SITE 03 : 1st Prize

Project 0308

LEE, Sin Yan / WONG, Ho Yuen | The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Project Statement

Cochrane Street was once a market bazaar, where you could find hawkers and Pai-Dongs. With the pedestrian bridge built above, the street becomes a dull and lifeless place that people would only pass-by it.

This project aims to restore the liveliness of Cochrane Street. Locating under the pedestrian bridge, the pillars of the bridge would be an important issue to address with. By referencing the pillars of the pedestrian bridge and the linear axis through the site, we came up with the idea of building two small pavilions. They act as a more private seating unit as well as a casual retail store during weekend, ideally in weekend market. The pavilions are intended to be modern interpretation of the traditional vernacular Pai-Dongs of Hong Kong. These pavilions, with covering, would also alleviate the hygiene problem caused by the bird-dropping, maintain a comfortable relaxing sitting place for people.

Noting that there are fruit stores and indoor market nearby, wood pallets are adopted in the name of recycling and convenience. By adding a few wood panels and functional devices on the wood pallet, urban furniture could be made easily. Three types of furniture were designed and are flexibly placed on the site. The transformed wood pallets function as tables, chairs, benches, partitions, and plantations.

The areas of placing furniture respond to the site axis, as well as the park right next to the site which is still under construction. Bamboo is planted as spatial dividers, acting as a half-covered partition for privacy, which also brings lifelines to the area.