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The 900 square-metre celling of Chan Tai Ho Muti-purpose Hall at City University of Hong Kong collapsed on Friday. Photo: Dickson Lee

Government advised to tighten green roof standards nine years ago

Consulting firm recommended the Architectural Services Department devise a set of “reliable standards” for building green roofs back in a study carried out in 2007

Little has been done by the government to come up with a set of clear guidelines for adding greenery to rooftops, despite being advised to do so nine years ago by its consultant, a study has revealed.

Veteran architect and town planner Peter Cookson Smith. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Speaking to the Post, veteran urban designer Peter Cookson Smith, whose consulting firm Urbis had recommended the Architectural Services Department devise a set of “reliable standards” for building green roofs in a study carried out in 2007, said they should require approvals from the Buildings Department and closer supervision was necessary.

Cookson Smith said the public has neglected the risks involved in adding such features to rooftops, even on a small scale.

“It should be something that requires building permission,” he said.

His comments came after the collapse of the green roof above a sports centre at City University on Friday, which left three injured, about a week after hundreds of students took exams under the same roof.

A Post investigation on Sunday also found Baptist University may have violated building rules. It did not submit a building plan before adding a green pitch with additional structures onto the 50-year-old Run Run Shaw Building.

The green roof study
Nine years ago, the Architectural Services Department commissioned Urbis to study how green roofs could be applied in Hong Kong.

Apart from introducing the advantages involved, major components of such a system and the estimated costs, the study has also made a list of recommendations, including following in Germany’s footsteps to develop reliable standards so the government can “prevent low-quality products and constructions from entering the market”.

The study also emphasised that such standards should cover everything from adding lightweight plants requiring little maintenance to roofs equipped with deep soil and a wider choice of plants.

“In recent years, there was a drive for green buildings. It is a good idea. But if people are not doing it properly, it is asking for more trouble,” Cookson Smith said.

“The universities have their own building committee, they should be responsible to check properly,” he said.

Former president of the Institute of Surveyors Vincent Ho Kui-yip said little has been done by the government to address the issue in the past decade.

“The government did not issue a comprehensive set of standards relating to building works design,” he said. “There is only a simple reference to possible weight and a reminder to assess structural feasibility, and there are study reports and guidelines on the planting and soil arrangement.”

Under the existing Buildings Ordinance, a planning submission is only required when there is structural change, said lawmaker for the surveyor sector Tony Tse Wai-chuen, who believed there are grey areas for owners hoping to make smaller modifications.

The regulations also rely heavily on owners’ own initiative in submitting a plan for approval if they altered a building’s structure, he said.

Tse said the government should fill the gap by issuing guidelines to schools and building owners to advise them on how a roof should be modified for greenery.

The Development Bureau did not answer an enquiry made by the Post on why it took so long to follow up the recommendation.

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