Blue House (Hong Kong)

Tenement block in Hong Kong

Blue House

Blue House in 2018

General information
Architectural style| Tong lau
Classification| Grade I historic building
Location| Wan Chai
Address| 72-74A Stone Nullah Lane
Country| Hong Kong
Coordinates| 22°16′26″N 114°10′27″E﻿ / ﻿22.273897°N 114.174146°E﻿ / 22.273897; 114.174146
Named for| Blue outer walls
Construction started| 1920
Completed| 1922
Technical details
Floor count| 4
Blue House

Traditional Chinese| 藍屋
Simplified Chinese| 蓝屋
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Lán Wū
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization| Làahm ūk
Jyutping| Laam4 uk1

The Blue House is a 4-storey balcony-type tenement block located at 72-74A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It is named after the blue colour painted on its external walls. It is one of the few remaining examples of tong lau of the balcony type in Hong Kong and is listed as a Grade I historic building.[1]

## Historic background

[edit]

The building was the original site of the first hospital 'Wah To Hospital' (aka "Wan Chai Kai Fong Hospital"), which was built in the 1870s in Wan Chai.[2] The hospital, which provided Chinese medical services to local Chinese, was possibly the first hospital in the district.[3]

After the hospital closed in 1886, the two-storey building was then used as a temple for Wah To, the revered Chinese physician from the Three Kingdoms period.

The building was demolished in 1920 and was built into four four-storey tenement blocks in 1922. After the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1945. The building was subsequently used as a martial arts school and Dit Da clinic by Lam Cho, the adopted nephew of Lam Sai-wing.[3]

The building was acquired by the government in the 1970s, and in 1990 the outer walls were painted blue, thus earning it the name Blue House.[4]

## Future revitalisation

[edit]

All the upper floors of Blue House, apart from 72 Stone Nullah Lane, are timber structures. The two wooden stairs, with original elements intact, are well maintained.[3]

The building was part of a HK$100 million plan, unveiled by the Housing Society and the Urban Renewal Authority, to preserve nine Chinese-style buildings in Wan Chai that were constructed during the 1920s.[4]

Blue House in 2006

The building has been preserved and revitalised in a traditional tea and medicine style.[5]

In 2007, the Urban Renewal Authority and the Development Bureau jointly announced that the residents of the Blue House, were to be allowed to stay in this historic monument.[6] On the same year, one of the ground floor's shophouses of the building was occupied as a location of the Wan Chai Livelihood Place, which was later renamed as the Hong Kong House of Stories in March 2012. The building closed for renovation in 2015.

The building was fully renovated and opened in 2016. It won the 2017/2018 architectural prize in 2018.[7]

## Neighbourhood

[edit]

New Courtyard after the revitalisation of the Blue House in 2019

The building is located on the corner of Stone Nullah Lane, King Sing Street and Hing Wan Street. Stone Nullah Street connects to Queen's Road East facing Old Wan Chai Market Building. 85 Stone Nullah Lane is the headquarters and community centre of St James Settlement (Hong Kong).[8]

Front entrance of the nearby St James Settlement elderly community centre Wan Chai Visual Archive, a non-profit art space within the Blue House

A non-profit community art space called Wan Chai Visual Archive was located in a tenement building at 9 Hing Wan Street.[9] It was initiated by the building's owner Goldig Investment Group (協利集團) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Carl Gouw (吳家耀), representing the owner was its director and Alvin Yip was curator. Alvin Yip was director of the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in 2011.[10][11] Carl Gouw and Alvin Yip were both directors of non-profit Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design.[12]

Wan Chai Visual Archive was opened in 2012 to the public, with an opening ceremony attended by Bernard Chan, Chairman of Antiquities Advisory Board, Salina Yan, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Department and the CEO of the St James Settlement's.[13] It held exhibitions and events attended by government officials, consulate generals, entertainment celebrities, local, international artists and students.[14] It encouraged the engagements of public and business sectors, non-profit organizations and the neighborhood in the process of cultural and heritage preservation.[15]

The project is mentioned in the book "Urbanizing Carescapes of Hong Kong" by Taiwanese academic Shu-mei Huang who wrote 'By breaking their exercises of redevelopment into different components and phases, the operation could accumulate cultural capital for their future projects'.[16]

The fully renovated Dit Da Clinic at the Blue House in 2017

## See also

[edit]

* Green House (Hong Kong)
* Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme
* Wan Chai Heritage Trail

## References

[edit]

1. ^ List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings in Building Assessment Archived 18 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine (as of 23 October 2015)
2. ^ "HKHS:Revitalization / Preservation Project in Wan Chai". Archived from the original on 30 October 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
3. ^ a b c Revitalization / Preservation – Hong Kong Housing Society Archived 9 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ a b Michael Ng, plan to revisit area's colorful history Archived 22 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The Standard, 1 April 2006
5. ^ Wan Chai landmark to be immortalised
6. ^ Wan Chai facelift to save historic market, The Standard, 21 December 2007
7. ^ "活化不失原有建築物風格 We嘩藍屋奪獎". on.cc東網 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 5 April 2019.
8. ^ "聖雅各福群會持續照顧服務". cc.sjs.org.hk. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
9. ^ Casey Tolan, for. "Historic Hong Kong neighborhood fights to preserve its past". CNN. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
10. ^ "Building a Vision". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
11. ^ "Inauguration Exhibition of Wanchai visual archive". PolyU. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
12. ^ "Carl Gouw – Alan Yip". Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
13. ^ Opening of Wan Chai Visual Archive (WVA) 灣仔視集開幕展, retrieved 17 November 2021
14. ^ 灣仔聲願 : 專訪 / VOICE POCKET: SHARING WITH WAN CHAI, retrieved 17 November 2021
15. ^ valibre (7 August 2012). "灣仔視集 – Marco De Mutiis《潛混沌》-2012-08-07". ARTALK – 藝托邦 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 17 November 2021.
16. ^ Huang, Shu-Mei (11 June 2015). Urbanizing Carescapes of Hong Kong: Two Systems, One City. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-8727-2.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blue House, Hong Kong.

