High Garden Hong Kong

Continuous growth since the 1950s has turned Hong Kong into a megalopolis of more than seven million inhabitants. The city is often cited for its elevated construction and population densities, which are among the highest in the world. A frequently disregarded feature of Hong Kong, however, is that large swathes of its territory are mountainous and that 75% of its landscape is composed of highly biodiverse forests and grasslands. Urbanisable space is actually rare in Hong Kong, creating a restricted geographical context for development. For the megalopolis to grow, its urban planning policies have deployed a new-town model to focus exclusively on the development of high-rise buildings and towers. Unlike most cities, where high-rise constructions are only a part of the overall constructed landscape and are generally concentrated in central urban areas, Hong Kong has a high building density throughout, even on the outskirts, where the city meets the natural environment. This juxtaposition between urban density and the natural environment creates an unlikely form of cohabitation – that of the city and nature, offering a unique panorama. The result of such high density is a light footprint, enabling inhabitants to access the sea, forest or mountains by foot from any point in the city which, for an agglomeration of several million inhabitants, is possibly unique. Discovering Hong Kong as an urban planner and geographer was disconcerting. This phenomenon of high-density construction hemmed in by nature and nature surrounding high-density construction, with immediate proximity between both spaces, was unfamiliar to me. High Garden examines this relationship and the interface between these two environments, focusing on the extremities, the interstices, from the maze of tower blocks to the neighbouring forests. In this world city, where the natural environment and urban high-rise entwine, Hong Kong can even seem tranquil. Solitude is paradoxically easy to come by when straying from the main roads and it is commonplace, when turning a corner or stepping from behind a tower, to find a path winding into the forest or a stairway climbing into the mountains.