Adding Colour To Concrete

The Highways Department has transformed Hong Kong's highways and walkways into lush forests and imaginary underwater worlds with thematic designs.

The department's beautification works have added colour to highway columns, footbridges, and internal walls and ceilings of pedestrian subways to stir people's imagination.

Thematic designs have been adopted in eight beautification projects in Shau Kei Wan, Sham Shui Po, Sau Mau Ping, Ma On Shan, Yuen Long, Fanling, Tseung Kwan O and Tuen Mun.

Tailor-made

In Sham Shui Po, the department's Landscape Architect Helen Ngai turned two pedestrian subways between Apliu Street and Fuk Wa Street into an aquarium with large posters.

She said: "The Chinese meaning of Sham Shui is deep waters. In this design, I hope to take people away from their busy daily lives and bring them into an imaginary sea world."

The large posters with images of Chinese white dolphins, green sea turtles and jellyfish were applied on the subways' ceilings.

In Shau Kei Wan, trees with butterflies and birds flying around were painted onto a flyover's columns, and in Fanling the theme of "Country Delight" was adopted on a footbridge at Luen Wo Hui near Luen On Street.

There, large walls beside ramps for the disabled and staircases serve as a canvas to showcase the beauty of the North District countryside.

Happy scenes

Highways Department Landscape Architect David Yuen said the designs transform existing structures into art pieces to bring colour into the busy lives of Hong Kong people.

"Living in a fast-paced and busy concrete jungle like Hong Kong, we may not have the leisure in appreciating the beauty of nature and other good things around us.

"The design resembles delightful scenes such as walking the dog in the woods, watching wild birds with the family in the countryside, and being in an aquarium for the first time as a childhood memory.

"All these happy scenes in the memories of you and me help to slow down the pace and to brighten up our mood."

However, the transformation work is a challenging task. Landscape architects must work closely with engineers and contractors to identify and overcome various constraints and challenges.

Highways Department Maintenance Engineer Calvin Kwok said the installation of the Sham Shui Po display could only be conducted at midnight because of the high pedestrian flow of the two subways.

"Over 400 sq m of thematic stickers were put on the two subways in only four nights. In order to accomplish the task accurately within such a short time frame, pre-installation preparation work was crucial."

The department is always on the lookout for structures that can be used as art canvases.

People can use their smartphones to scan QR codes displayed on the artworks to learn more about their background stories.