Reimagining 15 Mallory Street!

Wan Chai, Hong Kong, 2022

Adaptive Reuse

Value map

Community mapping

Opdrachtgevers

Urban Renewal Authority

Neighbourhood Commons

Partners

Agenda

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority was looking to repurpose a characteristic heritage building in Wanchai; a rather sensitive exercise since it was one of the last few remaining original shophouses in the densely populated office district. Responding to URA’s request to organise the project in an inclusive way, we designed a process to use community engagement as a foundation to determine the new use, tenant mix and layout of the historic property.

Within the fast-gentrifying neighbourhood we identified four different demographics: the original residents (grassroots community, religious groups, schools, elderly centres, welfare providers) established businesses (local masters, traditional business, craftsmen) new entrepreneurs (independent hotels, creative/lifestyle retailers, creative café’s coffeeshops, co-working spaces) and the creative/cultural industry (art centre, art galleries, creative spaces, performance venues). Through story mapping exercises we established commonalities and differences in place values and perceptions in the past (memories/stories) the present (grievances/joys) and the future (ideas/opportunities).

This joint exercise identified street culture as the unique characteristic of the neighbourhood across the different demographics as illustrated in the Wanchai Street Culture Map. Zooming from street to site level, the process not only built trust, pride and ownership but we also managed to frame a number of local champions who then became part of the ideation phase to decide on the future use of the building. They became the anchors to ensure the community voice was heard, working with the design team to co-create the lay-out plan, tenant mix, operating model and branding of 15 Mallory Street.