East-meets-west in the sky : understanding Hong Kong’s unique Anglo-Chinese roof system : a case study of the former clubhouse of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Oil Street, Hong Kong

Abstract

There are both Western and Chinese types of heritage buildings in Hong Kong due to its history of development. Moreover, there is a unique type of traditional roof in Hong Kong that is a British-colonial adaptation of Hong Kong’s southern Chinese roof system, also known as Anglo-Chinese Roof System. Being a maintenance surveyor in the Government for heritage buildings, this unique type of roof system attracts the author to investigate it as a complete system to understand its materials and construction, design rationale and performance, and maintenance challenges and issues. Another aspect of the research is on the maintenance of this roof type. In this regard, the research focuses on a case-study that provides a representative example of the roof system. The case is the former clubhouse of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club located on Oil Street at the North Point district of Hong Kong Island. This heritage building has been adapted as a government-maintained cultural venue known as the Oil Street Art Space, and it is facing many common maintenance challenges due to its heritage legacy. Quoting from Lynne DiStefano, a key founder of ACP, “Maintenance is the first step of conservation,” it shows that maintenance is the basis for long-term conservation of heritage buildings. With the author’s job nature, it is relevant to focus the research on identifying the maintenance issues of the Anglo-Chinese Roof System using the case-study example, and developing specific maintenance recommendations for this particular roof type in Hong Kong. As far as it is known, such a unique Hong Kong roof type has never been researched in detail, and this dissertation will therefore make a significant contribution to its understanding, and its maintenance as a form of long-term conservation.