Walking on a Street Elevated: The Podium-and-tower Built Form and Its Multi-level Pedestrian Network in Hong Kong Introduction The built form of podium-and-tower has emerged in newly developed urban area of Hong Kong through past decades, giving rise to the multi-level pedestrian network which expanded walking area from merely streets pavement on ground to a comprehensive system of circulation including indoor walkways, podiums, footbridges and subterranean space. This article examines the formation and development of multi-level pedestrian network in Hong Kong, studying the interrelationship among podia, streets, and footbridges, and how they function together as a complete system facilitating the flow of people in new towns. To gain a deeper insight into the development of multi-level pedestrian network, this article will further explore and evaluate their influence on urban morphology and community life. The study will firstly examine and elucidate the historical background of the built forms of podium-andtower in Hong Kong and its impact on the emergence and growth of multi-level pedestrian network. Afterwards the study will examine their connections and application in new town planning through a selected case study of Shatin new town centre. Finally, the change in circulation pattern and the efficiency of transportation will be discussed to illustrate its impact on urban life. The resource of the study mainly based on relevant literature review, possible empirical observation and published files from government. The study is aimed to discover the relationships between podium-and-tower form and the multi-level pedestrian network emerging from it and evaluate their influence on urban life. Findings in the study attempts to add contribution to place making and community environment in Hong Kong. Rise of Pedestrian Network in the Podium-and-tower Form Since the beginning of the 20th century, urban planners have got involved in the discussion of cities with higher density. In 1922, Le Corbusier published his idea on a high-density city titled Ville contemporaine de trois millions d'habitants and initiated the exploration of built forms in vertical development by conceiving a high-rise city centre with gigantic skyscrapers and separated flows of pedestrians and vehicles1. After that, in 1925, Ludwig Hilbersheimer further developed the ideal city with high slab-blocks standing on podia that were connected to each other by footbridge forming a lifted ground, which can be regarded as a forerunner of the lectotype of podium-and-tower form in Hong Kong2 (Fig. 1). Figure 1 Concept of podium-and-slab form and separation of traffic and pedestrians Source: Ludwig Hilberseimer, Highrise City (Hochhausstadt): Perspective View: North-South Street, 1924 When the utopian modern planning theory and design grounded in Hong Kong context, it faced a pragmatic reality focusing on land-use efficiency and the contradiction between de facto city-state governance and capitalist development. Both the podium and the tower came from the challenge of maximising land use in plot ratios under compulsory regulations. The modification of 1935 Building Ordinance in 1956 encouraging replacement of traditional shop-house by new construction of towers with higher density, and then a new regulation legislated in 1962, which issued plot ratios and site coverage limits according to specific building height and types, stimulated differentiation between commercial and residential uses and eventually called for a base under towers by the requirement for “open space”3. However, podia at that period remained small in open space area and have no significant difference compared to towers above despite of uses (Fig. 2). Figure 2 Podium covering the site with almost same area as the tower In 1965, as the planning and construction of Mei Foo Sun Chuen took place, larger space was planned for platforms on podia, transforming the “inaccessible” space into continuous walkable area4. The success of lifted pedestrian zone on first floor shopping street and two levels of parking place above demonstrated the possibility of making podia an alternative to street on the ground floor and serving as transition between towers on the same podium. The pedestrian podium evolved further two years later in the construction of Wah Fu (I) Estate on a larger scale connecting multiple slab-blocks and indicated potential of containing community amenities and commercial use within one neighbourhood centre. These precedent exploration on pedestrian podia later were condensed into a “future urban form” concept in the 1969 Colony Outline Plan, illustrating an ideal design pattern for podium-and-tower which featured a twin tubular tower on a communal podium5 (Fig. 3). Adopting the concept of a “traffic-free town centre” by Sir Patrick Abercrombie in the 1948 Hong Kong Preliminary Report 6, the plan raised a scheme for separated pedestrian and vehicular traffic on two vertical levels. The conceptual podium with twin tower form was soon put into practice during the design and construction of Wah Fu (II) Estate in 1970 (Fig. 4). Two decades later, the 1990 Metroplan marked that the lectotype of multi-level pedestrian network embedded in the podium-and-tower form matured as a megastructure upon the mass transit railway system. Figure 3 (Left) Consolidation of podium-and-twin-tower form in planning conception Source: Crown Lands and Survey Office, Colony Outline Plan, 1969. Figure 4 (Right) Wah Fu (II) Estate with podium-and-twin-tower form applied Source: Hong Kong Housing Authority, retrieved from https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/about-us/publications-andstatistics/housing-dimensions/article/20110902/okk130.html, accessed 11/12/2021. Case Study: Shatin New Town Centre As one