Building Urban Nature

Location: Hong Kong

  • Tung Chung East Eco-Shoreline

    Tung Chung East Eco-Shoreline

    Location

    Tung Chung New Town Extension (East), Lantau Island, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Size

    5 km

    Project Team

    AECOM (LA)
    Civil Engineering and Development Department (Client)

    Project Year

    2016 – present

    Phase

    Construction

    Key Tensions

    Meet the ecologist – Dr. David Gallacher

    ↓

    1/3

    Hong Kong’s 1st ‘Eco-Shoreline’ in Tung Chung New Town Extension (East): Collaborations, Experiments and Lessons

    In the eastern extension of Tung Chung New Town, a team consisting of landscape architects, ecologists, and engineers collaborated to create a groundbreaking concept known as the “Eco-shoreline.” This project marks the first-ever application of this design approach in a public works project in Hong Kong. The innovative design of the 4.9-kilometer seawall integrates various eco-shoreline features, including 1,200 meters of mangroves, 800 meters of rocky shoreline, and 1,200 meters of vertical eco-shoreline, which brings vitality to the seawall. How was a suitbale benchmark for the project was set? How was the design produced and what compromises were made？What experiments were conducted?

  • Hung Lung Hang Forest Plot

    Hung Lung Hang Forest Plot

    Location

    hung Lung Hang, Ta Kwu Ling, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Size

    3/4 ha

    Project Team

    Dr. Billy Hau (Forest restoration)

    Project Year

    2001 – present

    Phase

    Restoration monitoring

    Key Tensions

    Meet the ecologist – Dr. Billy Hau

    ↓

    1/3

    Native Species Reforestation Experiments in Hong Kong: The Case of Hung Lung Hang, Ta Kwu Ling

    In the history of Hong Kong, lush subtropical woodlands have been burned and logged due to crop cultivation and wars,resulting in Hong Kong often being described as a “barren rock without trees”. Today, most of Hong Kong’s forests are secondary forests that have gradually afforested after the end of World War II. In the 1960s, fast-growing plants, including exotic species such as Taiwan Acacia, were extensively used in the afforestation projects in Hong Kong. This helped prevent soil erosion and established a canopy quickly, but it also suppressed the development of native plant communities and reduced the territory’s biodiversity. Moving into the 21st century, the Hong Kong government launched various plantation enrichment programs aimed at thinning out aging exotic tree species and planting native tree seedlings. Restoring native forests in Hong Kong remains a complicated project, both theortically and technically. How can ecologists and landscape designers best collaborate on this long-term project?

  • Sha Po Marsh 沙埔濕地

    Sha Po Marsh 沙埔濕地

    Location

    Park Yoho, 18 Castle Peak Road Tam Mi, Kam Tin North, New Territories

    Size

    27 ha

    Project Team

    Asia Ecological Consultants Ltd. (ECO)
    Sun Hung Kai Properties (LA)

    Project Year

    2010 – 2018

    Phase

    Maintenance

    Key Tensions

    Meet the ecologist – Mr. Paul Leader

    ↓

    1/3

    Wetland Ecological Restoration for Damselfly in Hong Kong: The Case of Sha Po Marsh

    Sha Po Marsh is the first wetland conservation integrated real estate development project in Hong Kong. Sun Hung Kai Properties restored a 5-hectare marsh near Yuen Long Sha Po during the development of the Park Yoho project. Since the restoration began in 2014, over 180 species have inhabited the area, including the critically endangered Four-Spot Midget Damselfly. How did the government, property developers, ecological experts, and landscape designers transform a degraded wasteland into a brackish wetland designed for the Four-Spot Midget?

  • Fanling Golf Course

    Fanling Golf Course

    Location

    Lot No.1 Fan Kam Road, Sheung Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Size

    172 ha

    Project Team

    L.S. Greenhill (A)
    John Harris and Michael Wolveridge (A)
    Asia Ecological Consultants Ltd. (ECO)

    Project Year

    1916 – present

    Phase

    Maintenance

    Key Tensions

    Meet the ecological consultant – Mr. Paul Leader

    ↓

    1/1

    From Manicured Aesthetics to Ecological Enhancement: The Case of Fanling Golf Course, Hong Kong

    Fanling Golf Course is the oldest golf course in Hong Kong. It includes the entire 172 hectares site comprising the Old, New, and Eden Courses. Since 2018, regular ecological surveys and monitoring have been conducted in the course to document the wildlife present in the facility. In addition, ecologists assisted the Hong Kong Golf Club in transforming the course into a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. To achieve this, they devised a series of ecological enhancement measures to further increase biodiversity value. Fanling Golf Course became fully certified at the start of 2020.

    What is the existing condition of Fanling Golf Course？What is the process of biodiversity enhancement in the golf course? From manicured aesthetics to biodiversity awareness, What compromises are made in landscape management? What kind of ecological design can be implemented in a golf course?

  • Ho Sheung Heung 河上鄉

    Ho Sheung Heung 河上鄉

    Location

    Ho Sheung Heung, Sheung Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Size

    37 ha

    Project Team

    The Conservancy Association

    Project Year

    2005 – present

    Phase

    Maintenance

    Key Tensions

    Meet the arborist and the conservationist – Ms. Kami Hui

    ↓

    1/1

    Long Valley Freshwater Agricultural Wetland Management: Collaborations between ENGOs and Local Farmers in Ho Sheung Heung

    Long valley is the largest contiguous freshwater wetland in Hong Kong. It has been called the first case in HK that conservation groups won the contest with development. Through a series of protests, a piece of wetland with high ecological values was protected when (Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation) KCR proposed to build the new Lok Ma Chau Spur Line in 2000. Today, Ho Sheung Heung farmland management,  as the Long Valley Management Agreement (LVMA) pilot project, has become a role model for conservation projects in Hong Kong  which integrates agriculture, biodiversity, landscape conservation, cultural heritage, education and local community participation on the same piece of land. 

    How are Wetland farming contributing to the local biodiversity and ecological restoration?  What is the role of green groups in the cooperation of various actors?

  • Hong Kong Wetland Park

    Hong Kong Wetland Park

    Location

    Wetland Park Road, Tin Shui Wai, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Size

    61 ha

    Project Team

    URBIS Limited (LA)
    Architectural Services Department (A)

    Project Year

    1998 – 2006

    Phase

    Maintenance

    Key Tensions

    Meet the ecologist – Ms. Elizabeth Leven

    ↓

    1/3

    Ecological Mitigation Design:
    Hong Kong Wetland Park before EIA Ordinance

    The Hong Kong Wetland Park, an original ecological mitigation area for the reclamation of Tin Shui Wai new town in north territorial of HK, has become a key millennium project. It now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and hosts thousands of educational activities each year. 

    How was it built in history? How did ecologists, landscape architects, engineers and other professional consultants collaborate on landscape projects in a time when the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) did not exist?

    2/3

    Planting Trial and Adaptive Management: 
    Mudflat and Butterfly Garden

    Wetlands, where water meets land, are the most complex of the earth’s three ecosystems. How does the design of the Hong Kong Wetland Park respond to the complexity of wetland ecosystems? What experiments have been done during the design process? What kind of adaptive management should be carried out after the design?

    3/3

    Work with Soil and Hydrology: 
    Integration of Indigenous Knowledge

    Wetland formation also involved the heavy machinery work of soil and hydrology. What are some the technical challenges encountered in Hong Kong Wetland Park? How were they resolved? How indigenous knowledge can be integrated with modern wetland technologies?