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Olga Wong

Historic buildings should be spared modern planning requirements, such as having to install lifts for the disabled,  to retain their unique characteristics, say experts commissioned to review building codes.
They say old buildings have been spoiled when forced to comply with modern building standards during renovations.
Examples they give are Woo Cheong Pawn Shop in Johnston Road,  Wan Chai - which was forced to rip out its old narrow staircase and install a lift - old buildings in Mallory Street, Wan Chai,  and Bethanie  in Pok Fu Lam.
Responding to calls for a review, the Development Bureau commissioned the  Architecture Centre  to look at how such issues had been handled overseas.  Its study will be completed early next year.
Among requirements under existing building laws:
Balcony railings must be raised to 1.1 metres with extra structures such as glass panels to meet safety standards;
Narrow staircases must be ripped out and replaced with wider ones to meet fire regulations;
Lifts must be installed for the disabled; and,
Some buildings cannot be fully opened to the public because their original design limits the number of visitors who can be admitted safely.
The experts said new regulations were needed in the long run, but in the meantime site management measures, such as setting a quota for visitors, could be adopted at sites open to the public to balance safety and conservation issues.
The chairwoman of the Architecture Centre, Agnes Ng Ka-yin,  said: 'It is inflexible and unnecessary to apply the most stringent rules to historic buildings. They are drawn up for super high-rises.
'The ultimate goal is to maintain public safety and social justice.'
She said that on the mainland a panel of experts were able to use their discretion.
Ho Puay-peng,  a professor of architecture  at Chinese University, said  the city could adopt one of three options: drafting a new set of building codes for historic buildings; empowering the director of the Buildings Department,  who would be allowed to use  discretion in  restoration projects; and imposing a quota on visitors at restored buildings.
Professor Ho said the last measure would require more resources, such as buildings officers for safety inspections and site management.
Vincent Ng Wing-shun,  an architect   and member of the  Urban Design Alliance,  said maintaining the original flavour and character of historic buildings would require more public understanding.
'The designs of old buildings are mostly unfriendly to disabled people,' he said, adding that lifts, platforms and wide staircases might  be incompatible with the style of historic buildings. The costs  might also deter builders.
An   Equal Opportunities Commission spokeswoman  was sympathetic. She said that under the Disabilities Discrimination Ordinance, an architect or builder could be exempt from prosecution if encountering 'unjustifiable hardship'. Protecting the integrity of historic buildings could be seen as such a hardship,  she said.



Old sites 'should evade new codes'