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■灣仔藍屋的保育會兼顧社會效益，維持低廉租金供原有住戶居住。資料圖片
發展局早前公布活化歷史建築伙伴計劃第二期的申請結果，包括灣仔藍屋、舊大埔警署和九龍城石屋，項目將交由非牟利團體及社企營辦保育。此次活化歷史建築的模式改變過往活化歷史建築物過分商業化的弊端，更注重保留社區原有的生活方式。其中，藍屋首次引入「留屋留人」原則，一舉多得，包括延續本土文化、豐富旅遊資源、改善居民生活環境，以及增加就業機會等，有助落實保育以社區為本、大眾共享的理念。
完整保留社區獨特氣息
本港以往推動的保育項目通常是強制收購與翻新，原址居民全部遷離，然後注入商業元素發展，例如灣仔「和昌大押」在保育後變身為高檔餐廳，不但剝奪市民分享保育後建築物的權利，而且原來的社區文化氣息盪然無存。此次根據「留屋留人」的原則，負責保育藍屋的營辦機構須改善全部住戶的生活環境，並維持低廉租金，讓原有住戶可繼續居住。這不單是翻新建築物，而是把整個社區獨特的人情風味完整地保留下來，令活化保育與香港社會歷史緊密相連，豐富了活化歷史建築的內涵。
經濟與社會效益兼備
保育歷史建築物要達到活化再用之目的，不能欠缺經濟效益，但亦要兼顧社會效益，透過活化保育照顧弱勢社群。此次保育計劃的3個項目均由非牟利機構營運，日後主要提供與文化旅遊、生態環保有關的多元化服務，項目活化後會照顧各類社會人士的需要。除藍屋外，舊大埔警署和九龍城石屋日後發展的飲食和旅遊導賞服務為社區創造就業職位，亦是關懷弱勢社群的反映。這種創新的保育活化模式值得肯定。
Retaining the building and its sitting tenants,Blue House Conservation serves
The Development Bureau had announced earlier the selection results of the second batch of the revitalising historic buildings partnership scheme. Conservation projects in the second batch including the Blue House Cluster in Wan Chai, Old Tai Po Police Station and the Stone Houses in Kowloon City, will be handed to non-profit-making organisations (NPOs) and social enterprises. The approach used in these projects to revitalise historic buildings eliminates the drawbacks of overly commercialised operations seen in some past projects and puts more emphasis on maintaining the local way of life in the neighbourhood. For the first time, the principle of retaining both the building and its sitting tenants will be introduced to the Blue House Cluster, enabling a number of purposes such as maintaining local culture, enriching tourist resources, improving living conditions and increasing job opportunities, to be achieved in a single act. This will hopefully consolidate the concept of conservation which is community-based and shared by the general public.
Local conservation projects in the past usually undertook the process of compulsory acquisition, renovation, evacuation of sitting tenants and finally commercialised development. One of the examples is the conservation of Wo Cheong Pawn Shop in Wan Chai, which was eventually turned into an upmarket restaurant. Not only has this deprived most people of their right to enjoy the conserved building but also wiped out the cultural heritage of the local community. However, now under the principle of retaining both the building and sitting tenants, the selected organisation responsible for the conservation of the Blue House Cluster has the duty to improve the living conditions of all tenants and to maintain low level rents so that tenants can continue their residence there. It is not going to be simply a renovation of an old building, but a reservation of the unique way of life in the neighbourhood. This approach closely links the revitalisation project to the history of Hong Kong society and gives greater intrinsic value to the revitalisation of historic buildings.
It is true that for any conservation project to successfully achieve the purposes of revitalising and reusing historic buildings, economic benefits are essential; nevertheless, social benefits have to be taken into consideration as well. Conservation can serve as a means of taking care of the underprivileged. All three projects included in this batch of the partnership scheme will be run by non-profit-making organisations and will basically be multifunctional, providing services in the areas of cultural tourism, ecological conservation and environmental protection. They will be able to meet the needs of people in different sectors after the buildings are revitalised. Besides the Blue House, the revitalisation plans of the Old Tai Po Police Station and the Kowloon City Stone Houses will include eateries and tour guide services; so these plans will create jobs for the local residents and therefore can also be seen as a way of caring for the underprivileged. This innovative approach of conservation and revitalisation is worth supporting. ■Translation by開明 chi.ming818@gmail.com
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