[Video Essay] Disappearing City: Housing Estate

 

Disappearing City: Coastal Housing Estate

 

I. Preparation

Background

For a land area of just 1,104 km², Hong Kong has a phenomenal amount of coastline: 456 km for the main area, and 766km for the 263 islands. As the city expands and evolves, it has been reclaiming lands from the sea since the 1840s, adversely affecting the natural landscapes and biodiversity. Correspondingly, a series of policies were set up to tackle this issue, starting with the establishment of the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance in 1997. The land-sea edging conditions, therefore, have shaped distinctive architectural features of coastal housing estates in Hong Kong, which reflect a gradual retreat (“Disappearing”) of civilization from the sea.

Theme

This video is structured to convey the transformation of Hong Kong’s coastal housing estates over time and space, showcasing the dynamic relationship between the city and the natural environment. By capturing these disappearing urban landscapes, the importance of preserving the delicate balance between urbanization and the natural world is emphasized, highlighting the unique characteristics of Hong Kong’s housing estates at the same time.

Setting/Places

This video essay explores the unique architectural characteristics of housing estates at the land-sea interface of Hong Kong. To describe the process of the city disappearing from the sea, and the variety of architectural features along the coastlines, four main locations were selected, with a geographical transition from the south to the north, and finally towards the remote island at the eastern end.

 

II. Production

Components

There are two main components: housing estates and land-sea interface. The geographic transition in location is shown by their alternative appearance: from highly inhabited coastal apartments in Kennedy Town, to the sea-view commercial buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui, followed by the floating fisherman house in Sam Mun Tsai, and finally to the abandoned estates in Tung Ping Chau. Through the dramatic changes in building density, height, materials, and human engagement, the proportion of housing estate at the land-sea interface continuously decreases, while its integration with the surrounding natural environment keeps growing. The storylines of the two components converge through time, with their scenes gradually merging into one, finally disappearing into the sound of waves.

Music

Disappearance is not a momentary event. Similar to the well-preserved remote islands in Hong Kong, it is a transformation process created by the continuous erosion of time, like sea waves shading the coastal landscape. Therefore, this video uses classical as background music: La mer est plus belle, the first song from the Trois Mélodies de Paul Verlaine, composed in 1891 by Claude Debussy. With an apparent recourse to Verlaine’s poems, the piece presents “a conception of natural beauty, the all encompassing harmony of the world, and the human position,” which greatly echoes the theme.

Filming

The first scene in Kennedy Town was set on the balcony. It shows a glimpse of the sea through the gap of layered balconies, highlighting a sense of depression due to high-density residential estates. Time-lapse sunset implies the change of time, followed by the night view of the beach and a transition to the next location: Tsim Sha Tsui. For such a large-scale modern commercial building complex, exterior scenes were shot on location, with the speed of the camera’s rotation increasing with the rhythm of the music. After the music reached its climax, a scene of people walking on a bridge towards the sea was added as a transition. The fishing village of Sam Mun Tsai appeared as the melody gradually becomes more vigorous. The perspective also switched from exterior to first-person interior, creating an immersive experience. A slow-motion walk-in shows the more primitive structure and materials of this house compared to the previous ones, the positioning of objects also demonstrates traces of life. While strolling along the fishing farm outside the house, the fisherman on the chair finally left; walking down the steps of a seaside house, the barrier between city and nature finally disappeared: Tung Ping Chau is here. After two shots of waves slamming the shore and invading the caves, along with the crescendo, the scene flashed to a temple whose days are numbered due to a reduction in worshippers. This is the moment natural forces truly began to intervene. The last part applies montage to intertwine seaside landscapes and housing estates, using “a rock gradually submerged by sea waves” and “a cluster of conches blooming in the crevices” to metaphorize the gradual disappearance of housing estates from the natural environment. However, as mentioned earlier, “disappearance” is not a conflict or defeat of civilization from nature, but a process in which Hong Kong and its conserved coastal surroundings cooperate to coexist: Cette immensité N’a rien d’entêté.

 

 

III. Reference

Marine water quality in Hong Kong. (1986). Environmental Protection Dept.].

Ng, M. K., & Cook, A. (1997). Reclamation: an urban development strategy under fire. Land Use Policy, 14(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8377(96)00028-2

Ng, T. P. T., Cheng, M. C. F., Ho, K. K. Y., Lui, G. C. S., Leung, K. M. Y., & Williams, G. A. (2017). Hong Kong’s rich marine biodiversity: the unseen wealth of South China’s megalopolis. Biodiversity and Conservation, 26(1), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1224-5

Ningel, M. (2012). Elle a des airs bleus, roses, gris et verts. Das Farbenspiel in Debussys La mer est plus belle. Zeitschrift Der Gesellschaft Für Musiktheorie [Journal of the German-Speaking Society of Music Theory], 9(2), 279–289. https://doi.org/10.31751/687

 

Zhou Yimeng

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