Week 16 Kowloon

Last week I wrote about starting the new project (Container city project) and I talked about our idea generation process and how we arrived at our theme of Cluttered Asian city marketplace. I thought I would write a bit more about the city from which we are taking the bulk of our inspiration; Kowloon Walled city.

Kowloon walled city no longer exists as its demolition was completed in 1994. During its prime it became notorious for its incredibly high population density and apparent unchecked crime.  Located in New Kowloon, Hong Kong, jurisdiction was unclear and it was largely ignored by both the Hong Kong and British government.

Due to this essentially ungoverned state, construction was unregulated and the city continued to grow up and up, with new high rises filling ever available slot.  In 1987 an estimated 33’000 people lived there on a plot of land just 6.4 acres, giving it an insanely high population density of roughly 1255’000 people per square kilometer.

This city has a really rich and interesting background, however it all feeds into its unique aesthetic which is what we are really interested in.

The extreme population density and unregulated construction ended up creating the most dingy compact and cluttered alleyways I have ever seen. It is the perfect reference for a dystopian and rundown city. There are leaky pipes everywhere, drainage did not work so there are puddles creating reflections, shops on top of shops fighting to get noticed so there are massive arrays of signs, and caged balconies extend from the outside walls to give families that extra bit of room.

Here are some of the mood boards that we have compiled for the general aesthetic we want to achieve in our level

(Pic)

Some of the reference there is actually a recreation of the city as an amusement, so it’s not entirely original but I feel they managed to capture and recreate the mood and atmosphere of the city. There actually isn't all that much in the way of pictures of the original city, apart from a series of photos taken by one photographer who went well into the depths of the city and really got to know it’s in and outs.

Josh also shared a documentary about the city with the group, which gave us all some more insight into the inner workings of the city, It would be a bit of a challenge, but I would like to be able to put across how strong the sense of community in Kowloon was, in our level.