時間：2019-03-12 14:32:54
來源：城市化雜志 作者：百瑞·威爾遜
百瑞·威爾遜
中國國際城市化發展戰略研究委員會委員、英國注冊景觀建筑師
香港園境師協會董事、香港注冊園境師
英國景觀建筑師學會和香港園境師學會成員
百瑞先生是香港城市設計學會副會長，由他創立的百瑞雋思項目咨詢有限公司在解決中國大陸和香港的城市化問題方面已有20余年的實踐經驗。www.initiatives.com.hk
Barry Wilson is Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design. His practice, Barry Wilson Project Initiatives, have been tackling urbanisation issues in Hong Kong and China for over 20 years. www.initiativ es.com.hk
作者寄語
城市從未像現在這樣復雜，多方面的問題會影響到城市建設中的理念、規劃、開發、管理和老化。在時間維度下，人口聚集過程承載著社會、政治、健康、文化和經濟背景。故此涉及到的社會領域包羅萬象，包括社會歷史學、城市社會學、建筑史和考古學，還有醫療健康與教育、城市地理學與經濟學理論。
在這個專欄中，我將游走在世界各地，與各領域的專家、遠見者、變革者一道討論讓城市生活更美好的基本要素。并在不同關鍵維度上，分享他們對未來城市生活的獨特見解。
（百瑞·威爾遜于2018年8月深圳）
我上一次造訪吉隆坡還是2003年。在那之后的15年間，世界發生了翻天覆地的變化，這座城市也是如此，以至于我回到此地時幾乎認不出來了。為了弄清楚發生了什么，我拜訪了當地知名的企業家， Arch Collection Sdn Bhd1 的首席執行官兼創始人李運旗（Andrew Lee）。他對這座城市的熱愛一直以來都是（推動這座城市）文化復興的核心力量。2012年，李運旗建立了吉隆坡城市館2，這座展館如同一座橋梁，向游客展示著吉隆坡的過去、現在和未來。值得一提的是，我們見面的“展館”坐落在一座擁有120年歷史的建筑中，該建筑位于吉隆坡文化遺產飛地的戰略中心位置——獨立廣場（Dataran Merdeka）。它最初是“政府印刷辦公室”，現在由吉隆坡遺產保護委員會負責管理保護。此地有很多源自城市建立之初的建筑物、建筑結構和圖案，是文化遺產探訪之旅的必經之地。
綠色與城市發展
我對在這座城市親眼目睹的變化感到十分好奇，而李運旗卻說過去的五年才是這座城市快速改變的時期。他回憶道，他有許多好友在這段時間都離開了，回來時也發現這座城市已然大不相同了。1950年，吉隆坡的人口為261,528，而今這個數字是140萬。但市中心的人口實際并沒有像上個世紀的各種戰略計劃中預測的那樣快速增長。伴隨著人口老齡化以及人口增長率自20世紀80年代達到最高點后的不斷下降，人口從“城市”向外遷移的趨勢愈加明顯。造成這種情況的原因并非是就業機會的缺乏，而是城市中心長期缺乏經濟適用房。大多數年輕人都搬到了偏遠的小城鎮居住，盡管他們每天依然要回到城市工作。因此，“大吉隆坡”（巴生谷）的市區在過去的15年里應運而生并迅速發展，產生了高速增長的郊區人口。這意味著如今的大吉隆坡是一個擁有超過750萬人口的城市。加上刺激經濟發展的城市聚集政策，這個數字在2030年將飆升到1000萬4。
李運旗告訴我，新開發的郊區密度高、經濟實惠，并且由地鐵線路相連接，郊區與市中心的通勤時間僅為45分鐘到一個小時之間。但他也注意到年輕專業人士回歸市中心居住的新趨勢。他本人出生在吉隆坡，這里距離唐人街只有一步之遙。小時候他就對觀察這個地區的建筑十分感興趣，每每想起，他都以自己的城市為傲。“我收集了吉隆坡的郵票、硬幣、書籍、明信片和舊照片。也喜歡去欣賞那里的古建筑，得空就四處閑逛，探究建筑背后的歷史和故事”在結束學校的建筑課程后，最初他任職于一家模型制作公司，并在1989年開始了他自己的建筑模型事業，制作傳統建筑和地標性建筑藝術品。今天，它已經發展成為一家生產獨特手信、紀念品和收藏品的巨大全球性出口企業。秉承著“同一個城市，同一種傳承”的理念，他的企業可以為世界上任何一座城市設計獨特的藝術作品。
吉隆坡城市館
Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
1972年，伊麗莎白女王首次訪問吉隆坡，那個時期的事李運旗記憶猶新： “我們住在唐人街附近的公寓里，那時我父親是一家大酒店的廚師，我們經常步行外出，整個社區被陰影和樹木覆蓋，綠意盎然。這也是一個鄰里關系親密的社區。如今大多數樹木都已不復存在，城市里出現了很多條寬闊道路使得步行外出非常不便。逛街這件事變得愈發困難，因為失去了綠蔭，整座城市都“熱浪滾滾”。但他也指出，這樣的情況正在改變。地鐵、輕軌和單軌項目的完工，鼓勵了更多的人重新選擇步行。 “樹木和主要建筑物的行人通道不斷增加，有遮蓋的人行道和帶空調的天橋數量也在增長。”
