Core77
e
The Original, Real-Life Dystopian Cityscape of Kowloon Walled City, and the Artwork It Inspired
KWC residents who saw Blade Runner probably wondered, "How did they get permission to shoot in here?"
By Rain Noe - Aug 06, 2015
Kowloon Walled City was a crazy social experiment, except there were no scientists in charge; the test subjects were.
On the site of a dismantled Chinese fortress in Hong Kong, refugee squatters began building makeshift homes in the 1940s. What started out as 2,000 refugees in huts gradually grew into 50,000 people crammed into ramshackle, unregulated skyscrapers leaning on each other for support. (It's reported that no architects or engineers were involved in building the structures, which went up to 14 stories, but were somehow erected by the community that lived there.) And amazingly, it all formed a cohesive—and largely contiguous—structure, resembling a castle or fortress.
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)KWC had water and electricity siphoned from wells and the rest of the city, but was an unregulated mess of ad-hoc infrastructure largely unsupported by government. Police were afraid to venture inside (though unbelievably, postman were reportedly forced to deliver mail there!). It was filled with criminals, drug dealers and prostitutes, as well as honest families, schoolchildren and one-man manufacturing shops. The following illustration shows what a slice of it might look like:
Larger version of this image is viewable here Tiny, cramped spaces did double duty, with units that were classrooms during the day transformed into strip clubs at night. There were restaurants and gambling dens, hair salons and convenience stores, unlicensed doctors and dentists. So close were the buildings that sunlight was hard to come by on street level; thus fluorescents were hung outdoors at ground level for illumination. Rooftops, meanwhile, became social spaces.
Enter a caption (optional)The government finally shut it down in the 1990s and razed it. But in the years during and since, Kowloon Walled City has captured the imaginations of everyone from architects to sci-fi authors to set designers to artists.
Image by Greg Girard 
Image by Greg Girard Speaking of artists, photographer Greg Girard, who documented KWC in the 1980s, probably has the best photo essay on it (shot both inside and outside) right here. We also wanted to show you the fantastic KWC-inspired work done by a handful of illustrators:
Image by Keith Perelli 
Image by Stefan Morrell 
Image by Stefan Morrell 
Image by Stefan Morrell 
Image by Andrew Suryadi 
Image by Nivanh Chanthara 
Image by Nivanh Chanthara 
Image by Nivanh Chanthara 
Image by Nivanh Chanthara 
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
4 Comments
-
Dystopia typically means theres an underlying tyranny. KWC is the exact opposite...it's an expression of freedom. Unless your idea of dystopia is not being rich...
And the author does realize those people lived there by choice right?!Report as spam -
i belive ther should be also the referrence to the comic BLAME!, since it is drawn by an architect, clearly referrencing it in his set!
!Report as spam -
When I started traveling to HKG in the 80's you would need to drive around this mess in a taxi from the airport. It was REALLY scary looking and was a weird entry portal to what has turned into my favorite city on the planet.
!Report as spam -
Love those Nivanh Chanthara illustrations
!Report as spam
Continued Reading
-
By Rain Noe - Aug 06, 2015
The Multi-Level, No-Visible-Cars NYC That Might Have Been
Harvey W. Corbett's brilliant plan for a multi-level Manhattan would better serve pedestrians and cyclists
On Saturday morning I had to run down to Bed Bath & Beyond in TriBeCa to pick up some kitchen stuff. As I hit the CitiBike station a block away and unlocked my ride, I found the journey downtown much easier than normal because it was Summer Streets. NYC Summer
-
By Hand-Eye Supply - Aug 04, 2015
Transforming Warehouse Structures Into Creative Workspaces
Architects Carrie Strickland and Bill Neburka present "Homesteading the Frame" at Portland's Hand-Eye Supply (and via live-stream!)
Tonight at Curiosity Club we'll hear from Carrie Strickland and Bill Neburka, Architects and Principals at Works Partnership Architecture. They'll share their focus on the possibilities of how cellular environments can adapt to a revolving cycle of inhabitants. In other words, we'll hear about pirating old spaces for cooler new
-
By Carly Ayres - Aug 03, 2015
Building a New Sonic Architecture at the New Museum
Brooklyn studio The Principals on the making of DELQA, an interactive music and light installation opening in New York on Thursday
Museum displays are typically meant to be seen and not touched, but a recent wave of exhibitions is upending those rules. Take DELQA, an interactive music and light installation opening in the New Museum's NEW INC space on August 6. Showcasing the music of Matthew Dear combined with Microsoft's Kinect
-
By Rain Noe - Jul 28, 2015
Designer/Engineer Builds Steel Treehouse—and the Tree to Hold It
The Skysphere is an elevated man-cave with 360-degree views
The problem with building a treehouse is finding the right tree. Jono Williams knows this, as he's been building treehouses since childhood, and built this elaborate one as an adult. So for his latest vision, he decided he'd build both the treehouse and the tree. Williams' Skysphere is a 10-meter-tall
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