* Preliminary Study on "Blue House"

* v
* t
* e

Wan Chai District

Main borders and locations

Areas|

* Causeway Bay
* Kellett Island
* Happy Valley
* Jardine's Lookout
* Mid Levels (part)
* Stubbs Road
* Tai Hang
* Tin Hau
* Wan Chai
* Wan Chai North
* Wong Nai Chung Gap

Education|

* Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School
* Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
* French International School of Hong Kong Blue Pool Road (HQ) and Jardine's Lookout
* Hong Kong Japanese School Primary school
* St. Paul's Convent School
* Wah Yan College, Hong Kong
* Marymount Primary School
* Sir Ellis Kadoorie (S) Primary School
* Hong Kong Central Library

| Closed|

* Hong Kong Sam Yuk Secondary School

|

Landmarks|

* Blue House
* Central Plaza
* China Resources Building
* Dorsett Wanchai Hong Kong Hotel
* Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
* The Excelsior
* Golden Bauhinia Square
* Great George Street
* Happy Valley Racecourse
* Fire Memorial
* Harbour Centre
* Australian Consulate-General
* Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
* Hong Kong Police Headquarters
* Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital
* Hopewell Centre
* Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island
* Hysan Place
* Immigration Tower
* King Yin Lei
* Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple
* Lai Tak Tsuen
* Lee Garden
* Lee Garden One
* Lockhart Road
* Mount Cameron
* Mount Nicholson
* Mount Parish
* Nam Koo Terrace
* Novotel Century Hong Kong
* Old Wanchai Market Building
* Old Wan Chai Police Station
* Old Wan Chai Post Office
* Po Leung Kuk Museum
* QRE Plaza
* Queen's Road East
* Pacific Place Phase III
* Revenue Tower
* Ruttonjee Hospital
* Shui On Centre
* Southorn Playground
* Spring Garden Lane
* St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery
* Stubbs Road
* Sun Hung Kai Centre
* Times Square
* Tung Wah Eastern Hospital
* Victoria Park
* Wan Chai Heritage Trail
* Wanchai Tower
* Windsor House
* World Trade Centre Hong Kong

| Closed|

* Lee Tung Street

|

Transport|

| MTR stations|

* Causeway Bay
* Exhibition Centre station
* Tin Hau
* Wan Chai

|

Ferry|

* Wan Chai Pier

Society|

* Wan Chai District Council

This list is incomplete.

* v
* t
* e

Heritage conservation in Hong Kong

Government|

* Antiquities and Monuments Office
* Antiquities Advisory Board
* Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance
* Urban Renewal Authority

Lists|

* Declared monuments
* Grade I buildings
* Grade II buildings
* Grade III buildings
* Oldest buildings

Museums|

* Heritage Discovery Centre
* Heritage Museum
* Museum of History
* Government Records Service

Heritage trails|

* Central and Western
* Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail
* Lung Yeuk Tau
* Pinewood Battery
* Ping Shan
* Tai Tam Waterworks
* Wan Chai

Schemes|

* Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme
* Old industrial buildings revitalization

Notable cases|

| Demolished|

* Kowloon Station (1978)
* Hong Kong Club Building (1980)
* Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier (2006)
* Queen's Pier (2007)
* Lee Tung Street (2007)
* Ho Tung Gardens (2013)
* Tung Tak Pawn Shop (2015)
* Union Church (2017)

|

Preserved|

* Ohel Leah Synagogue (1987)
* Morrison Building (2003)
* Jessville (2007)
* King Yin Lei (2007)
* Wing Lee Street (2011)
* State Theatre (2017)
* Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir (2020)

Relocated|

* Murray House (2002)
* Blake Pier (2007)

Pending|

* Nam Koo Terrace
* Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen
* Stone House (Diamond Hill)
* Wan Chai Police Station

Adaptive reuse|

| Completed|

* Blue House
* Bridges Street Market
* Central Market
* Chai Wan Factory Estate
* Dairy Farm cowsheds
* Dairy Farm Depot
* District Office North
* Former Explosives Magazine
* Fanling Magistracy
* Former French Mission Building
* Island House
* Kowloon British School
* Kowloon Fire Station
* Lai Chi Kok Hospital
* Lui Seng Chun
* Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot
* Marine Police Headquarters
* Mei Ho House
* North Kowloon Magistracy
* Old House, Hoi Pa Village
* PMQ
* Former RAF Kai Tak station buildings
* Former Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
* Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate
* Sheung Shui Police Station
* Stanley Police Station
* Tai Kwun (Central Police Station, Central Magistracy, Victoria Prison)
* Tai O Police Station
* Tai Po Police Station
* Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital
* Blocks of Victoria Barracks
* Wan Chai Post Office
* Western Market
* Blocks of Whitfield Barracks
* Yau Ma Tei Theatre

|

Pending|

* British Military Hospital
* Engineer's Office of the Former Pumping Station
* Fong Yuen Study Hall
* Haw Par Mansion
* Homi Villa
* King Yin Lei
* Luen Wo Market
* No. 27 Lugard Road
* Tai Tam Tuk Raw Water Pumping Station Staff Quarters Compound
* Old House, Wong Uk Village

Facadism|

* Old Mental Hospital
* Wan Chai Market

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