Sustainable development and community engagement incorporated in HA’s On Tai Estate (with photos)

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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
 
     In the construction of On Tai Estate, the Housing Authority's (HA) public housing estate at On Sau Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, the concepts of sustainable development and community engagement have been incorporated.
 
     Among the various environmentally friendly features, the solar pipes are notable. The theory behind solar pipes is simple. For indoor spaces lacking windows, pipes with dome-shaped light collectors are installed on the rooftop to collect natural daylight, which is a clean and renewable source of energy. The light collected passes through the aluminium inner tubes of the pipes, and is reflected and re-directed to the double-glazed ceiling diffusers installed in the ceiling of the indoor space and then distributed in the indoor area.
 
     "In On Tai Estate, a total of about 30 solar pipes have been installed in the market and the car park, providing auxiliary lighting and saving costs on energy consumption while helping maintain the circadian rhythm," said a spokesman for the HA.
 
     "Among other environmentally friendly features in On Tai Estate, the glass and concrete wall near the entrance of the shopping centre is more than an acoustic barrier. It allows light to pass through, and provides sitting areas with vertical greening for shading. It has multiple functions," he said.
 
     "The greening ratio of the estate is over 30 per cent," he added.
 
     The outdoor exhibition gallery on the upper ground floor of Hang Tai House contains a global geology map, information on geological activity, weathering and erosion in Hong Kong, and the history of Anderson Road Quarry. The outdoor exhibition gallery is open to students and the community all year round, providing a place of interest for visits and enrichment of knowledge.
 
     Community participation in On Tai Estate is also on display in an artwork named "My Dream Community" placed at the entrance of the market at the lower level of the shopping centre. It is made of smaller artworks by students who participated in the Anderson Road Quarry Public Engagement Project. The base component of the artwork was an axis for a conveyer belt used at the former Anderson Road Quarry. The art piece symbolises the partnership between the HA and the community.
 
     Large rocks originating from the Anderson Road Quarry are on display at the rock garden while some selected parts of old machines used at the Anderson Road Quarry are also displayed in the estate. They serve as reminders of the importance of natural resources in the course of public housing development and the history of the place.
 
     "On Tai Estate comprises 11 residential blocks of around 8 500 public rental housing units for a community of about 25 000 residents. The HA always strives to provide quality homes while promoting sustainable living," the spokesman said.
 
     Thanks to its sustainable features, On Tai Estate won the "Sustainable Construction" Bronze Award of the Construction Industry Council recently.

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