DE S T INAT IONS


OPPOSITE PAGE: The Mills (x3)


Nan Fung Textiles, established in 1954, was one of the most productive spinning factories in Hong Kong. In 2014, Nan Fung Group announced a revitalisation project to transform Nan Fung Textiles’ former Mill 4, Mill 5 and Mill 6 into a single coherent complex, which is now collectively known as The Mills and opened in December last year. The Mills, as described by Ray Zee, chief designer of


Nan Fung Development, is a “cathedral to textiles”. In his opinion, it’s very important for revitalisation projects to have a connection to the past that will trigger memories. In The Mills, some iconic elements of the former mills


have been conserved, such as the sand buckets that were placed in nearly every corner of the buildings in case of fire; the original staircase of Mill 4 that was used by thousands of workers in the past; and the traditional style of fonts used on the stencil signage. “People like the connection to the past. They like to see something that is more than 20 or 30 years old,” says Zee. “For The Mills, we’ve done everything we can to try to keep the envelope as much or as true to the original building as possible, so that it still triggers a memory.” In addition, The Mills also embraces some things


both new and advanced. On entering, visitors are greeted by The Mills Shopfloor, which is described as an “experiential retail landmark”. The stores in The Mills not only showcase their products, but also allow visitors to experience or even participate in part of the production process; for example, in the “alt:” store, you can discover how old clothes can be remade into new garments using the Garment-to-Garment (G2G) Recycle System placed in the store. You can also visit the Centre for Heritage, Arts and


Textile (CHAT), a non-profit art centre in The Mills, to engage with exhibitions and co-learning programmes that include different workshops and discussions. The Mills Fabrica focuses more on the business side.


The core of Fabrica is the concept of “techstyle” that is defined as the intersection of technology and style. Fabrica provides a 12-month incubation programme for techstyle start-ups and offers them support through exposure, connections and advisories, as well as providing direct investment from seed to series B, with funding from Nan Fung Group. At the same time, it also provides co-working space,


a lab for experimentation and prototyping, as well as an experiential concept store called Techstyle X, which not only offers opportunities for companies to showcase their technologies and new products, but also allows the public to learn about new technologies and new start-ups. “In three to five years, we hope to incubate two to three


start-ups that have a large impact in the industry. We also want to become a platform where brands or suppliers can come and look for new technologies or learn new things that are happening in the industry,” says Alexander Chan, co-director of The Mills Fabrica.


bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om


LONG WAY TO GO While these are all good examples of revitalisation projects in Hong Kong, renovating and breathing new life into an old building is far from easy, especially in a city where suitable land is in short supply. “As we all know, Hong Kong is a very densely populated city, so first of all, the government needs to pay attention to the basic needs of our society. I think revitalisation projects have to come after the basic needs are solved,” says PMQ’s To. “Some projects are worth keeping, and some are not


because the government can make better use of the land for housing. There’s no clean-cut solution to either, or a right or wrong answer, depending on what we are facing, what the government has to deal with, and what obstacles they have,” he adds. Ray Zee from The Mills agrees that it’s the lack of


land in Hong Kong that causes the debate about whether historic buildings should be conserved or just torn down to build new high-rises. He thinks that in other places where there is much more land, people usually go through long discussions before they decide whether to revitalise an old building or not. With so much space to use, swift decisions are not a priority. “But in Hong Kong, it’s very much a priority. This piece


of land, for example, if we don’t build a hotel here today, the regulation might be changed the next day. Hence, we have to make quick decisions. Hong Kong is a very quick transacting city. It’s because of the economics that we have to tear down old for new. I wholeheartedly believe it’s worth doing the revitalisation projects, but Hong Kong is not an easy city to do this kind of stuff,” he says. Meanwhile, as an architect and designer, Zee thinks that


age is probably the biggest obstacle in terms of redesign and reconstruction, because heritage buildings do not benefit from modern technology. When he and his team were working on the project at The Mills, they had to do a lot of repair work before they could finally begin the actual revitalisation work. “It’s like an 80-year-old man. A lot of things may not


work anymore. You have to go back and see what can be repaired first. You have to get them healthy before you improve them.” Despite all these difficulties and challenges, Leong


Cheung, executive director of charities and community at Te Hong Kong Jockey Club, thinks there is potential for Hong Kong to continue to develop such revitalisation projects, as Tai Kwun already presents a good example of how new and sustainable uses can be integrated creatively into a historic site whilst conserving its overall historic and architectural significance. “We believe that Hong Kong, as an international city


blessed with a unique history and rich ‘East meets West’ cultural influences, has the opportunity to make its own mark in global heritage conservation through preservation, restoration, revitalisation and integration,” says Cheung. BT Additional reporting by Michael Allen


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