李運旗談到為了在城市開發的過程中很多的樹木都被移除了，這種情況直到約10年前才有所改觀，彼時人們，特別是開發商開始意識到城市樹木的重要性。20世紀50年代種植了很多來自印度和南美洲英國殖民地有適應能力的物種。這些參天大樹雖然很醒目卻很不容易維護，并且其根系具有破壞性。而現在種植的樹木是本地物種，更適應本地的生態環境。李運旗補充道：“現在的城市開發需要達到大約30％的綠化覆蓋的要求，因此商場通常與公園相連，并有綠色屋頂。新吉隆坡106交易塔就是個很好的例子，同時，綠色植物還使整座商場更具吸引力。目前市內還有11個公園。”
李運旗建議在下一步的改進中有必要增加更多的人行道照明設置及步行設施。他告訴我，他的家人在這座城市里都以步行的方式出行，但是我對這里的氣候依然比較擔憂。這里氣候炎熱，雨水不斷，是否真的適合步行呢？ 他向我解釋道，吉隆坡人喜歡在晚上外出。涼風習習的夜晚非常適合夜間活動。他告訴我，來自郊區的人們也喜歡在夜晚開車到市中心享受夜生活，例如在唐人街散步。談話很自然地引向了我最喜歡的話題，隨后我們談論了城市的汽車問題。我們怎樣才能克服擁有汽車的愿望呢? “首先，良好的公共交通系統是必不可少的。目前政府正在增加地鐵線路，使城市更適合步行。其次，我們可以通過增加停車費用和減少停車可能性來限制停車。在城市之外人們需要私家車，但可通過換乘市內公共交通工具的方式來解決通勤問題。”
富都老城區需要的是細致的城市更新，而不是重建。
Pudu old district needs careful urban renewal, not redevelopment.
吉隆坡地標性建筑-吉隆坡石油雙塔
KL's iconic Petronas Towers
同一個城市，同一種傳承
對我而言，最近所有城市在發展中最明顯的特點就是建筑風格失去了地方特色，大量千篇一律“國際”風格的玻璃外墻辦公大樓拔地而起。我想知道李運旗是否認為這個城市正在失去它的特色？“這確實是目前我們遇到的一大問題。”他提到：“快速發展使得大家更青睞標準化建筑流程和更便宜的施工方法。”他認為能代表吉隆坡乃至整個馬來西亞文化的標志性建筑——雙子塔（Petronas（twin）Towers）就具有很強的當地特色。它的設計靈感源自伊斯蘭教建筑，例如重復的幾何形狀和蔓藤花紋。其中兩個互鎖的正方形構成的八角星圖案展示了“統一、和諧、穩定”的伊斯蘭教義內涵。相比之下，目前大部分已經建成或即將完工的高層建筑都毫無特色和內涵可言。這是一個全球性的問題，世界上的城市正在日益趨同。
我曾經漫步于一個叫做富都（Pudu）的市中心區域，它是一個古老而迷人的低層小區。這里到處都是“店屋”、餐館和具有當地特色的建筑，也可以找到吉隆坡最古老的巴士站（Pudu Sentral）和最大的市場。這個區域看起來非常適合李運旗提到的那些回到城市想要尋找低成本但真實的生活方式的“年輕專業人士”居住，并且這個區域有望使城市再生。事實上富都監獄舊址目前正在進行全面重建，建設內容包括零售商場、娛樂中心、辦公室、酒店和服務式公寓等。但不難想象的是，新建筑都采用了國際通用、平淡無奇且隨處可見的玻璃墻面風格。該監獄原本由英國人在1891年至1895年間分階段建造而成，如今卻在沒有研究其作為國家歷史一部分的社會歷史價值，在沒有識別其對后代的保護價值的情況下拆除它，這是不合理的。重新開發本可以與遺產保護并存，可以采用保持建筑結構僅改變其功能的方式，同時可以通過增加額外的建筑物來解決提供額外地面空間的問題。最近經過修復和重建的香港維多利亞監獄就是一個很好的例子，通過精心修復并增加優質現代建筑設施后，這里作為“大觀遺產和藝術中心”重新開放。文化遺產旅游觀光行業的經濟潛力不容小覷。我擔心富都的“煥發新生”最終會以“重新開發”告終，那么這個獨特而古老地區和它承載的文化遺產價值將在爭奪廉價土地的過程中喪失殆盡。李運旗解釋說，目前已經確定將對該地區的一些低質量建筑進行重建，樓層高度最多可達7或8層，但是開發的容積率非常低，而且由于市中心交通流量控制，新開發項目中沒有停車位。
盡管吉隆坡的一些舊城區過去多姿多彩，但至今未有一處被列入或宣布為文物保護區。不過這些城區的一些建筑物已被馬來西亞旅游和文化部下屬的國家遺產部門列為“文物建筑”和“國家遺產”。吉隆坡城市館就是這樣一座建筑。然而對歷史建筑重新利用并非易事。不僅在修復和維持古建筑上需要花費大量資金，在使古建筑符合現代建筑和安全法規上也要頗費心思。維護和改造舊建筑的過程是一個與過去的文化連接的過程，然而作為活化石的古建筑常常會使用現代已經無法復制材料和工藝。可以這么說，保護歷史建筑是一條單行道。歷史遺跡一旦消失，我們就再也沒有機會對它們進行翻新或保存了。同時我們也永遠無法確定它們將來會有什么樣的價值。這就是為何尋找和拯救具有歷史意義的建筑如此重要。因為歷史一旦被摧毀就會永遠消失。
