Hong Kong Airport: An Architectural Brilliance and Use of Technology in Architectural Brilliance - Essay Example

Hong Kong Airport: An Architectural Brilliance and Use of Technology in Architectural Brilliance Introduction: In every country architecture plays animportant role to display the culture and development of that particular nation. Architecture is not only the example of the status of the particular nation but at the same time it is considered as the demonstration of the culture and choice of the people of the respective country, the level of improvement in the field of technology, economy and also overall status of the nation. In the modern times, all over the world there are several great architectures present in various nations. Some of them are considered as the symbol of power, some as symbol of tradition and some as symbol of development. From the very past, various architecture like The Great Wall of China, The Tajmahal, Pyramids of ancient times –all these were the symbol of excellence and at the same time considered as the live example of people’s innovative thinking. And at present the trend is still there. All over the world there are several example of use modern technology, innovative designs and more advanced facilities-all of the these are now associated with the modern architectures. Objective of the Paper The main objective of this paper is to analyze a particular modern architecture which is a great example of architecture as well as use of technology simultaneously. In this paper the focus is on Hong Kong International Airport which is a great example of use of technology to maximum possible option to develop a most advanced model of Airport which not only give immense comfort while they are going to some other countries or coming back from other nations. This Airport not only an example of use of technology in the highest order but at the same time it is also an example of most advanced design, with maximum possible facilities for all and also an object that increase the pride of the nation to many a fold. What is Architecture? To get a proper understanding about the relationship between modern architecture and technology one must first understand what architecture means. Different authors over the years have given several definitions related to architecture. The California Architect Boards (CAB) in their report defines architecture as “the imaginative blend of art and science in the design of environments for people. People need places to live, work, eat and play. Architects transform these needs into concepts and then develop the concepts into building images that can be constructed by others. Their projects can be as small as an entrance way or as large as an entire college campus - and everything in between.” (CAB, 2014) Another definition is “Architecture is that set of design artifacts, or descriptive representations, that are relevant for describing an object, such that it can be produced to requirements as well as maintained over the period of its useful life.” (Zachman, 1996). To understand the concept of architecture one must first understand two terms closely associated with the architecture; one is designing and the other one is engineering. Designing is related to making a detailed blueprint of the final structure with every minute details mentioned in it. Designing is a drawing of the final structure with detail internal sections with minute details. Engineering in modern times is closely associated with the process of architecture. Haan (2007) in his review critically analyzed the concept of designing and in his opinion both teleological and the ontological system idea are associated with designing any particular system. In Haan’s point of view both “both the functional and the constructional perspective of a system are relevant with the designing of any particular model in present times. Figure 1: The process of System design After successful competition of designing of any particular model, the system can be engineered or can be developed. In modern times the term architecture is very commonly associated with the information technology. The system architecture is a very common term. Likewise in this paper the chosen architecture ‘The Hong Kong Airport’ can easily be considered as the system which after a successful designing engineered effectively by all the technicians. In modern time, this construction can be considered as a great example of association between information technology and architecture. From this point of view, one can easily mentioned that the process of engineering is a systematic process as mentioned or displayed in the below diagram. The diagram below is of an ontology model. An ontology model of a system is fully independent of how it will operate after it gets completed as the diagram is only about essential features of the particular architecture. (Dietz & Hoogervorst, 2007; Dietz, 2006) Figure 2: The process of engineering a system. Hong Kong Airport: A great collaboration between modern architecture and High Technology: In present world there are several eye catching architectures present in different parts of the world. Those architectures are new, more advanced and developed with the help of various advanced technologies and huge amount of money. Hong Kong international Airport is also one such example. People across the globe consider this as one of the most advanced and most innovative structure of modern times. The airport in Hong Kong is not only attractive in its outlook but at the same time it is also known for its wide variety of facilities for the passengers coming and going from all over the world. Reason behind Developing the New Structure: Before the development of the new airport Chek Lap Kok, there was an old airport in the hurt of city of Hong Kong. Sweeney in his review has mentioned that the main problem associated with the old airport Kai Tak was its location. The old one was surrounded by high rise buildings and residential areas and most importantly the runway was overhung into water. In order to make it comfortable for large numbers of cargo passing through the region the government planned to develop an advanced new airport. The process of construction of the new one was started in the year of 1991 with assimilation two smaller islands together with regained land. The unique feature of this airport is not only its structure but at the same time the existence of luxury golf course and a huge expo center within walking distance of runway. (Sweeney, n.d). Construction of the new airport in Hong Kong is one of the most ambitious projects of modern times. The cost associated with the core program of developing this high tech model was more than $20bn and there was a direct involvement of four major sponsors in this project. Apart from that almost 225 