Universal Access to Heritage Buildings in Hong Kong

TITLE	Universal Access to Heritage Buildings in Hong Kong
AUTHOR	LOK So Fun, Rosa
YEAR	2003
TYPE OF THESIS	MSc Thesis
DISCIPLINE	Conservation
URL	http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/40036
ACCESS DATE	14 Dec 2012
FULL PAPER	FOUND
INSTITUTION	University of Hong Kong
KEYWORDS	Universal Design, heritage Building, Hong Kong, Conservation
ABSTRACT	Universal Access to heritage buildings is nothing new in the United Kingdom, United States or Australia. However, in Hong Kong, this is a relatively new concept. The public awareness of the equal right of the disabled person to access to buildings, whether such buildings are new or old, is scarce. In addition, the manager responsible for managing heritage buildings often sticks to the ideology of keeping authenticity of the building by having no change. Conservation is a dynamic process. A building loses its functional value if the use cannot meet the rising needs of the community. One of the responsibilities tasked onto a conservator is to enhance the perpetual value of the heritage building by fusing the contemporary needs into it while maintaining the significance. It is important that a framework is established to guide the change process. The stock of historical buildings in Hong Kong is huge although not in great number as compared with other parts of the world. They are the cultural assets of the society in which direct economic gains can be generated through cultural tourism or functional use. Providing universal access extends the life of these heritage building. The study attempts to unfold the experience in other parts of the world and address the issue by formulating a framework appropriate for application in local conservation practice. Taking the Burra Charter as the guiding principle in conservation, the framework starts with the most fundamental aspect of establishing the significance of the building, undertaking an access audit, evaluating the access requirements, exploring all possible solutions and implementing the selected options. One of the objectives in carrying out this study is to promote awareness of the universal access requirement in build design. If a building is designed right in the first place, alterations to suit later requirements can be minimized and conservation of the building becomes less burdensome.