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DESIGN STATEMENT

The Pier | Resilience by Design

The Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier is one of the most iconic and historical landmarks in Hong Kong, accredited to its significance as a central hub for transportation between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island during the 60s and 70s. Despite the proliferation and diversification of public transport, traveling by ferries remains an essential part of Hong Kongers’ life for its unique experience throughout the journey.

The pandemic has severely disrupted public transport as the underlying infrastructure fails to tackle the issue of keeping social distance while providing sufficient air ventilation.

To restore confidence in public transport for Hong Kongers, a refreshing look with embedded new health safety features is greatly in need.

At the moment, the pier is severely affected by the pandemic as the number of passengers decreased. During the site visit, it was noticed that the waiting areas were closely packed and had inadequate air ventilation. It would then form a potential hotspot for the virus to spread.

Moving forward, we propose a redesigned pier that focuses on the idea of single direction circulation. It eliminates the potential intersection between boarding and arriving passengers, which further restrains the virus transmission. Passengers departing from the pier boards from the ground floor while allowing arriving passengers to disembark on the first floor.

Furthermore, to limit virus transmission while waiting for departure, a newly designed plaza is implemented in between the piers as a waiting area and is designed to separate out passengers waiting to board their ferry. This as well provides a unique waiting experience by utilizing the wait time for passengers to appreciate the surrounding historical architecture. Seating designs are also integrated into the circulation to encourage passengers to travel in a singular direction while minimizing unnecessary partitions put in place in the plaza to encourage a more visual and physical interaction with other passengers in hopes to bring a sense of normality back to the users.

In essence, we have deep beliefs that architecture is about people. By redesigning the pier, our vision is to create a public space which provides a desirable and safe environment for people to stay, to gather, and to build connections. Also, this design specifically caters for the fast-paced Hong Kongers and ultimately offers a safe commute for its passengers, which is also able to cope with future pandemics by encouraging a good practice of social distancing in our society through design.