SkyscraperPage Forum - The Walled City of Kowloon

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Quote:

Originally Posted by philip

If I see more pictures like these, I think I'll start to dislike living in Hong Kong. Here is another one.

http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TgDrA...09364080873460

Within certain clusters, the distance between buildings can be quite closed, but in general Ma On Shan is not that dense. Better than many neighborhood in HK
http://tinypic.com/1ovds7

http://tinypic.com/1ove3n

Urban China photos, and more KWC pix

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/3284.jpg

^These apartment high-rises (and other buildings) are near the central zone in Shenzhen, China.

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/3322.jpg
^Shenzen Skyline

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/4390.jpg
^Kowloon Crosswalk

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/3404.jpg
^Pudong Street

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/4230.jpg
^Shenzen Apartments

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/3344.jpg
^Jinhua (China) Workers? Apartments

** image deleted by admin for hotlinking **

http://tenplusone.inax.co.jp/archive.../image/121.jpg

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/18...1.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[IMG] http://tsk.hkcampus.net/~tsk-tb/_7.2.jpg.jpg[/IMG]

http://www.coupland.com/drool/images/kowloon03.jpg

The Triads' rule lasted up until the mid-1970s, when a 1973-1974 series of over 3,000 police raids occurred in Kowloon Walled City. With the Triads' power diminished, a strange sort of synergy blossomed, and the Walled City began to grow almost organically, the square buildings folding up into one another as thousands of modifications were made, virtually none by architects, until hundreds of square metres were simply a kind of patchwork monolith. Labyrinthine corridors ran through the monolith, some of those being former streets (at the ground level, and often clogged up with trash), and some of those running through upper floors, practically between buildings. The only rules of construction were twofold: electricity had to be provided to avoid fire, and the buildings could be no more than about fourteen stories high (because of the nearby airport). A mere eight municipal pipes somehow provided water to the entire structure (although more could have come from wells). By the early 1980s, Kowloon Walled City had an estimated population of 35,000 - with a crime rate far below the Hong Kong average, despite the notable lack of any real law enforcement.

It continues to amaze me even til now...

This is simply astounding to me!!!! i had never heard of this place before i opened this thread. its just amazing the conditions that humans can live in. i'da felt like a roach living in a place like that.

1382 views on this topic but for something as fascinating as this, that ain't enough so ...........bump!

In and about the Walled City of Kowloon

New finds on the Walled City of Kowloon and other goodies

Frankenstein construction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakegz

http://www.kungfucinema.com/images/s...bloodsport.jpg

OK USA!

Where those scenes where they were walking through the alleyways actually filmed inside the walled city?

Just another day in the life of the Walled City of Kowloon:
http://blog.wfmu.org/photos/uncatego...aitak1_1_2.JPG

Another shot of KWC

http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/hongkong/hkg04.jpg

Part of the Walled city of Kowloon is on the right-hand side.

Fascinating - that's what it is.

That retaining wall is insane.

Themes reminiscent of KWC

Rooftop of the Walled City ofKowloon

Architecture of Density
January 6 - February 26, 2005
Reception for the Artist:
Thursday, February 3rd, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

ROBERT KOCH GALLERY is pleased to present Architecture of Density, an exhibition of large scale color photographs by Michael Wolf. Wolf has lived and worked in Hong Kong for ten years. Stimulated by the region's complex urban dynamics, he makes dizzying photographs of its architecture.

One of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world, Hong Kong has an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per square kilometer. The majority of its citizens live in flats in high-rise buildings. In Architecture of Density, Wolf investigates these vibrant city blocks, finding a mesmerizing abstraction in the buildings' facades.

Some of the structures in the series are photographed without reference to the context of sky or ground, and many buildings are seen in a state of repair or construction: their walls covered with a grid of scaffolding or the soft colored curtains that protect the streets below from falling debris. From a distance, such elements become a part of the photograph's intricate design.

Upon closer inspection of each photograph, the anonymous public face of the city is full of rewarding detail- suddenly public space is private space, and large swatches of color give way to smaller pieces of people's lives. The trappings of the people are still visible here: their days inform the detail of these buildings. Bits of laundry and hanging plants pepper the tiny rectangles of windows- the only irregularities in this orderly design.

In 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle called Wolf's work in Hong Kong "most improbable and humanly alert". In previous series, Wolf described the vernacular culture of the street. His early vision of the region dwelt on personal aesthetic gestures left in back doors and alleyways, such as makeshift seating in the streets. In these photographs, small tokens of human presence took precedence over monumental architecture. Wolf continues to explore the theme of the organic metropolis- that which develops according to the caprice of its citizens as much as the planning of its architects. In Architecture of Density, his vision has evolved to evaluate the high-rises that shape the spatial experience of Hong Kong's citizens. Wolf finds in each building a singular character, despite its functional purpose and massive form.

http://giganticmag.com/images/hong_kong_9.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...itecture/8.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...itecture/6.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/11.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/13.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/16.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/17.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/18.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/19.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/23.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/26.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/28.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/29.jpg http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hong...tecture/18.jpg

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