The Commissioner for Heritage's Office (.CHO.) was established as a response to the 2007-2008 Chief Executive Policy Address and was regarded as a milestone in stimulating heritage conservation in Hong Kong. One of the major initiatives implemented by the CHO is the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme (Revitalisation Scheme) for non-profit-making organisations (NPOs) to operate Government-owned historic buildings. There is a need to evaluate the 'social' public-private-partnership (PPP) of Revitalisation Scheme as it matures. As the Development Bureau is releasing more historic buildings under the Scheme and question arises if it is feasible in long-run and whether private enterprises can be eligible to participate to diversify our historic buildings. An analysis of several cases under the Revitalisation Scheme and overseas case studies were used. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors of the Revitalisation Scheme to understand their relationships. Interviewees included operators of the historic buildings, project architects, advisory board member and academia. Stakeholders from overseas case study were also interviewed. It was discovered that the use of partnership in the Revitalisation Scheme is successful in drawing funding from the public sector and expertise from the private sector. The establishment of CHO and its institutional arrangement had significantly reduced the risk of the private sector and risk of over-commercialisation of historic buildings. But the selection of historic buildings to be included in the Revitalisation Scheme, selection of applicants, financial stability, building requirements, management concerns and lack of private enterprise participation limits the effectiveness of heritage PPP. In order to build upon the Revitalisation Scheme, NPOs and private enterprises should form a consortium for a better distribution of risks and responsibilities in the partnership. The private enterprise will be responsible for the primary business in operating the historic building, while the third sector can commit to community input and the protection of heritage values. A profit-sharing approach between the public, private and third sector will create long-term benefits for the Revitalisation Scheme. The Government as the public sector should apply appropriate zoning regulations and flexibility in the buildings codes to establish a long term strategy of the Revitalisation Scheme. The connection and the theory between PPP and heritage conservation form a basis to evaluate the innovative approach of the Revitalisation Scheme. As we witnessed several award-winning projects under the scheme, this analysis will examine their implications and measures to ensure the feasibility of the Revitalisation Scheme in long run. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Urban conservation (or heritage conservation in the urban setting), by its nature, imposes irreversible and enduring impacts on the built environment and urban fabrics. While conservation of individual monuments of indisputable historic and cultural significance often ignites heated debates, protests and resistance movements, the episodic conservation efforts of everyday architectures and heritage assets woven in the urban setting are often overlooked. Evidently within the rapidly changing context of urban China, which is virtually a contested ground for the struggles of many marginalized social groups and the upholding of local values and lived experiences amid the globalization waves and economic development, the urban conservation practice has not been systematically evaluated, monitored nor reviewed from an integrated perspective. This fittingly calls for the utility of French philosopher Henri Lefebvre’s triadic “conceived – perceived – lived” spatial framework, which has been proven useful in discerning the spatial changes and power interplays embedded in the process and outcome of the production and re-production of space. As suggested in the title, the application of the Lefebvrian spatial framework in this research endeavor is manifold, in both spatial and temporal senses: First, to discern how the concerned space was historically produced; Then, to examine how the space has been re-produced (as in produced for the second time) in the conservation processes and outcomes; At the same time, to paradoxically explore whether and how the space has been reproduced (as in organically and biologically conceived, given birth and nurtured) to perpetuate for a sustainable future; Ultimately, to investigate how urban conservation efforts can possibly facilitate or impact on the preservation, integration and transformation of space from a physical construct to a mental construct in the urban restructuring processes across China today. To this end, two fundamentally different yet very telling case study sites of urban conservation in Shanghai, the forefront city of China, have been identified, namely, Xintiandi and Tianzifang. They represent the market-driven conservation approach and the community-initiated conservation approach respectively, and both have deep-rooted causal relationships with the economic and developmental boom and evolution of urban conservation practice in Shanghai, and China as a whole. Through a comparative analysis of the two case studies, this research endeavor examines, individually and collectively, what the driving forces and the evolving relationships of the key players are behind the conservation efforts, and whose interests have been represented in the conservation processes, whether the lived environments, routines and experiences have been identified, respected and conserved; thereby summarizing the salient issues facing urban conservation efforts in China today, and reflecting upon how urban conservation practice can contribute to the sustainability of urban development and redevelopment in Chinese cities and beyond. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation focuses on the personal layers of meaning attached to a heritage site, using the case study of Hong Kong’s old Central Police Station (CPS). It is a way to enhance the understanding of the site in a way that goes beyond the scope of ‘official’ records and histories, such as those found in conservation reports, government documents, etc. These documents focus heavily on the significant historical stories attached to the site and the site’s formal architectural qualities as a way to understanding the heritage values of the place. However, this ignores the fact that a site such as the CPS was not built as an historical artefact or as a grand architectural monument. Rather, the CPS had a functional purpose: as a site of work. This dissertation therefore uncovers the meanings attached to the CPS as a site of work, through an understanding of the socio-historical experiences of the site. This is based on both theoretical and practical research. The theoretical research outlines an overarching theory of ‘heritage place’ – as a result of human interaction with space – as based on the philosophies of Martin Heidegger and Henri Lefebvre, the geographical writings of Carl O. Sauer and Allan Pred, and the cultural heritage theory of Laurajane Smith. This theory is rooted in the phenomenological method, which is founded upon an understanding and description of human experience. The practical component of this dissertation draws upon 10 interviews I conducted with former staff of the CPS, which led me to understand the memories and experiences attached to the site. I then present a synthesis of the theoretical and the practical arms of the research as a way to understand the heritage meanings of the CPS as a living, functional site (not as historical artefact). Ultimately, the research presented in this dissertation is an attempt to guide conservation thinking in Hong Kong away from static and esoteric understanding of heritage significance as rooted in esoteric and largely impersonal qualities of history and aesthetics, and towards an understanding of heritage significance as rooted in humans’ interactions with their environment. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

