In Delirious New York, Rem Koolhaas vividly discusses the Downtown Athletic Club, a striking example of how an unassuming building exterior can conceal a vibrant mix of distinct, self-contained programs. Inside the uniform facade of this skyscraper, a private athletic club hosts an eclectic range of facilities—boxing gyms next to oyster bars and interior golf ranges below swimming pools—all segregated yet highly accessible. The Downtown Athletic Club epitomized the dynamism of New York's skyscrapers at the time, showcasing the thrill of capitalism through a selective, inward-focused world of leisure and privilege for the selected. This "machine of programs" operated independently of the external city as an isolated ecosystem within its walls. Yet, one might ask: could a similar model, designed for public use, create a more inclusive, lively community and neighborhood experience? This will activate the building within, instead of only serving the selected elites, and influence and transform the urban fabric and shapes around the building. In Hong Kong, a distant parallel can be drawn with the Municipal Services Buildings (MSBs)—publicly-funded structures that serve the community by integrating diverse functions within a singular vast building mass, much like the Downtown Athletic Club.
Designed as all-in-one hubs, these buildings offer essential services and experiences that cater to everyday needs, fostering local commerce and keeping neighborhoods vibrant. Over time, MSBs have evolved into more than just utilitarian buildings; they have become focal points for social activity and economic growth within a 20-minute walking radius of their location. While subway stations are the typical contemporary nodes within neighborhoods serving as transportation hubs, MSBs are unique buildings that become the hub of community engagement and leisure, driving interaction and commerce within their neighborhoods.
Exploring a few key examples of these Municipal Services Buildings provides insight into their history and evolution, offering lessons on their successes and potential areas for improvement. These buildings are unique in their dual function, acting as public spaces and quasi-clubs for frequent visitors. They form a "public club"—accessible to all, but with a community and social network shaped by regular users. Unlike exclusive private clubs, they blur the lines of membership and inclusion, fostering a more organic, open-ended form of community - a building type that serves the common good.
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The Municipal Services Buildings (MSBs) of Hong Kong trace their origins back to the colonial period. In the 1960s, Hong Kong was rocked by riots, initially sparked by labor disputes, which soon escalated into anti-colonial protests. In response, Sir Murray MacLehose, the then-governor, sought to address public discontent by fast-tracking urban development projects planned for the common good. Early plans to integrate playgrounds atop market buildings were expanded, evolving into a more ambitious concept: multi-functional urban complexes designed to meet a wide range of daily needs for the city's residents.
The Urban Council, responsible for creating these urban complexes—later renamed Municipal Services Buildings—oversaw the development of the first MSB in Aberdeen, which opened in 1983. Designed by Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man Architects and Engineers (DLN), it was soon followed by another in Kowloon City, designed by Palmer and Turner. These initial MSBs were already ambitious in scope, and they set a precedent for integrating diverse communal functions, including wet markets, cooked food centers, libraries, government offices, and sports facilities. The range of programs, from indoor basketball courts to dance studios and gyms, embodied the city's efforts to support community well-being in dense urban areas. Over time, each new MSB continued to expand this vision, testing the limits of Rem Koolhaas' concept of Delirious New York and the programmatic density of the Downtown Athletic Club.
One of the most ambitious MSBs is in Sheung Wan, initially built by the government department ArchSD. Standing at 13 stories, it offers the typical array of public amenities—wet markets, libraries, food centers, and sports facilities—and a theatre, lecture rooms, practice spaces, and galleries. The sheer size and complexity of the Sheung Wan MSB and 40 other MSBs have led some to refer to them as Hong Kong's "Urban Living Room Machine." This expansive typology has attracted attention from architectural organizations like the AIA (HK) and Docomomo Hong Kong, sparking renewed interest in its potential for shaping community-focused urban design and public building. It has also become a subject of academic inquiry, with architecture students at the University of Hong Kong examining how the MSB can be reimagined and further developed to serve the common good better while expanding on architectural concepts and their agencies.
From Foundation to Future: The First MSB's Lasting Impact
The Aberdeen Municipal Services Building was the first in Hong Kong, setting the stage for a new urban complex far removed from pristine shopping malls or single-use sports centers. Its appeal lies in its organized chaos, where an eclectic mix of programs coexist in a vibrant, dynamic environment. From wet markets to cooked food centers, the building's floors are packed with finely subdivided stalls—often more than 30 on a single floor of wet markets and over 10 food stalls in dining areas—each operated by local vendors. This diverse mix facilitates small businesses and local commerce while fostering a strong sense of community. In the case of the Aberdeen MSB, including a generously sized public library and well-maintained sports facilities further enhances the building's role as a central hub where residents engage in everyday activities. It's common for locals to chat with stall owners after a workout session or grab a quick meal with their gym buddies, creating an atmosphere of familiarity and interaction.
