Change of tack: Hong Kong debate should switch from green roof plan submissions to aim of such projects, surveyor says

Three slabs of grass sit atop Polytechnic University’s Shaw Amenities Building. The vegetation, about 150 millimetres thick and enclosed by barriers, appears dishevelled after a bout of rain. Dark blotches of moisture stain the perimeter.

The Hung Hom campus boasts eight such “green roofs”, five of them with Buildings Department approval. Three, including the one at the amenities centre, do not.

The question of whether or not to submit building plans has become a point of debate 10 days after the collapse of a sports hall roof at City University. But as the crisis of confidence over green roofing continues to unfold, professionals are calling for a return to rationality.

“According to building rules, [PolyU] should have submitted plans for approval,” said veteran surveyor Vincent Ho Kui-yip, a former president of the Institute of Surveyors. “The curbs and drainage around the vegetation would technically constitute building works.”

But Ho said it was understandable why the plans were not submitted – current regulations rely heavily on the initiative of owners in submitting a plan for approval – as the works in this case were quite minor. The two other unapproved roofs are located on the Communal and Realink buildings.