BACK

POLICY PAPER

MORE PAPERS

Hong Kong deserves a better Central Library

July 30, 1997  

HONG KONG DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATION  
PRESS RELEASE  

Hong Kong deserves a better Central Library  

While the Provisional Urban Council and the Urban Services Department Director disputed over the outer design of the Central Library, Hong Kong citizens have been deprived of a better Central Library.  

"We deserves better," said Dr Patrick Shiu of the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation. "We should not be talking about which one is a better-looking "monument", but focus on how users, you and I, will benefit from the use of the Central Library."  

"I've always thought that architecture is about creating friendly environment and relating people to the use of the building. But both designs seem to have forgotten that, to get to the Central Library from the Causeway Bay MTR Station, we have to cross three to four roads with some of the highest traffic density in Hong Kong and through mostly uncovered pavements!"  

According to the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, members of the Provisional Urban Council have forgotten that, considering all the criticisms against the designs, citizens of Hong Kong might get a better Central Library, if they had proposed and voted for a radical rethinking of the deign to be done by a private architectural firm or by an open design competition.  

"The Urban Council should not have accepted the bureaucratic procedure of requiring the Architectural Services Department to design all major Government-owned buildings in the first place. It should have, at the very least, required the Architectural Services Department to invite bids from the private sector to submit alternative designs," said Dr Patrick Shiu.  

"People have been talking about who right and who wrong and what bureaucratic rules and voting procedures have been broken. But let's talk common sense," said Dr Patrick Shiu. "Why can't Hong Kong have a better Central Library designed by the most talented local or international architects?"  

"We should not make the same mistake for the second time. When the Hong Kong Stadium was built, the Urban Council should have invited open bids from private architectural firms already!"  

Local and international architect firms in Hong Kong should also challenge this policy, which is monopolistic in nature. This approach also deprives many chances for talented local and international architects to create interesting and functional buildings for Hong Kong.  

This stated policy also creates a very unfriendly business environment for architects – something which is against the Chief Executive's pledge to create a friendly business environment in Hong Kong.  

The Hong Kong Democratic Foundation thought that this subject should be taken up by the Business and Services Promotion Unit of the Financial Secretary's office.