Performing trail : from mono-functional transportation system to multi-functional landscape infrastructure

Abstract

The infrastructure is one of the key elements to construct and stabilize the sustainability of a nation or a city by providing a particular function and service to support the communities in a strictly fundamental way. The traditional structures and programs of infrastructure are always presented and constructed in a functional means lacking of relationship between natural and human system as well as cooperation with the social, ecological and aesthetic components while the engineering concerns has dominated the design and development of infrastructure. Additionally, those supporting programs are always required and occupied a huge amount of space. However, seems that the traditional approach for infrastructure could no longer fully cope with the new urban development, changing of public value and shifting of living pattern. The public and some of the professional has already formed a group and started the discussion of the lands where are lack of usage and development, especially the space under the bridge or space surround by the road system. In the contemporary world, especially in the situation of Hong Kong, the highway or road system requires and occupies a huge amount of space, which contains 665,640 vehicles on 2,090 kilometers of road fig.1that distributed by 442 on Hong Kong Island, 462 in Kowloon and 1,186 in New Territories together with 1,325 flyovers and bridges as well as 1,197 footbridges and subways. There are different site conditions and adjacent environments consisting of residential area, shipping port, recreational area and commercial area, etc. On one hand, the highway acts as a medium to connect people from place to place whilst at the same time providing efficiency and convenience to people by saving travelling time. However, it is also as a barrier in terms of separating the local communities due to the restricted area under and around the system. The result of disconnection of space has reduced the accessibility while minimized the opportunity of the integration for different groups of people. In addition to the existing typical road system in Hong Kong, it can be generally presented and constructed into four main parts, namely the above surface for sound proofing units and signage, on surface layer for traffic, below surface area for supporting structure and below ground space for foundation Fig.2. The usage of space is relatively mono-functional and limited in use while it is different from the multi-functional means of urban development, such as the complex residential and commercial area. As a matter of fact, the high density in Hong Kong needs a multifunctional and flexible approach to the built environment in order to provide a maximum usage of space. The multi-layering of programs of a site or architecture is the most common, productive and efficient approach for urban development while maximizing the usage of space. Bringing the economic and ecological value of landscape to the mono-functional transportation system might be an alternative to the new urban development in order to expand the possibility of land use and unrealized potential of space that integrated with ecosystem and contained with economical values.