has also kindly permitted the taking of photographs of the site model for use in this paper. Mr. Lam Ho Wei, Director, Wong OuYang Hong Kong Architects & Engineers Limited, had received the author on January 9, 2002 with a panel exhibition and briefing discussion to explain the design and construction challenges of a MILU project in general in Hong Kong as well as the Kowloon Station Development. Mr. Li Fuk Ming, M. Arch. (Distinction)(Hong Kong), who has devoted his leisure time to support my research in many ways, throughout the past twelve months. Mr. Kelvin Mak, Mr. Paul Mui, Miss Pak Yee Li, Mr. Pauluce Lam, and Mr. German Cheung, all of whom my students who kindly offered assistance in the background data collection and assistance in a PowerPoint presentation.

Any errors, omissions if any, are entirely my own. 11. Credit of Diagrams
Acknowledgements are due to the permission granted for the following: Harbour Vintage Management Ltd. For the use of Diagrams 19 and 20 Hong Kong Land Co., Ltd., for the use of Diagrams 01, 28, 31, 32. The American Club Hong Kong, for the use of Diagram 33. Diagram 1 Vertical City of Hong Kong Diagram 2 is a location map of Hong Kong in the Far East. Diagram 3 is a picture of urban Hong Kong, a famous image of high-rise high-density Hong Kong with both Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbor as backdrops. Diagram 4 a MILU building built in the early seventies, found in TsimshaTsui, the commercial hub of Hong Kong. Diagram 5 - the living room of a mid-high income family is a tight space of 2M by 2M, the distance between the television set and the viewer is so close! Diagram 6 - view of the city, from an 80-storey residential apartment, one of the newly built high-rise apartments in Hong Kong. Diagram 7 the multi-layered city of Hong Kong! Diagram 8 - a Shop House in dilapidated condition on Des Voeux Road, Old Western District, Hong Kong. First generation multiple use of space shop on ground and residence on floor above. Diagram 9 - a distant view of Mei Fu and adjoining public transport connections Diagram 10 - view of Podium Street, reminiscent of the shop house concept. Diagram 11 - shops on the podium Diagram 12 - close proximity of apartments Diagram 13 - close-up view of balconies Diagram 14 - a birds eye view of the TKO development, the towers sitting on a huge podium Diagram 15 - the podium and adjoining public transport facilities Diagram 16 extensive planting and covered walkways on the podium Diagram 17 - shopping mall in the podium Diagram 18 - looking down from a typical apartment unit Diagram 19 a model view of the Kowloon Station Development Diagram 20 a close-up view of model of the development Diagram 21 view of the apartment towers Diagram 22 views onto the residential podium, with residientsclub and extensive planting Diagram 23 the podium deck provides connection with the train station Diagram 24 facilities at the residents club - indoor games hall Diagram 25 outdoor swimming pool Diagram 26 harbor views from within an apartment unit Diagram 27 External view of the Exchange Square Development Diagram 28 Connectivity 1- Exchange square and the rest of the CBD (Central Business District)

Diagram 29 Connectivity 2 - pedestrian and public transport Diagram 30 MILU amenities sculpture garden Diagram 31 MILU amenities on the podium deck Diagram 32 MILU amenities within the podium Diagram 33 MILU amenities in the Tower the American Club on the top floor.