Page 59 - JCAU-7-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Rural–urban village regeneration

statutory submission for building small houses. The review
and approval process by the lands department typically
takes 4 months. Based on our practical experience, the CoE
review criteria are limited to three aspects: (i) The confined
dimensions, (ii) the roofed-over area, and (iii) adherence
to the original form and materials for restoration.
This framework, however, reveals critical
misconceptions. Restoration is treated as a form of
residential development, ignoring the fact that architectural
conservation in villages often involves non-residential
structures (e.g., the grain store, which was originally a
farming hut for crop storage). Furthermore, restoration
is constrained by the principle of “restoring the old as the
old” (修旧如旧; xiujiurujiu). For instance, although the
grain store is being restored to its original function as a
farming hut, no alterations to its volume are permitted –
Figure 9. The footprint of the grain store overlaps with adjacent land lots even if the total floor area remains unchanged. While the
Source: Drawing by the authors. trimmed building bulk will be retained based on original
forms and materials, the overall mass differs, meaning the
To resolve these conflicts, a professional land surveyor appearance can no longer be considered original.
was appointed to rectify the land boundaries based on the
government coordinate system and the as-built structures. Buildings constructed before the effective date of the
The fact that landowners were unaware of these trespassing Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories)
issues highlights the inaccessibility of government land in 1961 are not classified as unauthorized building work.
records. Villagers often rely on the fragile, outdated hard However, there is no effective mechanism to address these
copies of maps and lease documents, which frequently policy flaws or assess alternative restoration proposals.
contain outdated or inaccurate information. For the grain For House No. 49, the statutory procedures were even
store, the landowner and the research team co-decided to more complicated. The research team planned to organize
restore only the portion of the structure that lay within the a series of cultural workshops at the restored house, but
land boundary (Lot 299) to avoid further disputes. this was regarded as a violation of the existing land use
designation as a residence, despite the minimal extent of
6.2. Unspecific regulations for rural conservation the activities. Accordingly, the government requested the
The historical inaccuracy of surveys has led to numerous research team to submit a planning application to change
intergroup conflicts and represents merely one of the land use from “residence” to “shop and services” due to
the many systematic flaws. A notable example of this the potential business activities, such as selling souvenirs.
is the classification of surveyed squatter structures This process was time-consuming, taking one and a half
(SSS) – informal dwellings temporarily tolerated until years to obtain approval.
they are naturally phased out. These structures are often The approval came with two additional requirements:
constructed on government lands and typically exhibit (i) Preparing and implementing a conservation
poor spatial and hygienic conditions. In one instance, land management plan and (ii) providing additional fire
officers erroneously registered the grain store as an SSS, services installations (FSIs) for the new use as “shop
recording its dimensions in imperial units on the existing and services.” These requirements are not typically
stone wall. This registration was legally infeasible, as SSS prerequisites for listed buildings but are enforced when a
cannot exist on privately owned lands. After several rounds planning application is submitted. Drafting, submitting,
of clarification, the land officers agreed to remove the grain and obtaining approval from the AMO took an additional
store from the SSS registry. 6 months. Meanwhile, the FSIs significantly impacted the
Fundamentally, building regulations for rural areas interior space (Figure 10). The required installations – a
require significant development. No rural-specific policies 2,000-L water tank, two sets of water pumps, fire safety
exist for architectural restoration, leaving practitioners panels, and extensive ductwork – occupied half of the
to rely on statutory requirements under the SHP for entrance hall. Given that workshops were being conducted
restoration works. The only viable pathway involves in other households with relatively low risk, these
applying for a Certificate of Exemption (CoE), a standard requirements highlighted the inflexibility of current land

Volume 7 Issue 3 (2025) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4992