Designer's ideas rejected, but point is made
Urban planner Peter Cookson Smith knew his ideas would not win the contest to design a future Wedding Card Street, but he submitted them regardless. He was determined to show its essential character could be maintained.
He believed the authority should upgrade and lengthen the life of the buildings instead of demolishing them, beautify the street and make it a pedestrian walkway. Shops would continue to prosper and residents could live in decent housing with good infrastructure.
His design allows for high-rises.
'We can do it naturally,' he said. 'There can be a mixture of low and tall buildings, old and new. But there is no point pulling everything down and replacing them with skyscrapers.'
Not surprisingly, his was not one of the five winning entries. 'Wan Chai is a very old and historic district. It reflects what the city looked like in the old days. It is the sort of place that any city in the world would try to preserve. The approach should be different from what we are going to do in Shamshuipo.
'Wedding Card Street, with its vibrant street life, is a place the [rest of the] world would envy and want to have.'
The planner and architect said the authority's approach was expensive and would destroy the culture and history of the street. He said it was the wrong way to improve residents' living conditions.
'The residents are rather poor and they can just move to similar accommodation somewhere else. This is not solving any problem,' he said.
'I know there isn't much the authority can do because it was set up for redevelopment.' he said. Still, it should re-examine its strategy so that its mandate extends beyond demolition and redevelopment, he said.
