bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Housing Department engineers not only had to overcome planning and construction problems in building a public housing estate next to a historic temple - they also had to seek permission from the resident deity.
The biggest problem was sinking deep foundations on the narrow strip of land in Kowloon City without damaging Hau Wong Temple,  a Grade I historic building sited just tens of metres away.
The department had never built an estate so close to a historic monument before.
'We could not use traditional pile drivers as the vibration they caused might damage the statues inside the temple,' Ir Chan Siu-tack,  the department's chief structural engineer, said. 'Nor could we move the statues away, as they are extremely valuable to the temple.'
The solution was a 360-degree rotator, which rotates and bores into the ground simultaneously, minimising vibration and noise.
Mr Chan said the year-long foundation phase took 'a little longer' than in normal building projects.
But before any of that began, the construction team sought approval from Hau Wong, the main deity of the 278-year-old temple, through a religious ceremony. Mr Chan said the Chinese temple committee that managed the temple was supportive of the project.
The estate, expected to be finished by the first half of 2010, cost about HK$224 million, of which the foundation phase accounted for about 14 per cent. The 10,000 square metre site was formerly the Tung Tau  cottage area. With a steep slope taking up more than 40 per cent of the land, only one T-shaped building could be built. The 40-storey building will have 799 flats, ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments.
With the estate next to the Chinese Christian Cemetery, Mr Chan said four flats on each floor would have a cemetery view, although planners had done their best to minimise the cemetery outlook. 'We adopted the T-shape design because it blocked most of the cemetery view.'
The city has been increasingly concerned about the 'wall effect' - large buildings or groups of buildings blocking airflow. Mr Chan said that while the estate was taller than most of its neighbours, residents found it acceptable after much communication with the Kowloon City district council and Housing Department.
The estate was designed to fit into its surroundings, he said. For example, the facade of the building, with graphics of bamboo and Chinese traditional 'lucky clouds', was a match with Hau Wong Temple.
New neightbours
Age of temple: 278 years
Year the estate is to be finished: 2010
Cost of project: HK$224 million
Tower has: 40 storeys and contains 779 flats



Deity's approval sought before work  started on high-rise beside historic temple