Third-Age Complex
Vertical City in Mong Kok
City University of Hong Kong
BArch Year 4
Tutor: John Cheng
Location: Mongkok, Hong Kong
The project attempted to bring back the interactions between elderly to society and environment, as well as emphasise the importance of elderly to our society. The concept of the project starts after the site vist and collecting data in Mong Kok. It is found that there are 26% Elderly in that district and lots of them are living alone nowadays as all of their children are moving out. The loneliness, powerless and feeling of being isolated are risen in every elders' mind.
So, it leads to the question that this project would like to address, "How to reconnect elderly to youngsters and bring them back to the society". In fact, elderly have a lot knowledge can teach youngsters like a “life-lecture” and they still can contribute a lot to our daily life.
It begins from a society term, “Strength Perspective”, it is the describing the perspective of assessing people. Its idea is to focus on the inherent strengths of a person but not on their problems and defects as different types of people have their own abilities and strengths. Also, people have the capacity to continue to learn and grow. Thus, different types of people can help each other, and eventually, providing a sustainable community.
This mixed-use tower design attempt to create easily access open space in different size by punching a stepping open space design connected all functions in the tower in order to (1) encourage interactions between elderly, youth and public, and (2) promoting pedestrian move vertically from the street level in Mong Kok.
The design aims to re-inhabit the lower zones of a building and inject much-needed life back to the spaces near the street. It also explored the permeated three-dimensional form as an enhancement of social interaction and health conditions of the living environment. Open space are plugged into different level in a vibrant and spiral way to increase intra-level interactions.