It is good news to see that Hong Kong has adopted the adaptive reuse approach in conserving historical buildings through projects under the Revitalisation Scheme. The bad news is that due to the absence of well-founded locally relevant principles and guidelines, almost all of these projects have brought about fierce quarrels among different groups of professionals. In particular the quarrel between conservation professionals, who try to adopt international best practices in conservation, and government officials, who are responsible for regulating and enforcing fire safety codes consistently in all buildings, regardless they are new or historical. In the past, some conservation architects have queried about the possibility of applying for exemption from the fire codes in conserving historical buildings through adaptive reuse. Today, conservation professionals and government officials have accepted that there is little room for compromise regarding the application of the fire codes in the adaptive reuse of historical buildings, as the codes are about ensuring the safety of occupants as well as protecting the heritage property from fire. Conservation professionals are now looking into ways of applying the fire codes in adaptive reuse projects. Now that the Revitalisation Scheme has been in operation for six year with a number of projects successfully completed, it presents the author the opportunity to examine the fire-code application of these completed projects to develop references based on precedent case-studies. Such references would be useful to professionals in adaptive reuse projects (as conservation consultants, project managers, architects and engineers) in facilitating the planning and design of the adaptive reuse in terms of meeting the fire codes. This research is to study the application for relaxation of, and exemption from, the prescribed fire safety codes by adopting fire engineering approach in adaptive re-use of Old Tai O Police Station into Tai O Heritage Hotel. Tai O Heritage Hotel is the first and so far the only hotel premises of the Government. Besides, it’s the first historic buildings in Batch I of the Revitalisation Scheme with capital cost funded by the Government. It is a great challenge to equip a 110 years old historic building with modern fire safety provisions and installations. By demonstrating the ways of appropriate means in application of fire engineering approach in fire safety in historic building, procedure and assistance which can be given by Government Departments in facilitating the revitalisation works, it can provide platform for future discussions, or a model for future adaptive re-use projects under the Revitalisation Scheme. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

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The City of Vancouver has led North American cities in commemorating Modern heritage. In 1990, City of Vancouver planners initiated the Recent Landmarks study, thus launching a progressive, specialized program aimed at documenting and conserving the city's post-war architecture. While this program has raised awareness and catalogued a large stock of Modern resources, few of the identified buildings have been protected with legal heritage designation. Thus it seemed appropriate to explore Vancouver's Recent Landmarks program in this thesis and assemble comparative information (from other jurisdictions) against which to measure it. Thus the primary purpose of this thesis is to point to contemporary heritage conservation initiatives and programs in North America that are specifically concerned with twentieth-century buildings, in order to inform heritage planning in Vancouver. The secondary purpose is to amplify current efforts to broaden and redefine the notion of structural heritage to include twentieth-century work. This thesis surveyed representatives (i.e. civic planning or cultural/landmark Department staff, and representatives of local chapters of DOCOMOMO, the international organization formed to document and conserve the works of the Modern movement) in Toronto, Victoria, New York, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The results of the thesis show that by 1999, all but one of the five surveyed North American municipalities had addressed the issue of Modern heritage. However none of the consulted cities had developed distinct programs to address this resource. For example, while several cities reported listing Modern buildings on their heritage inventories, none of the municipalities canvassed reported the development of studies or inventories that were focused on post-war landmarks. Thus from this information, it appears that the Recent Landmarks initiative in Vancouver remains quite exceptional. This program has identified several (and spurred the designation of some) significant Modern buildings, stimulated the creation of reports and studies, and made strong attempts to engage the public. In sum, the results gleaned from this thesis survey show that the Recent Landmarks initiative remains a leader in the specialized realm of heritage conservation for Modern architecture, and that many North American cities have yet to match Vancouver's efforts.

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The purpose of this master's thesis was to prepare anhistoric structures report on Oldfields, the former estate of Mr. Hugh McKennan Landon,and Mr. Josiah Kirby Lilly, Jr. It included some of the surrounding areas known as the Town of Woodstock and an area of land in the flood plains below the estate. Construction of the estate began in 1908 and was completed three years later. Of particular note was the historic landscape which was designed between 1920 and 1926 by Percival Gallagher of Olmsted Brothers, a firm in Brookline, Massachusetts. The estate has undergone limited change and has never been fully documented. Both the landscape and the home are eligible for inclusion on the National Register for their historic and architectural significance. To qualify for the Register, the site or building must be designed by a master, be an example of a unique method of construction, be associated with historically significant people, or be an excellent example of a type of design. Although only one of the above qualifications is necessary for National Register nomination, this estate met all four qualifications. Clearly, scholarly historical documentation of the site and building was in order. The timely need for such work was great, since few of the original family members were still alive, and rumors pertaining to the home and family were were being taken as fact. / Department of Architecture