圓角 . 緣覺

街口等

五支旗杆等，戲院門口等，碼頭等，大酒店等

都係一啲香港人聚散嘅icon。

街口都一樣，

每個街口都係一個交叉點。

無論係十字路口又好，三叉路口又好，

都有三，四座，甚至更多嘅轉角樓。

令我着迷嘅就係呢啲戰前戰後五六十年代嘅圓角大樓，注意係圓角唔係直角。擅長前衛曲線造型的Zaha Hadid，當時應該仲噏緊片。

我心諗點解放棄直角而用圓形轉角嚟起呢啲大樓呢？

以經濟同埋實用角度嚟睇都係講不過去。

如果用直覺嘅方法去起，材料功夫倒省下不少。

再者作為一個住客嘅角度來講圓形嘅空間，實在好難擺放傢俬。當然半山嘅世紀大廈又作別論…咦，放眼半山區羅便臣道干德道，一路去到山頂，同一時期嘅屋都冇乜圓角野喎。

反而呢啲圓角嘅大樓都係散佈於－啲平民甚至草根嘅地區例如香港嘅灣仔，筲箕灣。九龍既土瓜灣，佐敦，油麻地以至深水埗，一直去到長沙灣。點解呢？樓價平啲，反而不惜工本做啲益咗人哋嘅嘢？

早幾日同個建築師朋友傾開偈，梗係向佢請教吓啦。Cost effective 當年根本唔算係一回咩事。

反而Bauhaus前衛嘅風格，其中有一啲圓角設計，亦有機會影響當時的建築師。還有當時政府嘅建築守則都很鼓勵建築師去多設計一啲騎樓，因為有助空氣流通同埋引入更多光線。後來好多入住嘅人將騎樓封上玻璃窗，以致室內有多一點空間。所以好有可能有部份圓角樓初時外圍都是騎樓。另外原來圓角對流入街內嘅空氣都比較暢順，這是aero dynamics 吧。

再者，風水佬通常都會叫你伸個頭出窗外，睇吓有冇啲尖角對住你間屋，唔老黎。

圓角 ， 緣覺

十幾年前開始迷上這些圓角樓

也開始拍攝。

拖拖拉拉，結果俾人捷足先登

有個外國攝影師出咗本書

最可惜嘅就係啲相一般

而兩年前佢亦不幸去世

隔咗四年半，今年卒之可以返香港

感觸良多, 亦重燃我這個拖拖拉拉的project

行程匆匆，大汗疊細汗

拍了二十多幢圓角大樓

希望日後來個展覽

如果有關於圓角樓嘅故事或者資料

歡迎和我分享，集思廣益。

希望失落的歷史故事，能夠喺呢度重組，得以𠄘傳。

by Franklin Lau

Round . corner . destiny . conscious

“ let's met at the front of the street ! “

Will gather at the “Five Flag poles “ , Why don’t we meet at the cinema entrance , let’s meet at the pier,

let’s meet at the “Big Hotel “( Only HKer knows what’s the meaning )

These are common point of meeting or gathering places for Hong Kong people for ages.

"At the Front of the street” means the intersection of a street where it started.

The intersection can be consist of three or four streets. Where ever two streets are crossing, there will be a corner building .

Besides the aesthetics and the post punk elements, what amazes me are these corner buildings which are built around the WWll 50’s to 60’s , to be more specific the building

with rounded corners rather than those with 90 degrees corners or angled corners.

Rounded corners? Isn’t that a bit futuristic , even then Saha Hadid who is renown for her curving designs was a still a toddler.

So what the hack did they abandon the straight corners and go for the curvy ones?

Economic point of view it actually cost more money , time and work to build, which doesn’t make any sense.

To a person who live and use the space, a rounded corners are a bit difficult to utilize .

Haha , something like the iconic round shaped Century Tower built by Palmer & Turner is another story. It’s a catagorize as a luxury building.

But yes this this is quite exceptional in that mid levels area. Where as majority of the rounded corner building are situated

among grass root areas like wanchai and Sha Kei Wan in Hong Kong Island. And in Kowloon side, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei , Sham Shui Po all the

way up to Cheung Sha Wan.

Why? ain’t buildings from these areas should be build in a more utility concious and cost effective way?

I recently had a conversation with an architect friend of mine and she did have some answers for me.

Cost effective back then is still not a “thing” .

The Bauhaus movement do contribute to the design, some modernist design

do have some similar rounded corners.

At that time the Hong Kong building code do suggested that the use of balcony for the benefit of air circulation and light.

So a lot of resident do enclose the balcony so they can have more indoor space.

What I do think is that the rounded corner are build aero dynamically so the inner streets will get more air circulation.

Another thing I think of is the Fung Shui element. The Fung Shui Master always say it’s bad to have some pointy corner

pointing towards your apartment .

Using today’s standard of judgement, those corner buildings are a benefit to environment and humanity.

Canadians always talks about inclusion.

Amazingly these ethical values had been planted in these concrete forest long long time ago.

More than 10 years ago I fell in love with these Corner Buildings and started shooting them.

Coincidently another photographer also did a similar project and published a book.

I stopped shooting corner buildings since. The photographer passed away couple of years ago.

It’s was four and a half years since I last visited Hong Kong.

With mix emotions and feelings, I picked up where I stopped and start shooting these buildings again.

It’s was a short trip in the hot summer. I managed to shoot more than twenty buildings.

My goal is to have an exhibition in the future.

If you have more information about these buildings please share with me so I can include these valuable informations

in my exhibition.

Let’s hope that these lost stories can be once again archived and live on