Lung Tin Estate
Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
110
Located at the peripheral end of Hong Kong, Lung Tin Estate is one of the first village type public housing developments, built to settle residents who once lived in stilt houses in the fishing village of Tai O onto land. Water and river have always been part of the village’s history, witnessing and nourishing its traditions. The design imagines a river like network of alterations and improvement works that repair the estate’s scattered layout and gathers the community, allowing coastal rituals and heritage to continue.
Context:
Original residents of Tai O, known as the Tankas, are a seafaring community whose ancestors were historically restricted from living on land. They worship water, the ocean, and natural resources, which have sustained their livelihoods and daily life. Rituals and festivals are celebrated on boats along Tai O River to cleanse and ward off misfortune.
Concept:
The history and life of Tai O reveal drifting water as a metaphor for the Tankas’ shared stories and attitudes. Although Lung Tin Estate’s public spaces are small and disconnected, they hold potential to be transformed into a network that tells the story of the village.
The design creates a conceptual river connecting these spaces: an entrance landscape, a communal garden, a basketball court depicting Tai O’s topography, a pavilion woven in the shape of bamboo theatre scaffolds as a ritual tribute, and a garden of rocks and pebbles for slow, tactile engagement. Together, they form a framework of urban constellations that blend narrative, memory, and everyday life.
Process:
The project focuses on two main areas: facade and lobby design for the housing blocks, and the redesign of selected public spaces identified by the community.
The facades interpret the surrounding landscape through simple paintwork in a limited budget, turning neighbouring scenery into colour barcodes visible from each block. Public spaces are positioned according to their atmosphere and the activities they invite, forming a river-like sequence from the entry floodplain to meandering routes and origin points.
Production:
Redesigned public spaces respond to both atmosphere and history, shaping how residents and visitors experience Lung Tin Estate. The basketball court is painted with a miniature map of Tai O, embedding the village into everyday play. The central pavilion is overlaid with blue lines referencing the Fenliu Festival, a Tanka ritual once held near the estate. Rocks in Phase II are textured with pebble wash and boulders to create moments of slow walking, quiet reflection, and tactile engagement with the site’s past.
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Client:
Housing Authority (HA), Architecture Common
Occasion:
HAppy Family • Colourful and Fun Estate Project
Typology:
Residential, Facade Design, Public Spaces
Status:
Concept
Location:
Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Duration:
2024