Built heritage alert
Lobbyists say that in striving to preserve Central Market, there’s more than just the city’s cultural heritage at stake. Andre Cooray reports
Is Central Market, the only remaining Bauhaus-style building of its scale, in Hong Kong, about to disappear forever? The answer is yes, unless supporters win their appeal to have the former fresh-food market removed from the land sales’ list. Whether or not you are a fan of early 20th Century architecture, the building is Hong Kong’s best public-owned example of its kind. And many believe this alone makes it worthy of preservation.
Central Market, originally set up in 1842, and previously known as Canton Bazaar, was first located on Queen’s Road Central between Cochrane Street and Graham Street. It moved twice before taking up its fourth, and final resting place between Jubilee Street, Queen Victoria Street, Queen’s Road Central and Des Voeux Road in 1858. A year later the market was rebuilt into a three-storey, Victorian structure with a tower in the centre. This impressive marble incarnation did not last long however, and was replaced in 1939 by the no-frills reinforced-concrete block we see today, which was built for HK$900,000. The market was managed by the Urban Council until its dissolution in 1999, and it was closed in March 2003.
Despite existing in various forms and locations for over 160 years, giving it an important cultural status as well as public importance, the market’s allocated Grade III heritage classification means it can be demolished with zero restrictions placed on the new developer. Concern groups lobbying for its preservation are asking the Antiquities and Monuments Office to give the market a Grade I listing, which will earmark it for conservation and adaptive reuse.
The market’s grading has remained unchanged for 20 years but public sentiment has changed dramatically since then. “Hong Kong people now treasure our heritage and our local culture, and place a greater importance on protecting our living environment,” says Katty Law, convenor of the Central & Western Concern Group. “The market’s central location as well as its connection through the Mid-Levels Escalator with other heritage sites such as the Central Police Station and Hollywood Road Police Quarters creates a vibrant heritage cluster linking new and old Central.”
Lobbyists are quick to point out that there are any number of uses the existing four-storey building could be put to. “The Central Market building has a flexible and interesting layout. It is important to keep it a public space and the spirit of a market should be maintained, through possibly a mixture of cultural and commercial uses,” says Law. The building is spacious with a central court, high ceilings and window walls, the rooftop would be perfect for greening and a public-seating area.
If the market is demolished, developers could replace it with a 50-storey new-build, since the site has a plot ratio of 15 and height restriction of 160 metres. The concern then is not just cultural, it is environmental.
Law, for one, believes a new high-rise in the vicinity would have a disastrous impact on the local environment. Where the existing low-rise market building allows light and air to flow in this congested part of Central, a brand-new high-rise would act as yet another barrier. Not only would it add to Hong Kong’s urban-canyon effect by increasing street-level temperatures by as much as 10 degrees, but it would also worsen air quality.
“As a mature city, Hong Kong should not continue its path of a developer-led economy and should concentrate more on protecting our heritage and our environment,” concludes Law.
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