of the experimental attempts on pre-planned urban development in New Territories in the 1960s, the planning of Shatin new town centre had adjacent association with the 1969 Colony Outline Plan7. As suggested in the initial plan for Shatin new town centre in 1961, the megastructure of the new town centre sit on the railway station of Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR), featuring a major transport interchange8. The need for separation between pedestrian and vehicular flows was stated in comments towards the first plan: “… and it is important to be able to move from the housing neighbourhoods to the town centre without crossing, at the same level, the main trunk roads9.” Although the idea of linking open spaces and commercial areas by a continuous routeway was opposed by the government several times, it survived and appeared in the final plan for Shatin10. Figure 5 Level 3 of Shatin new town centre connected by different types of pedestrian zones After mapping the multi-level pedestrian network in Shatin new town centre, we can discover that most connections between podia take place on Level 3, while Level 4 contains most of the rooftop facilities inclusive to residents living in the tower above (Fig. 5) (Appendix I). The multi-level pedestrian network in Shatin new town centre is not literally a circulation system that allow and encourage pedestrians to travel vertically from one level to another frequently but an elevated alternative to open street on Level 1 (ground floor) for pedestrians. Figure 6 (Left) A street elevated from vehicular flows containing various services Figure 7 (Right) Auxiliary pathways behind shop fronts With most of the pedestrian circulation taking place on Level 3, types of services on Level 3 both in shopping mall and on podium platform resemble those on conventional ground floor streets, such as convenience stores and fast food. However, without disruption from human flow on narrow pavement and vexatious vehicular traffic, the elevated “street” is now suitable for some services that should not be facing the street but need exposure to the crowd like real estate agencies. Therefore, the elevated pedestrian network contains various types of services more than any single type of shopping places, either open streets or malls (Fig. 6). As for arrangement of interior space, besides conventional pedestrian area that is faced by shops, a few pathways behind the shops are place in the design of Shatin New Town Plaza for users to reach their destination more efficiently without squeezing through crowded main streams (Fig. 7). Those auxiliary pathways serve as bypasses and contribute to fluency in pedestrian flows, connecting large parts of space in the building. Although it goes against the purpose of maximising commercial value of interior area, the existence of auxiliary pathways emphasises the efficiency in walking, which is the major concern to elevated pedestrian network in public perspective. Impact on Urban Life Tan and Xue state that the elevated pedestrian network “reduced the psychological effect of these structures on the general townscape and offered visual and physical, human-scale enclaves to distract attention from the vertical towers11.” Distinctive from clusters of soaring towers and skyscrapers, connected podia soften the contract between human scale and high-rise building scale. By creating a humanscale environment for circulation, the network becomes more pedestrian-friendly than conventional streets for travelling from buildings to buildings. Figure 8 Section illustrating the continuous pedestrian space from railway station to town facilities Source: Building Journal, December 1984. The enhancement in pedestrian traffic also results in improvement in the experience of other transportation methods. In the case study of Shatin, there is a clear circulation pattern starting from transportation hubs like railway station and bus terminus and ending housing units 12 (Fig. 8). As the environment for circulation improved by separating human and vehicles, pedestrians can spend more time on the commercial area or open space for social activities when commuting (Fig. 9). As a result, the elevated pedestrian network ease pressure in urban life caused by high-density and tight living condition in Hong Kong. Figure 9 Open space for social activities next to the elevated shopping street at night Conclusion To conclude the history of pedestrian podia, it can be concentrated firstly on private sector maximising interest from high density land development under the stipulation from administrative regulation. The elevated pedestrian network originated from open space on podia and self-developed with commercial activities on the upper floor. After connecting to other surrounding podia through cantilevered footbridge, the elevated pedestrian network completed the connection of a polylithic megastructure that would serve as a town centre. Therefore, a sequential change in spatial verbs operating the podium-and-tower form can be mapped from “covering” the site, to “elevating” and finally “connecting” the site(s) (Fig. 10). Figure 10 Schematic section of elevated pedestrian circulation in connected podium-and-tower buildings Source: Stephen Lau, 2005. The built form of podium-and-tower and elevated pedestrian network generated from it have shown their excellence in being a comprehensive answer to urban form applied under the high-density and neoliberalism context in Hong Kong. As urban planning in Hong Kong remains traffic orientated, with high emphasis on an integrated solution to different kinds of traffic flows, this combination facilitates contemporary lifestyle featuring high efficiency and well-organised order in the city in a foreseeable future. (Word count: 1546) Appendix I: Identification