Learning Resources Centre, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Sha Tin)

摘要

This is a fine example of how a designer makes use of the least and the most fundamental design elements in creating a rich and profound space. The undertaking begins with the addition of a learning resource centre at a courtyard at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education in Sha Tin. The existing mature trees were kept and interweaved with haphazard strips of reading spaces. The preservation of the trees was not just an environmentally significant move, but became the key aesthetic element that is seamlessly absorbed into the architectural space. The irregular strips divide up the courtyard to give rise to leisure opportunities of all kinds thus optimizing the spatial quality and definition of the courtyard. The jury is most impressed with the designers' fundamental application of forms, structures and materials in effectively turning a reading room into a reading park, especially with the very limited means available in both budget and space.