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54 / Photo Feature

says Law. 10,000 citizens and professionals. The conservation has grown stronger as
“The over-commercialisation study finding shows the public wants developments in Hong Kong ma-
of the whole site by introducing high- to preserve the historical features of tured.
end stores such as bars and luxury the structure instead of commercial- “No one cared about heritage
cake shops contradicts with the origi- ising the site,” he says. conservation, and everyone was busy
nal wet market vibes of the Central Au and his team also faced making a living in the 1970s. People
Market,” she adds. safety constraints in the project. who were born in the 1980s were the
“It is sad to see that many “The site was built in 1939 first generation who grew up in a ma-
special features are removed after the and extra measures and facilities have ture society and started to care more
revitalisation. For instance, handrails to be added to ensure that it is safe about culture and heritage conserva-
are added to the signature staircases for people to enjoy the site,” he says. tion,” he says.
and the windows near Des Voeux “The URA also hopes to Lee points out that it is an
Road are removed and replaced by suggest new placemaking ideas and outdated and unsustainable common
glass walls,” she says. connect the Central Market with belief that preserving a site entirely is
Wilfred Au Chun-ho, Direc- other heritage sites like Tai Kwun and the best way of conservation.
tor (Planning and Design) of the PMQ to build a ‘cultural triangle’ in “As a lot of early conservation
URA, shares a different concern. He the Central and Western District,” he theories are borrowed from archae-
thinks that it is difficult to strike a adds. ology and museology, people from
balance between different concerns Lee Ho-yin, associate profes- older generation follow these theories
for the Central Market project. sor of Architectural Conservation at and are dissatisfied about the URA
“We have spent three years the University of Hong Kong, says for being unable to entirely preserve
collecting views from more than that public awareness about heritage the site’s outlook,” the architectural