李運旗很希望看到游客和當地居民都能欣賞建筑和城市中蘊含的美和文化底蘊。他通過吉隆坡城市館清晰地表達了對家鄉建筑的熱愛。與此同時我們也能感受到向他人介紹這座城市的過去、現在和未來給他帶來的巨大喜悅。他希望游客能夠受到啟發，并對整個國家的建筑和文化遺產問題有更多的了解和認識。雖然城市館的所有權仍然歸市政廳所有，但是維護的責任卻落在了李運旗的肩上。這是一個不容小看的負擔，但這種公共所有與私人管理的合作模式，有助于為舊遺產注入新的活力，并作為催化劑重新將生命力帶回城市中心。
開發商將城市中現有大樹納入新開發項目
Developers incorporating existing large trees in the new projects
附帶綠蔭遮蓋和冷氣，并充滿活力的步行通道
Covered, air-conditioned, vibrant walking connections
回到未來
一如既往，我試圖弄明白變革將把我們帶向何處。李運旗希望未來吉隆坡的公共交通系統可以得到加強，私家車數量會下降，市民們都把火車和步行作為普通的日常出行方式。“街道寬闊、樹木高大，如蓋的綠蔭與周圍的建筑連成一片。在李運旗的理想未來里，人們擁有更簡單、更優質、更健康的生活方式，可以理解和欣賞文化的多樣性，返璞歸真。事實上，回到過去即到達未來。
參考文獻
1、ARCH是一家經營木制建筑模型的企業
2、又稱吉隆坡城市長廊，位于吉隆坡獨立廣場旁。由馬來西亞華人設計師李運旗先生創辦。
3、4、https://population.un.org/wup/
6、https://www.edgeprop.my/content/1276523/what-about-investing-heritage-buildings
BACK TO THE FUTURE—BARRY INTERVIEWS ANDREW LEE
It was way back in 2003 that I last visited Kuala Lumpur. In the 15 years since, the world has changed remarkably, and so has the city, being barely recognisable to me upon my return. To get a grasp of what’s been happening I met up with well-known local entrepreneur, Andrew Lee, CEO & founder of Arch Collection Sdn Bhd whose passion for his city has been at the heart of a heritage renaissance. In 2012, Andrew established the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery, the essential starting point in providing tourists with information about the past, present and future of KL. Importantly the ‘Gallery’, where we meet, is based in the 120-year-old building that originally functioned as the “Government Printing Office” and is strategically located right at the centre of Kuala Lumpur’s heritage enclave - Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square). Protected under the Conservation & Heritage Protection Board, the area is the must-visit heritage destination, comprising many buildings, structures and icons originating from the establishment of the city.
