BRE435
Design Adaptation and Conversion
Department of Building and Real Estate
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Tutorial 5
Case study：Mei Ho House
Practical advice
• Structural Safety
• Protective Barrier
• Barrier Free Access
Background The building
• The resettlement block was built in 1954
Mei Ho House (MHH) of Shek Kip Mei Estate
• with reinforced concrete frame construction
• Six-storey, H-shaped
Each floor
• Two staircases at two ends of the two linear wings
• A central block links the two wings.
• Corridors of each wing were cantilevered from the internal
structural walls.
Revitalization
• Grade 2
• Batch I projects
• Since 2013, the building was transformed into a youth
hostel with a heritage museum of public housing.
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Museum
The museum focusing on
• the history of the local community
• the evolution of public housing
• folk life
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Fire Safety
The museum is situated on G/F & 1/F.
To address the possible increase in fire risk in association with
the new museum:
• physically separated from the remaining parts of the
building by fire barriers (such as walls with 1 hour fire
resistance rating or protected lobbies)
• provided with independent exit routes.
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Provision of Barrier Free Facilities
Accessible lift
MHH was not provided with any lift.
A new accessible lift cum fireman’s lift has been added at the reconstructed central block to serve MHH on each
floor from G/F to 5/F to meet the current safety standards as well as to enhance the vertical mobility of persons
with a disability and servicing.
Accessible guest rooms close to the central block on each floor of 1/F to 4/F.
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Danger of Falling
Original parapets were preserve
New openable or fixed aluminium windows are installed on the existing parapets in previous domestic flats.
Secondary protective barriers made of tempered glass panels are installed across new openable windows above
existing low parapets.
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Protective Barrier
Secondary protective barrier
• Adding height to the existing protective barrier
• Adding mesh or grille to reduce the opening dimensions
• Compensatory measures for protective barrier with wider gaps and/or with lower
solid curb
• Compensatory measures for protective barrier of height less than 1100mm but
not less than 900mm at balconies and verandahs mesh or grille
Relationship between the height of protective barrier(H) and minimum width of top surface(B)
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Central space
The central space became a resting place and installed a lot of seats.
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A new block
• A new single-storey block replacing the
slope at the bottom of MHH.
• The Lower Ground Floor, is created for
housing fire service/ fire sprinkler water
tanks and mechanical plant rooms.
• Roof of the single-storey block is finished as
a landscaped area.
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Structural Safety
Structural works involving any
change in use and structural
strengthening in buildings should
proceed in accordance with the
requirements stipulated in PNAP
APP-117.
[Link]
letters/pnap/APP/[Link]
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Structural Safety - Load
The lack of approved plans and structural records
The uncertainty in the load-carrying capacity of the existing
buildings makes it difficult to assess accurately the extent of
structural strengthening required.
For buildings without approved plans and structural records, a
detailed structural appraisal should be adopted.
The following measures are practical solutions to some typical
structural issues:
• The archaic records
• Full survey and structural appraisal
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Structural Safety - Load
Addition of new structural elements
The addition of new structural elements such as
lateral ties, shear walls, braced frames, or
concrete lining to the existing building is often found
used in structures subject to lateral loads such
as wind and seismic pressure. Typical braced frame
The addition of these new structural elements should
be identified at an early stage of the design and their
design should be agreed with the AMO.
Typical shearwall 12
Structural Safety -Load
Re-distribution of design loads may be considered to
• reduce the extent of the required strengthening works
• minimising the impact to the heritage value of the heritage
building.
Additional supports to reduce the span
The deficiency of the load carrying capacity of floors or beams
may be resolved by putting in additional supports in
specified locations.
For example, insertions to strengthen timber elements
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Structural Safety - Load
Minimum imposed loads for floor
The Code of Practice for Dead and
Imposed Loads 2011 provides guidelines
on determining the magnitude of
imposed loads for a specific use not
prescribed in the B(C)R17.
The reliability of the design parameters
should also be justified. Reference
should be made to Section 4.2 of the Code
of Practice for Dead and Imposed Loads
2011.
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Structural Safety - Load
The BA will consider safety issues on a case-by-case basis together with the following
information :
• People. For example, floor layout indicating the location of fixed setting, such as partitions,
furniture, railing, equipment, and plant, etc., that controls the movement of occupants and hence
the imposed load intensity;
• Accumulation of equipment, display items, and furnishing;
• Storage of materials;
• Undertaking and management plan with details of effective management measures to limit the
occupant capacity.
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Structural Safety - Wind
The structural adequacy of an existing
building or part thereof can be checked
(a) partial or total removal of existing major
wind resisting walls or frames, which would
result in a reduction in their stiffness by 5% or
more, or
(b) the extension of building dimensions
which would result in an increase of 10% or
more of the wind exposure areas of a building,
Diagram of the test section of the wind tunnel,
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Structural Safety - Wind
The restoration works of a roof structure not involve the
total removal or change in any of the following aspects:
geometry, material and load paths will be considered as
repair works in nature.
In this respect, the repair works of the roof structure would
not be required to be designed to meet the current Code of
Practice on Wind Effects in Hong Kong (Wind Code).
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Structural Safety
If the proposed A&A works involve temporary removal or alteration of existing structural
elements or unconventional construction methods, the AP/RSE should indicate clearly the
• method statements,
• sequence of construction works
• provisions for temporary works
• Monitoring
• precautionary
• protective measures on the structural plans submitted to BD for approval.
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Case study:
Former LAI CHI KOK HOSPITAL
Structure reinforcing
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Structural Strengthening
Table 1 – Strengthening to Pitched Roof and
Floor Slab
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Structural Strengthening
Photo and section showing strengthening to the structural elements and connection joints of
roofs of buildings in the Low Zone (Source: P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd.)
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Structural Strengthening
Plan and section showing strengthening works by
horizontal steel rods in buildings at the Low Zone
Additional steel bracings for roofs of
existing buildings in the Middle Zone
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Structural Strengthening
Such alteration would reduce the lateral load resisting capacity of the building to a significant extent,
new steel portal frames with new footings are erected to provide proper wind resisting system.
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Thank You
Department of Building and Real Estate,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University