Hong Kong monument rules ‘too rigid’ and bar proper repairs on fragile structures, expert claims
Head of Central Police Station heritage working group says if a building’s construction materials are bad, you can’t preserve them no matter what you do
The city’s regulations on preserving declared monuments are “rigid” as fragile structures cannot be torn apart and properly reinforced, an architectural expert said.
“At present, the monuments are treated as antiques. They must be kept the way they are,” he said during a Commercial Radio programme on Tuesday. “Many countries no longer use such rigid means to preserve buildings. If the construction materials of a building are bad, you just can’t preserve them no matter what you do.”
No one was injured in the collapse on Hollywood Road within a fenced-off construction site, where the Jockey Club is leading a HK$1.8 billion project to revitalise the 150-year-old compound. The former station was fully decommissioned in 2006.
After a wall and part of the roof of the former married inspectors’ quarters came crashing down, it was revealed that poor-quality bricks caused it to be in the worst condition among the 16 historic buildings inside the compound.
