A Cyberpunk Constructed by Traditional Craftsmanship
The Development Bureau recently announced a new requirement for public construction projects: at least half of the projects will use metal scaffolding, and relevant clauses will be included in the tendered projects to gradually decrease the use of bamboo scaffolding. The decision sparked discussion among the construction industry and workers.
Tai Hang Sai Estate (Dec 2024)
In Hong Kong, where the residential plot ratio is as high as 8 to 10 times, it is hard to conclude which scaffolding is safer in this setting. What we know is that bamboo scaffolding technique has a long history, and Hong Kong’s scaffolding industry flourished with the development of the construction industry in the 1920s and 1930s. The widespread use of scaffolding technique in Hong Kong has attracted attention from different sectors. The scaffolding masters’ technique of “drawing with the heart and measuring with the eyes” and the gimmicks “fast, good and economical” bamboo scaffolding methods often attract people from the art, culture and architecture sectors.
Tai Hang Sai Estate (Dec 2024)
However, the difficulties of measuring and managing the skills and experience of the bamboo scaffolding masters iscurrently put the technique into a controversy of failure to be formalized by the industry.
Tai O bamboo theatre
A friend of mine often confuses the “bamboo scaffolding” with the “bamboo theatre building technique”. Indeed, both have a long history and their skills have been passed down. The former is an intangible cultural heritage of Hong Kong, with less than 25 masters (YouTube: Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage List: The Birth of a Theatre Stage | Craftsmanship Inheritance), and is only used in festivals such as the Tai Ping Ching Jiao Festival. On the other hands, there are more than 4,000 qualified bamboo scaffolding workers in Hong Kong, and their skills are widely applied in the construction industry. There is a saying that the best way to conserve something is to use it, but I truly hope that the bamboo scaffolding technique will never be deliberately as a past tense in Hong Kong.
1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication
Sheung Shui 1962
Bamboo pavilion in Berlin
Nylon straps for tightening the bamboos