Hong Kong should follow Rome's example and turn spotlights on its best buildings and natural features to enhance the city's night skyline, architects say. Lion Rock, Government House and the harbour shoreline could be highlighted with spotlights, according to Urban Watch, a lobby group of architects, planners and surveyors. It says Hong Kong's night vistas are bright but lack planning. 'Being bright is a good thing, but being bright alone without focus should not make us feel complacent,' chairman Wong Wah-sang said. Rome and Singapore have city lighting plans and landmark buildings are often highlighted by specially designed spotlights. In Rome, monuments such as the Trevi Fountain, St Peter's Basilica, the Pantheon and the Colosseum are lit against a background of dim domestic lighting in the city centre. In Singapore, a recently drafted city lighting plan focuses on landmark buildings such as the Istana Arch and the war memorial. Hong Kong has fewer landmark buildings than Rome, but Victoria Harbour could present a good opportunity for new lighting to improve Hong Kong's beauty, Mr Wong said. Along the harbour, the Government could set up lighting corridors that could vary in colour. The Legislative Council building is lit at night but other buildings, like Government House, are not. Mr Wong said Lion Rock, a Hong Kong landmark, could also be lit so tourists could have a view of the 'lion's head' from Hong Kong Island. Large posts of spotlights could be erected halfway up the hill to illuminate the mountain top. 'In streets, we could introduce different types of lighting, instead of the current lamppost,' Mr Wong said. 'Streets, especially those assigned for pedestrian use, could be decorated with colourful lighting.' He estimated that the Government would need to spend less than $100 million for planning and installation, but 'this is going to be a gain for Hong Kong you can't count in money terms'. Architecture professor Patrick Lau Sau-shing, of Hong Kong University and a member of the Town Planning Board, agreed that the SAR needed a lighting plan, but advocated 'natural beauty' rather than artificial lighting such as the proposal to bathe Lion Rock in spotlights. 'Hong Kong has got so many domestic and advertising lights. It's already one of the world's most beautiful night views. But at street level, we may need to do more,' Professor Lau said. Pedestrian areas could use more festive lighting to reflect Hong Kong's variety of cultures, he said. A spokesman for the Planning Department said that the Harbour Plan Study, which recommends upgrading waterfront areas, would welcome any suggestions that could bring life to the harbour front.