This unique blend of activities and the fact that these buildings are publicly funded gives users a sense of agency and ownership rarely found in commercial spaces. Without a dominant "owner" possessing the building, local residents can navigate the space as if it were their own, fostering a robust communal atmosphere. Small, tight-knit groups naturally form, carving out their routines while respecting the diversity of the other users. This grassroots sense of belonging is further bolstered by the absence of supermarkets or chain retailers, which helps to drive local small businesses. As a result, the Aberdeen MSB serves as a functional hub and preserves the local urban fabric, ensuring that the economic and social vitality of the surrounding area remains intact.
Ap Lei Chau MSB: The Urban Council's Final Vision
The Ap Lei Chau Municipal Services Building, the last of its kind developed by the Urban Council before its dissolution, opened in 1999 just across the Aberdeen Harbour—a mere 12-minute walk from its predecessor. This was the first MSB designed with an integrated HVAC system, marking a shift in building standards and comfort and an improvement from the perspective of building systems and thermal comfort for the users and the common good. Situated on a small island in the southern part of Hong Kong, connected by bridges and the MTR but still geographically distinct, Ap Lei Chau MSB quickly became the vibrant heart of its local community. Its harbor-side location and its role as a community hub transformed it into a critical urban node that helped activate the otherwise quiet Ap Lei Chau Waterfront Promenade.
The building fostered a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding urban fabric, particularly along the waterfront. Locals frequently purchase fresh seafood directly from the wet market or boats docked at the nearby promenade and bring it to the cooked food stalls inside the MSB, where it is prepared to order. These stalls, not limited to the ones in Ap Lei Chau but also in other MSBs, function like communal kitchens, offering an ever-changing, unwritten menu shaped by local traditions and customers' fresh ingredients. The unique dynamic fosters a hyper-localized culinary culture, where the personal relationship between customer and vendor drives the experience. This distinctive heritage, the public built environment, and city fabric becoming like an extension of your home and living room are only made possible due to the development of MSBs.
Beyond the waterfront, Ap Lei Chau MSB sustains small businesses in the surrounding streets, reinforcing the community-driven atmosphere typical of Hong Kong's MSBs. Activities spill out from the building, with conversations and commerce extending into adjacent streets blessed with minimal traffic. The absence of large retail conglomerates and heavy vehicular flow has allowed the area to flourish as a pedestrian-friendly, tightly-knit neighborhood. Ap Lei Chau MSB exemplifies an evolved version of the community network found in other MSBs, enriched by its island location and the leisurely urban fabric surrounding it.
Urban Living Machines at a Crossroads: Renewal or Demolition?
Many of Hong Kong's Municipal Service Buildings (MSBs) are now showing their age, with several surpassing the 40-year mark. This has raised questions about these once-pioneering communal structures' mounting maintenance and management costs. As Hong Kong's urban landscape has evolved, particularly with the rapid expansion of the subway system over the last two decades, younger generations have gravitated towards air-conditioned, cleaner, and more conveniently located supermarkets along their commute, most of the time residing directly above subway stations. This shift in consumer habits has sparked debate over whether MSBs are becoming obsolete. The passive design strategies used in the original MSBs, which excluded modern HVAC systems, have mainly proven insufficient, given the lack of cross-ventilation in these large, solid buildings coupled with rising urban temperatures.
Additionally, the community-driven markets housed within MSBs often lack the oversight to maintain hygienic and pleasant environments despite their allure of organized chaos. This has become a factor that has contributed to the decision to demolish some MSBs, including the Kowloon City MSB. Luckily for the iconic Aberdeen MSB, the first of its kind, underwent a costly renovation that introduced HVAC systems and better hygiene despite losing parts of its original architectural characteristics.
As the conversation around designing for the common good continues, the future of Hong Kong's MSBs remains uncertain. Will these buildings find a second life through improved design principles, integrating better passive strategies with modern HVAC systems to serve a different yet still local audience? Or will they meet a tragic end, with their roles as communal hubs gradually usurped by the forces of capitalism and real estate development? The fate of the MSBs offers a poignant case study of how we balance historical value, community-driven spaces, and the pressures of modern urban living.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on October 07, 2024, as part of the ArchDaily Topics: Designing for the Common Good.