of Components of the Elevated Pedestrian Network in Shatin New Town Centre Location Type Level Function Connection to New Town Plaza Phase I Podium decks 3, 5, 7, 9 Playground for events and Interior of New Town Plaza Phase I, rooftop gardens for podium of Shatin Town Hall, Shatin communal space Centre Connection between New Town Plaza Phase II & III, blocks or buildings podium of Shatin Town Hall, Shatin Foot bridges 3, 4, 5 Centre, Shatin Station & Citylink Plaza Interior 3 connections Void deck New Town Plaza Phase II Foot bridges Direct docking between Wai Wah Centre, Shatin Plaza two podia 1 3 Shatin Central Bus Sha Tin Centre Street, Sha Tin Rural Terminus Committee Road Connection between New Town Plaza Phase I & III blocks or buildings New Town Plaza Phase III Podium decks 4 Inclusive community N/A amenities and rooftop gardens Foot bridges Hilton Centre Podium decks 3, 4 4 Connection between Hilton Plaza, New Town Plaza Phase I blocks or buildings & II Inclusive community N/A amenities and rooftop gardens Foot bridges 3 Connections and crossings Shatin New Town Plaza Phase III, Wai upon vehicle way Wah Centre, Scenery Court, Sha Tin Park Wai Wah Centre Podium decks 4 Inclusive community N/A amenities and rooftop gardens Interior 3 connections Foot bridges Direct docking between Shatin New Town Plaza Phase I two podia 3 Connections and crossings Hilton Plaza, NW side of Tai Po Road upon vehicle way Scenery Court Foot bridges 3 Connection between Hilton Plaza blocks or buildings Sha Tin Town Hall Podium decks 2 Open flat place connecting Sha Tin Park public facilities Foot bridges 2 Connection between Shatin New Town Plaza Phase I blocks or buildings Shatin Plaza Stairs 1 Open air auditorium City Art Square (Level 1) Podium decks 4 Inclusive community N/A amenities and rooftop gardens Interior 3 connections Foot bridges Direct docking between Shatin New Town Plaza Phase I two podia 3 Connection between blocks or buildings Shatin Centre Shatin Centre Podium decks 3, 4 Inclusive community Lucky Plaza, Shatin New Town Plaza amenities, rooftop gardens, Phase I shopping platform Foot bridges 3 Connections and crossings Shatin Plaza, Lucky Plaza, Shatin New upon vehicle way Town Plaza Phase I, SW side of Tam Kon Po Street Lucky Plaza Podium decks 3, 4 Inclusive community Shatin Centre amenities, rooftop gardens, shopping platform Foot bridges Shatin Station Interior 3 3 connections Foot bridges Connections and crossings Shatin Centre, Sha Tin Market, Lek upon vehicle way Yuen Estate, Sha Tin Park Direct docking between Shatin Station (bus) two podia 3 Crossings upon vehicle way NW side of Tai Po Road Endnotes Le Corbusier, "A Contemporary City of Three Million Inhabitants," Architext 2 (2011): 17-18. 1 2 Ludwig Hilbersheimer, The New City: Principles of Planning, (Chicago: P. Theobald, 1944). 3 Barrie Shelton, Justyna Karakiewicz, and Thomas Kvan, “Podium and Tower,” in The Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric, (London: Routledge, 2011), 113-114. 4 Ibid., 117-118. 5 Zheng Tan, and Charlie Q. L Xue, "The Evolution of an Urban Vision: The Multilevel Pedestrian Networks in Hong Kong, 1965–1997," Journal of Urban History 42, no. 4 (2016): 692. 6 Patrick Abercrombie, Hong Kong Preliminary Planning Report, (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer, 1948). 7 Tan and Xue, “Evolution of Urban Vision,” 695. 8 Roger Bristow, Hong Kong’s New Towns: A Selective Review, (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1989), 247. 9 Hong Kong Society of Architects Planning Committee, Report to Government: Town Planning Ordinance, Hong Kong Town Planning Board – Sha Tin and District Outline Development Plan and Explanatory Statement. (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Society of Architects, 1961), 6. 10 Tan and Xue, “Evolution of Urban Vision,” 697. 11 Ibid., 697. 12 Hendrik Tieben, “Public Space Trends in Hong Kong. A view from the New Territories,” The Journal of Public Space 1, no. 1 (2016): 32. Bibliography Abercrombie, Patrick. Hong Kong Preliminary Planning Report. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer, 1948. Bristow, Roger. Hong Kong’s New Towns: A Selective Review. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1989. Hilbersheimer, Ludwig. The New City: Principles of Planning. Chicago: P. Theobald, 1944. Frampton, Adam, Jonathan D. Solomon, and Clara Wong. Cities Without Ground: A Hong Kong Guidebook. Berkeley: ORO Editions, 2012. Hong Kong Society of Architects Planning Committee. Report to Government: Town Planning Ordinance, Hong Kong Town Planning Board – Sha Tin and District Outline Development Plan and Explanatory Statement. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Society of Architects, 1961. Lau, Stephen, Jun Wang, R. Giridharan and S. Ganesan. “High-density, High-rise and Multiple and Intensive Land Use in Hong Kong: A Future City Form for the New Millennium.” In Future Forms and Design for Sustainable Cities, edited by Mike Jenks and Nicola Dempsey. Boston: Elsevier, 2005. Le Corbusier. "A Contemporary City of Three Million Inhabitants." Architext 2 (2011): 14-21. Rossini, Francesco, and Melody Hoi-lam You, “Public Open Spaces in Private Developments in Hong Kong: New Spaces for Social Activities?” Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability 14, no. 2 (2021): 237-261. Shelton, Barrie, Justyna Karakiewicz, and Thomas Kvan. “Podium and Tower.” In The Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric. London: Routledge, 2011. Tan, Zheng, and Charlie Q. L Xue. "The Evolution of an Urban Vision: The Multilevel Pedestrian Networks in Hong Kong, 1965–1997." Journal of Urban History 42, no. 4 (2016): 688-708. Tieben, Hendrik. “Public Space Trends in Hong Kong. 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