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Blue House, Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai (2018)
Stefan Irvine & Jörg Dietrich
Limited edition of 18 + 2 AP's
Archival Pigment Print
102cm x 37cm
2018
SI007S
1080
Limited edition of 18 + 2AP's
Archival Pigment Print
140cm x 51cm
2018
SI007M
1800
Limited edition of 8 + 2AP's
Archival Pigment Print
203cm x 74cm
2018
SI007L
The famous Blue House cluster of buildings, located on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai, is a prime example of pre-war tong lau architecture, and a case-study in successful heritage conservation. Once the site of a Chinese hospital, then a temple devoted to the God of Medicine, the tenement buildings now situated at 72-74 Stone Nullah Lane were built between 1922 and 1927. These Chinese shophouses were constructed with timber and bricks, featuring cantilevered balconies and wooden French doors. They once housed local shops on the street level, including a grocery store, a wine merchant and a Chinese bonesetter; while the upper 3 floors accommodated scores of local residents in around 20 subdivided apartments. While the exterior was originally painted white, when the government decided to redecorate the block in 1997, they used leftover paint from the Water Supplies Department, which is how the Blue House got its name. At that time, the section at number 74A was privately-owned and still painted white, so it was decided it should remain that colour until the present day.
A grassroots campaign was successful in preventing the demolition of the Blue House structure, although the shops and apartments were in much need of upgrading. In 2013, the government began to revitalise the Blue House, together with neighbouring tenements known as the Yellow House and the Orange House. All of the historical features of the Blue House would be preserved, including patterned floor tiles, and ornate iron railings, but each of the apartments would be modified to include bathrooms, kitchens and air-conditioning. At that time, most residents had lived inside the cluster for over half a century; the only pre-war shophouse to retain a comprehensive social network. Local activists were able to persuade the government to allow the original residents of the site to move back into the accommodation once the renovations had been completed, with subsidised rents. The revitalisation project was completed in 2017 and now houses several family units who had been long-term residents of the site previously, as well as several restaurants run by social enterprises, and a community centre dedicated to recording and exhibiting Hong Kong stories. In 2017, the restoration was the first Hong Kong-based project to receive the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
A grassroots campaign was successful in preventing the demolition of the Blue House structure, although the shops and apartments were in much need of upgrading. In 2013, the government began to revitalise the Blue House, together with neighbouring tenements known as the Yellow House and the Orange House. All of the historical features of the Blue House would be preserved, including patterned floor tiles, and ornate iron railings, but each of the apartments would be modified to include bathrooms, kitchens and air-conditioning. At that time, most residents had lived inside the cluster for over half a century; the only pre-war shophouse to retain a comprehensive social network. Local activists were able to persuade the government to allow the original residents of the site to move back into the accommodation once the renovations had been completed, with subsidised rents. The revitalisation project was completed in 2017 and now houses several family units who had been long-term residents of the site previously, as well as several restaurants run by social enterprises, and a community centre dedicated to recording and exhibiting Hong Kong stories. In 2017, the restoration was the first Hong Kong-based project to receive the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
3600
Stefan Irvine
Born in London in 1976, Stefan Irvine has been based in Hong Kong since 2002. With a background in photojournalism and commercial photography, the last few years have seen Irvine focus on fine art photography projects. His photographs have been exhibited in New York, London and Hong Kong, as well as appearing in publications including The New York Times, National Geographic, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the winner of the Independent on Sunday/Oxfam Photojournalist Award and his documentary work in Hong Kong was short-listed for the Sunday Times Ian Parry Award and The Observer/Hodge Awards.
For his latest series, Stefan Irvine has collaborated with post-production expert Jörg Dietrich to create images which celebrate Hong Kong’s rich architectural heritage. Irvine meticulously researches and plans these linear panoramas making repeated trips back to the same location. He carefully shoots along entire city blocks, capturing the whole facade of the buildings at precise intervals and distances. These photographs are then digitally merged by Jörg Dietrich into one image, creating unique visualisations of everyday architecture. This series of panoramic photographs offers a unique new perspective on Hong Kong’s much-loved architecture, the “tong lau”, and documents the city’s urban culture, allowing the viewer to examine the bustling life of a whole street.
