Category Archives: Urbanism

Sphinx

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In 2004, the city of Maastricht approved the Belvédère master plan, concerning the grand scale redevelopment of an old industrial area, at the fringe of the old city center. The site is characterized by the old Sphinx factory (porcelain and ceramic products), as well as the central dock, where ships used to unload raw materials and load manufactured goods. Sphinx was founded in Maastricht in 1834 and its new owner, a Finnish businessman, ended activities in Maastricht in 2010.
The industrial complex intersects with two main urban structures of 19th century Maastricht: the military defense walls, surrounding the city, and the Willemsvaart, a major transport canal for importing and exporting goods. In the remaining buildings, several innovative building techniques of the industrial age were incorporated in an early stage, such as the reinforced concrete structure of Hennebique and one of the first glass curtain walls.

The master plan affirms Maastricht as a compact city in an open landscape. This means the Belvédère site is one of the last areas for large scale urban projects. The transformation will take between 20 and 25 years and will cost around 1,3 billion euros. The municipality has signed a joint venture for the investments with ING Real Estate and BPF, among smaller corporations. In the plan, there is a focus on new dwellings, offices and cultural program. In the light of the current European real estate crisis, these ambitions are likely to be altered or delayed.

One of the icons in the industrial site is the Carpenter’s Workshop. The transformation of this old structure to give it an important cultural function is supposed to boost the cultural infrastructure of Maastricht. The complex shelters a cultural movie theater, studios for practice purposes and a performance theater for the Huis van Bourgondië, a workshop for music production house Intro-In Situ, a practice space for Toneelgroep Maastricht, a cultural café, a restaurant, lobbies and office space, space for urban music and events, a theater room with 400 chairs, artist lobby and technical space, and a bicycle garage.

Read more:
Report on the historic value of the Sphinx complex (Dutch)
Discover the Sphinx area Maastricht and its main buildings in Google Maps

3-dimensional Hong Kong

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Hong Kong Island is a perfect example of a truly 3-dimensional city, in contrast with sprawled and spread-out cities. Not only is every square meter of urban soil used to its full potential, by building 40 storey buildings or higher. Public space in the central areas of Central, Wan Chai, Admiralty and Sheung Wan are dominated by multilevel solutions: flyovers, elevated pedestrian passageways, extensive tunnels linked to the metro system, public and semi-public escalators, lifts and staircases. Many open air staircases are being used for food markets. Passageways and tunnels are connected with office towers and shopping centers. Even nature is very pronounced in the third dimension. The urbanized area is surrounded by hills and mountains, covered with tropical forests.


Hong Kong Island, view of Kowloon


View from an office tower in Wan Chai


Expensive housing up-hill, at the edge of the nature reserve


Stair market in Sheung Wan


Offices and infrastructure in Admiralty

Soho – Hong Kong

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Soho, near the central district of Hong Kong Island,  is a dynamic urban area full of restaurants, shops and nightlife. The traditional hill-side neighborhood stretches more or less from the lower Queens Road Central until Robinson Road at the top, having the busy Hollywood Road in the mid level.
In the early nineties the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator System was built, able to move people up-hill over 800 meter distance and 135 meter level. The system has entrances at most streets. In the morning it descends, to help people in the neigborhood get to work quicker; at night it ascends, to get inhabitants back home and to bring people up to the bars and restaurants.


View of the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator

This easy access has triggered a rapid gentrification and increasing mixed use of the area. The direct surroundings of the escalator are completely dominated by tourist restaurants and fast food chains. Neighboring streets are steadily being occupied by luxurious apartments for expats and fancy art galleries. In some of the streets an interesting mix can be seen between new art galleries and traditional Hong Kong craftsmen workshops, but due to the ground prices this unique situation is unlikely to last long.


Art gallery and vintage shop in Soho


Wall graffiti in Soho

Explore Soho Hong Kong and the escalator system in Google Maps

Shenzhen urbanisation

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The city of Shenzhen, in the Pearl River Delta, is an impressive example of the dazzling growth rate in Chinese cities. In 30 years, Shenzhen grew from a fishermen’s village to a metropolis of 10 million inhabitants, closely connected with Hong Kong and the rest of the PRD. Note that not only green land was urbanized. The city literally expanded into the sea, by building on new reclaimed land.

Read more:
www.vitruvius.com.br/… (Portuguese)

Kowloon – a transformation

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The central part of the city of Hong Kong lies on both sides of Victoria Harbour, on Hong Kong Island in the south, and the peninsula of Kowloon in the north. Kowloon still has traditional neighborhoods with lots of street markets and high-density urban blocks. The area of Mong Kok, in the middle of Kowloon, has one of the highest urban densities in the world, over 40.000 inhabitants per square kilometer. Real estate pressure is bringing massive office development from saturated Hong Kong island to Kowloon and is beginning to transform its waterfront.

At the building sites on reclaimed land west of Kowloon, one can see the rise of the new Kowloon. The integration of Austin metro station, Kowloon station (Airport Express line) and the new West Kowloon Express Rail Link Terminus (High Speed rail to mainland China) will turn this area into an international hub. Around Kowloon station, residential towers and offices are almost completed, including the 118 storey (484 m) ICC building. A few kilometers to the east, an equally large site will be developed at the old Hong Kong airport Kai Tak.