An Innovative Communication Channel for Local Residents on a Proposed Public Utility Service Building

Communication with the public is one of the vital functions of architectural design firms today, especially those that design public facilities. Architects always visualize their design concepts and present the idea to clients by various means. The challenge is to bring the three-dimensional reality of projects, existing site conditions, local context and the design team's experience into a visual format that can be communicated to the public, and to get feedback from them before the facility gets built. As demand for electricity in Hong Kong continues to grow, CLP Power (one of the local power supply companies) has to continue to expand its distribution network, including the construction of new substations. As with any large property owner, the corporate's image is influenced by the design, construction and maintenance of its facility — especially in the highly congested urban context like Hong Kong. Collaborating with CLP Power engineers, the Department of Architecture, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) applied computer visualization techniques to carry out the visual impact assessment on the proposed substation at the Lee On estate. CUHK research team explored various computing technologies on improving the effectiveness of the communication among civil engineers, electrical engineers, architects, and public community. The main objective is to have community involved in the design development process of the public facility planning/design in order to improve the urban living context.