GREEN OR GROWTH
I’m curious about the changes I have witnessed in the city, which Andrew suggests have really accelerated in the last 5 years. He recalls that many of his friends that have been away during this time, also find the city completely different when returning. In 1950, the population of Kuala Lumpur was 261,528. Today it is approximately 1.4 million, but the core has not actually grown nearly as fast as predicted under various strategic plans of the last century. With an aging population and growth rates continually declining since a high in the 1980’s, significant outward migration from the ‘City’ has been a clear trend. It has not resulted from any lack of employment opportunities, rather being primarily due to a chronic shortage of affordable housing at the centre. A strong movement towards young people moving to small, outlying towns became keenly prevalent, who nonetheless, commute daily back into the City to work. Thus, a metropolitan area of ‘Greater KL’ (Klang Valley) has been born and developed rapidly in the last 15 years, generating a booming suburban population that today means Greater KL boasts a city of over 7.5 million people, combined with an urban agglomeration policy intended to further spur the country's economic growth to reach almost 10 million by 20303.
1909的年吉隆坡政府印刷辦公室
The Government Printing Office Kuala Lumpur in 1909
Andrew describes to me how the newly developed suburbs are high density, affordable, connected by metro lines, and within 45 minutes to an hour commuting time. But he also notes a new trend of young professionals coming back to live in the city centre. He himself was born in KL, just a stone’s throw from the area still known as Chinatown. He takes real pride in his city, recalling being always interested in observing the architecture of buildings in the area from the time he was small. “I collected stamps, coins, books, postcards and old photographs of Kuala Lumpur. I enjoyed looking at the old buildings there and often roamed around asking lots of questions about the history of buildings and the background.” Initially working for a model-making company after he had quit his school programme in Architecture, he then started his own business in architectural scale models in 1989, making samples of art pieces of heritage buildings and iconic landmarks that has today morphed into a huge, global, export business creating unique, veneer-based gifts, souvenirs and collectibles. His concept of ‘One City, One Heritage’develops art pieces and designs that celebrate the unique and distinctive quality of any world city.
In 1972 Queen Elizabeth visited KL for the first time and Andrew remembers the period well. “We lived in flats nearby Chinatown, my father was a chef at a big hotel and in those days we walked everywhere; it was very green, shaded and tree covered and we had a close knit community. Nowadays most of the trees have been lost and there are too many large roads to make walking convenient. It’s difficult to move around the streets and the city feels ‘hot’.” But he notes that changes are afoot. The completion of the Metro, LRT and Monorail projects are encouraging more people to walk again. “The city has been adding both trees and a network of pedestrian connections to major buildings. There are covered walkways and airconditioned skybridges.” Andrew relates how city trees were frequently removed for development until about 10 years ago, when there was more of a realisation of the importance of trees in the city, particularly from developers. Many of the large trees were planted during the 1950’s, using adaptable species from the British colonies in India and South America. These huge trees are impressive, but are not easy to maintain and the roots are disruptive. Today’s plantings are local, native species, better adapted to both the environment and ecology. Andrew enthuses that “There are now requirements for green coverage in development, something like 30%, so the malls are connected with parks and have green roofs, like the new KL106 building. The greenery is making the malls more attractive to visit. There are also now 11 parks within the city”
Anticipating further improvements coming, Andrew suggests more footpath lighting and walking surface provision is necessary. Now his family all walk the city he tells me, but I am concerned about the climate. It’s really hot, it’s raining a lot, surely not good for walking? He assures me that KL people like to walk in the evenings. The climate is perfect for night time activity, when there is a cool breeze. He notes how people from the suburbs will drive into the centre to enjoy the evenings and walk around places like Chinatown. That leads us to my favourite subject and we talk about the problems of cars in the city. How can we get over the desirability of car ownership? “Firstly, you must have good public transport in place. The government is adding metro lines and making the city more walkable. Then you need to restrict parking, both through increased parking cost and reducing availability. Outside the city people need cars, but park and ride options using public transport can be used to address this for commuting.”
