One Bite Design Studio was once again appointed by Gaw Capital Partners/People’s Place to revitalise Siu Hei Court Sports Ground atop a 35-year-old public housing estate and shopping mall in Tuen Mun. The former basketball court has been transformed into a new rooftop sports ground to accommodate a variety of sports at once.
BRINGING A VARIETY OF SPORTS IN A SPLIT-LEVEL SPACE
The existing sports ground became dilapidated over the years, provisions were minimal and not updated to meet the needs of users. With this revamp, it is hoped to create a fresh face for the court with the concept of intergenerational play space in mind.
This court is very special in a sense that it is a split-level space, which gives a lot of room to place into various activity zones along clean geometric lines. Unlike many other rooftop sports grounds which focuses on one user group, reconfiguration has been made to ensure that the space caters for the needs of different users.
The lower level is a multi-functional play space, with a basketball court, badminton court and volleyball court, a 150-metre long running track, as well as a gridded playscape that encourages unstructured and creative play. The upper level is catered toward basketball players. It houses one full basketball court, two half-courts, and a 150-metres long running track. Basketball court markings are modified to add another dimension to the sport-fun games could be freely invented to hone shooting accuracy.
One drawback from it being a split space is the disconnection between the 2 levels. The sports ground is also underutilised due to its lack of shading and resting space. As a remedial measure, the designer arranged a spectator seating that crosses two levels and introduced a retractable awning to shade users from the sun and rain.
UPGRADING THE IDENTITY OF THE DISTRICT
Tuen Mun has been stigmatised by a myriad of reports as one of the unhappiest districts in Hong Kong. Thus, this revamp project aims to inject energy and positivity to the neighbourhood and give the existing facilities a much-needed upgrade.
Surrounded by Siu Hei Court and Pierhead Garden, the design interacts with residents above visually through the use of ultra-large graphics that are only legible from above. The graphics are visually discerned as SH, shorthand for Siu Hei from one side whereas, from the other side, they can be seen as 85, the year when Siu Hei Court was built. In addition, hidden smileys could be found facing all four sides of the court, sending joy to residents above.
As the sports ground is located on the top floor of a carpark structure, the roof’s loading capacity remained a concern of design and there was also a need to keep its waterproofing layer intact by designing the spectator seating as a piece of large-scale furniture where the load is spread across its span. It is made of glass fibre reinforced concrete which is perfect for outdoor furniture in any public space due to its applaudable mouldability, durability and heat resistance.…more
PROJECT DATA
Project Name
Siu Hei Court Sports Ground
Location
Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Completion Date
July 2020
Site Area
4,000 metres square
Client/Owner/Developer
Gaw Capital Partners/People’s Place
Architecture Firm
One Bite Design Studio Limited
Principal Architect
Alan Cheung, Eleanor Fu, Sarah Mui, Melody Siu & Tony Zhang
Main Contractor
Sunyards Engineering Limited
Typeface Designer
Never-Never
Playground Safety Consultant
Play Concept Limited
Sports Ground Material Supplier
Kabushiki Group Limited
Images
Tai Ngai Lung & Marvin Tam
