So Uk Estate

So Uk Estate
So Uk Estate Cedar House & Maple House
So Uk Estate abandoned Gas Station
So Uk Estate Access
So Uk Estate Open Space
So Uk Estate Mosaic Map

So Uk Estate (Chinese: 蘇屋邨) is an early public housing estate in So Uk, a hillside area of Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The estate is now undergoing redevelopment, and new housing blocks are being built in place of the ones demolished.

History

The estate was built on the site of squatter areas which were demolished for the construction of the estate of 16 blocks from 1955–1963.[1] The blocks were called "Houses" and named after varieties of flowers. Unlike many highly standardised public housing estates built afterward, the architectural design of the estate was unique in Hong Kong. There were 5,316 flats in the original estate, with areas ranging from 19.5 to 49.1m2, with capacity of 15,200.[2]

The estate was the home of many famous individuals during their youth in Hong Kong, for example, Sam Hui and his brothers, Wong Ka Kui and his brother in the band Beyond, and many others.

Blocks

Buildings closed / demolished before 2012

Buildings closed in 2012

Future

By 2008, after 48 years, the estate was still in good condition but its estimated high maintenance cost made the Hong Kong Housing Authority decide to demolish the six blocks in March 2012 . The Authority will compensate residents and aid in their move. It has also allowed residents the option of moving into Un Chau Estate Phases 2, 4, and 5 in Sham Shui Po.[3]

A foundation titled, "Farewell So Uk" was established as a historical archive for the Estate and to document its history of its residents. It was sponsored by the Salvation Army of Hong Kong and the Salisbury YMCA.

As of 2015, construction of the new So Uk Estate is well underway. The new estate will comprise 14 blocks ranging from 21 to 41 storeys high with nearly 7,000 flats.[4] The Housing Department won a Merit Award from the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design in 2014 for their community-minded redevelopment approach.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historical Background of So Uk Estate". Hong Kong Housing Authority. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Hong Kong Housing Authority. "So Uk Estate Property Location and Profile". Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  3. ↑ "Memorandum for the Subsidised Housing Committee, Ex-gratia Allowance for Tenants Affected by Housing Authority’s Clearance Programmes Outside the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme and Re-housed to Public Rental Housing Flats Without Metal Gatesets" (PDF) (Press release). Hong Kong Housing Authority. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  4. ↑ "STH visits So Uk Estate redevelopment site and Hoi Lai Estate (with photos)". Government of Hong Kong. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "HKIUD Urban Design Awards". Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design. 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to So Uk Estate.

Coordinates: 22°20′32″N 114°09′25″E / 22.34222°N 114.15694°E / 22.34222; 114.15694

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, June 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.