The Quarry Bay Park in Eastern District took on a new and younger look today (May 12) with the provision of more innovative and creative facilities through a ‘Park Déco’ trial scheme.
To make the parks more lively, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) tried out the ‘Park Déco’ scheme through the installation of a number of artistic benches and new park signage with more positive and friendly tone, while redundant signage had been removed.
Officiating at the launch ceremony of the ‘Park Déco’ scheme at Quarry Bay Park today, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Raymond Young, said LCSD managed as many as 1,500 parks and sitting-out areas featuring a wide range of active and passive amenities to cater to the needs of people from all walks of life.
Mr Young said that the purpose of the ‘Park Déco’scheme was to inject new and creative elements into LCSD’s parks by making them more stylish and interesting for the benefits of the community. As for the new park signage, it aimed to gently remind park users of the park rules in a positive way and of the need to respect other users’ rights. The Hong Kong Arts Centre and Public Art Hong Kong were LCSD’s artistic collaborators for the trial scheme. Mrs Cissy Pao Watari, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Chairperson of the Board of Councillors of Public Art Hong Kong, said during the ceremony that the implementation of public art projects required thorough understanding of the environment as well as the needs of users. The installations of artistic park benches and newly designed signage at Quarry Bay Park brought out natural and creative elements by blending art into daily life and giving the public more access to art, and was precisely the role that public art should be playing. Other officiating guests for today’s ceremony included the Vice Chairman of the Eastern District Council, Mr Christopher Chung; and the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mrs Betty Fung. Artists participating in this trial scheme took the opportunity to brief guests on their work and creative concepts.
Adopting ‘Oasis along the Seashore’ as its theme, the scheme at Quarry Bay Park is aimed at creating a haven in the city and beautifying the waterfront of the Eastern District.
Three sets of park benches, namely Musical Chair, Branches and Assembled Topology, have been installed along the park’s waterfront to blend in with the natural environment and to bring in more green elements to the park.
The three sets of benches are uniquely designed. Musical Chair features five colorful notes which can produce different sounds by a pat. The three-seated Branches look like a trail of twigs stretching out from the planter, with soft and delicate LED lights in bird-cage shapes which remind visitors of life in the past while enriching the night scene of the park. Assembled Topology consists of 17 modular units which know no boundary nor limitations allowing visitors to enjoy the surrounding environment in a leisurely manner.
Newly designed signage carrying friendly messages have also been put up in the park to gently remind visitors of the park rules, e.g. by replacing ‘No skateboarding’ with ‘Pack your skateboard & enjoy the sea view’ and with ‘No climbing’ turning into ‘This is not designed for climbing’.
Following the facelift for the Quarry Bay Park, LCSD plans to extend the ‘Park Déco’ trial scheme to the Cornwall Street Park in Kowloon Tong. Views from park visitors and different stakeholders will be collected so as to assess and decide how to take forward this new concept to apply it in the department’s new projects as well as existing venues. Members of the public are also invited to take part in an online survey on the Chief Executive’s Office Facebook page “Upper Albert Road” (http://www.facebook.com/UpperAlbertRoad) to give their views on the new park facilities at the Quarry Bay Park.
LCSD’s parks are meant for all to enjoy a free and peaceful moment amid the bustling city life, and users are free to stroll, lie down or engage in leisure activities on the many large open lawns managed by the department. However, to maintain the beauty and tranquility of our parks, LCSD appeals to park users to treasure park facilities and be considerate to other users while enjoying these facilities.
Media Enquiry： Hong Kong Arts Centre Ms. Annie Ho Marketing and Development Director Tel： 2824 5306 / 9481 8706 Email：aho@hkac.org.hk