ONE CITY ONE HERITAGE
To me, one of the most apparent aspects of all the recent development has been the loss of local character in the building style and the development of bland, reflective-glass office blocks in generic ‘international’ style proliferates. I wonder if Andrew thinks the city is losing its unique character? “It’s a problem,” he feels. “Fast-track development has led to standardised processes and cheaper construction methods.” He feels that the Petronas (twin) Towers, the iconic landmarks of both KL and even Malaysia itself, have that key quality of relating to the local culture and generating a strong identity. The design was inspired by characteristics of Islamic architecture such as repetitive geometries and arabesques, with the simple geometric plan of two interlocking squares that create an 8-pointed star and represent the Islamic principles of ‘unity within unity, harmony, stability and rationality’. By contrast, much of the current crop of high-rise building, both recently and soon to be completed, really could be built to look the same anywhere in the world. It’s a problem globally, cities are becoming identical.
I had walked around an inner-city area called Pudu, an old and most charming, low-rise district somewhat in decay, full of shophouses, eateries and local character including Kuala Lumpur's oldest bus station (Pudu Sentral) and one of the largest wet markets in Kuala Lumpur. The district looks perfect for those “young professionals” Andrew mentioned, returning to the city looking for cheaper but authentic lifestyles, and it does appear ripe for urban regeneration. Indeed, the old Pudu Jail site is currently being wholly redeveloped with a mixed development including a retail mall, entertainment hub, offices, hotel and serviced apartments. But you guessed it; the intended new buildings are all in that bland, international, ‘anyplace’, glass tower style5. The Jail was built by the British in stages between 1891 and 1895 but demolished without perhaps studying its historic value to society as part of the nation’s history and identifying the value of preservation for coming generations. Redevelopment could have been implemented through adaptive reuse, where the structure could have been maintained and only its function changed whilst additional floor space could have been provided through additional building. A great example is the recently restored and developed Hong Kong Victoria Prison, stunningly restored and augmented with premium quality modern architectural additions in reopening as ‘The Tai Kwun Center for Heritage and Arts.’ The economic potential that could be realised through heritage appreciation and tourism cannot be understated. I worry that positive ‘regeneration’ in Pudu may end up being complete ‘redevelopment’ and that the special character and unique heritage of this old district will be quickly lost in the grab for cheap land. Andrew explains that some of the lower quality buildings in the area have been identified for redevelopment, up to 7 or 8 stories, but with very low plot ratios for development and that no parking can be incorporated into new development as this would generate increased traffic flows.
吉隆坡石油雙塔附近的街心公園
Urban Park at Petronas Towers
None of the old areas of Kuala Lumpur have been gazetted or declared a heritage zone despite their colourful pasts, but several buildings have been gazetted as “heritage building” and “national heritage” by the National Heritage Department under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia6. City Gallery is one such building, but committing to utilise historic buildings is no simple matter. They need large inputs of capital to maintain their condition as well as to adapt them to modern day building and safety codes. Maintaining and adapting older buildings maintains an important cultural link with the past however, they are living history, often utilising materials and craftsmanship that can no longer be found in modern day. The preservation of historic buildings is a one-way street. There is no chance to renovate or to save a historic site once it’s gone, and we can never be certain what will be valued in the future. This reality brings to light the importance of locating and saving buildings of historic significance, because once a piece of history is destroyed, it is lost forever.
Andrew appreciates that both tourists and long-standing residents are able to appreciate the aesthetic and cultural history of a building or area. City Gallery is a clear declaration of his love for the city fabric he was born into and yet also represents his joy at being able to inform others about both the past, present and future. He wants the tourist to be inspired and have a greater appreciation and awareness of the country’s heritage issues, both architectural and cultural. The building remains owned by City Hall, however under the lease conditions, responsibility for the upkeep falls to Andrew. A burden not to be taken lightly, this public / private partnership model is however helping to breathe new life to old heritage, and acting as a catalyst for greater change in bringing vitality back to urban centres.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
As always, I want to understand where change is taking us. Andrew’s vision of tomorrow’s KL is one containing far fewer private vehicles, where public transport is enhanced and everyone takes the train and walks as normal part of life. “The streets are wide, deeply shaded with trees, full of greenery and seamlessly connected to the spaces and buildings around them. His future consists of a more simple, quality, healthy existence, where people understand and appreciate diversity in culture and can all go back to their roots”. The past is the future indeed.
