THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORY OF THE GROUND FLOOR SPACE AND ITS FUTURE

The Harbour School’s Grove campus has three Centers of Excellence: the Foundry, the Marine Science Center, and the Black Dolphin. But what if I told you there could have been one more? In the school’s original plans, there would have been a swimming pool located on the Ground Floor, with a design inspired by mangrove forests. The pool itself would have had shallow and deep sections in different areas. There would have been mangrove trees to hide the pillars in the middle of the room.

Although it would have been great to have, the original pool did not come to fruition. THS Head of School, Dr. Jadis Blurton, explains that there were two reasons. The first reason was that the progress of the project was too slow - it didn’t open with the Grove’s opening, and kept getting pushed backwards. In addition to this existing issue, the school had many new and emerging needs, such as extra space for P.E. lessons and indoor pick-up waiting areas, alongside many others, and therefore much less need for a swimming pool.

Since then, Dr. Blurton says that the school has come up with more ideas for the space that would accommodate these new yet important issues at THS, though they would only be possible if approved by the Ap Lei Chau Estate Committee. Cleverly named the “Stone Beach”, the idea was inspired by the stony shores and the oceans near it. The main feature would be a P.E. space, emulating a massive underwater-like room. It would be painted with dark blue walls, decorated with schools of fish, and have soft P.E. flooring. A smooth sloped ground, dug due to the already complete pool digging work, would lead the room out of the dark and transition to an outdoor beach. There would be glass doors which open and close depending on its use, and a large pirate ship or Black Dolphin in the corner for PE storage purposes. The pillars in the middle of the room would be climbing walls full of sea shell-shaped pegs to climb on. 

The other part of the Stone Beach would be a small cafe named the “Pebble Cafe”. It would serve as a new waiting area for parents waiting to pick up students, where they could eat and drink while chatting. The food would be made in a kitchen next to it, which would also be used for cooking SEA courses and Arts Interim classes. Part of the ingredients for these courses would come from THS’ own Learning Garden, which supplies different kinds of fruits and vegetables fresh from the rooftop.

While this proposal is quite interesting to think about, there are many other options that could be explored for the ground floor space to meet our schools’ needs. I have come up with two plausible proposals for the space, both approved by Dr. Blurton. One is a multipurpose sports ground, and the other is a museum used to exhibit the growth and development of THS to the public. 

PROPOSAL ONE: MULTIPURPOSE SPORTS GROUND

The first suggested proposal, pictured above, is an area for sports, which the school could utilize for SEA courses, Black Dolphin Sports, PE classes, or even parts of Sports Day. As people enter through the doors, they will first notice a wall of trophies and photos of the Black Dolphin Sports teams. On the other side of the showcase, there would be large, tall shelves of P.E. equipment, storing resources such as tennis rackets and giant inflatable balls. The entrance would be colored completely black, just like the Black Box. It would lead into a bright, white open plan sports area showing much contrast to the entrance. The northern side would be a line of basketball practice hoops for the lower grades to learn how to shoot. A large open walkway would stretch through the middle of the space, linking all the areas. Opposite of the hoops would be a mini soccer field, where students would be able to play soccer and P.E. hockey when the equipment used is swapped. At the end of the room facing southwards, there would be a mini tennis court with a large net in the middle. A turf would be used as flooring for the two mini courts. Additionally, a row of table tennis tables would be in the middle of the two large courts for classes related to the sport. Around the room will be a 25 meter running track with four lanes, used for P.E. classes and Cross Country practice. Any outside group or organization would be able to book a slot to use the sports ground during non-school hours. This multisports ground will be able to reduce the school’s reliance on booking public spaces for sports SEA courses, and of course, Sports Day.

PROPOSAL TWO: THS MUSEUM

The second proposal, pictured above, is the THS Museum, which could showcase the history, growth, timeline and current projects of the school. Visitors would enter a small, white room with displays and showcases of passion projects with extra-hard effort over the years; some would be placed in a corner full of digital and interactive projects. After a quick walk through the door, visitors would arrive in a starting room, using videos and immersive VR headsets to summarize the history of THS and its vision. The VR headset would allow visitors to immerse in the vision of a future THS campus. The rest of the rooms would showcase the timeline and growth of THS, and would end with a vision of THS’ future and what our school wants to be. Each room would make use of different methods and modern technologies, and there would be many interactive activities and games for the visitors to enjoy, especially the younger children who are curious about our school and want to know more. There could be student guides that tour people around the museum, and the museum would feature accessibility features to fit with the school’s community-focused goal. The information in these rooms would be updated every two to three years.

The pool once was a key part of THS’s plan for the Grove campus, a potential fourth Center of Excellence - but eventually got scrapped due to rising needs to fix other issues, such as P.E. spaces and pick-up waiting areas. The school has come up with a plan, the “Stone Beach”, which includes a PE space and a cafe to address many of these issues, and I have come up with two - a multipurpose sports room and a THS museum that showcases the entire history and vision of the school.  What do you think this space should be utilized for?