construction contracts and over 1,000 critical interfaces were also involved in this 5 years long project. The project was scheduled for 10 years , but the innovation and technological brilliance helped drastically to finish the work well before time as the airport was in operation since 1996. If one look at this infrastructure from a broader perspective then it is spread over almost 12.48km² of domestic land between the two islands of Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau. This extraordinary model helped Hong Kong to increase its own land area almost by 1%. The airport opened for business in July 1998 having taken just six years to build. In this airport, there are two parallel runways. Taking in to consideration the busy schedule the authority is planning to add a third runway in this airport. The project of building this airport was started in the year of 1991 and took only six years to complete. The core program cost more than $20bn and involved four major sponsors, ten separate projects, 225 construction contracts and over 1,000 critical interfaces (Airport Technology, 2014). Facilities of the Hong Kong Airport: The Hong Kong airport is most renowned for its diverse facilities and high technology which is there for smooth operation. The airport is one of the busiest one in the world, in fact fourth in the ranking in terms of number of flights operate from there on daily basis. As per the report suggested by the Airport Technology, the average number of flight operates daily in 2006 were 750 with 48.6million passenger using the facilities in a daily basis. Apart from this large operation, there is a large amount of shopping and leisure facilities for the people who are the airport. The facilities include airport’s SkyMart with 160 shops and 40 food plazas spread over 39000 sq. mtr. Apart from that there is also free and pay internet lounges, Wi-Fi access for the people, a large number of airport lounges, large number of TV screens and children’s playing areas. Not only the structure, the position of this airport is also strategically perfect as it links Hong Kong with over 150 cities across the globe including 40 cities in China. (Airport technology, 2014). Construction of Hong Kong International Airport: Although the airport is considered as the most unique one of the modern generation there are several challenges associated with the development of this structure. There are number of architect who used to believe that it is one of the most challenging engineering projects for any group of all time. The reasons are very simple; such as: this airport has the largest passenger terminal in the world, the airport has to incorporates heaviest jets in the parking areas as the airport is associated with transportation of large volume of goods; the engineers have to designed the structure such a way that they can incorporate 22 miles long super highway and tunnels to connect the airport with the main city as it is on the banks of the sea. To ensure proper communication the project also incorporated longest double decker suspended bridge of the world. (Jamal, 2014). Challenges: There were three key challenges associated with this unique architecture. These are as follows: Land Reclamation: To develop this large project the government of Hong Kong chose a site with rocky island and 16 miles outside the main city. The developed technology and innovation in the machinery was a great help to remove those rocks and make that area suitable for the development of this unique project. This was considered as the biggest land moving exercise of all time which involves removal of almost 600 million tons of materials to get the area in order to start the project. Construction of Tunnel: Another technological brilliance of this project was the development of tunnel. All these tunnels are developed 50ft under water and in some case the length of the tunnel is up to 1 mile. Developing long bridge was also a challenge for the constructors as the airport was outside the main city area. Figure 1:Hong Kong International Airport Figure 2: A Sketch Diagram of Hong Kong Airport Hong Kong Airport: Is this an Art? In order to understand the architecture of the Hong Kong airport one must first understand what airport actually means. Prior to the construction of new age airport in Hong Kong , considering the building or structure of an airport as a great example of architectural genius or a work of art is in not a common thing. But after the project of Hong Kong airport was finished in 1996 at Chek Lap Kok, it is now a clear point of view of the modern architect that during the second half of the century building a well-planned and well developed airport is a matter prestige andalso is an artistic exertion. Sir Norman Foster, is now a well know character in the world of architecture as he is the chief architect of this extraordinary project. In his words the airport of Hong Kong is a carnival of the present age of air travel. In the earlier times, airports were just like other official building with high degree of security. People who used to travel via plane generally dis not have any option to seeing the flights in operation while being in the airport. Iqbal (1998) in his review has mentioned that people who were even the frequent traveller also did not have the taste of adventure associated with flying. In his paper he has quoted the point of view Jonathan Glancey, a well-known architecture critic for the Guardian newspaper mentioning that “They just see boring office like interiors, boring people being bored, buying useless bits of duty free.”(Iqbal, 1998). The new model of Hong Kong airport diminishes this problem. Passengers once walked inside the terminal can enjoy the view of large number of aircrafts in operations. This new brand of experience to see the operation live makes them feel that they are in the air as well with the aircraft, making the journey more exciting and eventful. The main objective of his to make such as extraordinary structure is to develop a passion among the common men about flying with the aircraft. (Iqbal, 1998). Figure 3: Finished Diagram of Hong Kong Airport The above diagram is Cleary represents the architectural brilliance of the Hong Kong airport. The airport upsurges out of the South China Sea and appears on the skyline like a huge sea creature which has propertied. There are large numbers of data associated with the architectural and engineering crusade such as presence of 45 acres of light-weight steel rooftop can be noticed even from the spacecraft orbiting Earth. The airport has its own internal rail network to ensure that there is a smooth communication between the airport and the city which is 1.27 km long. To analyze the structure of this architecture Iqbal in his review has mentioned that “It is simplicity, even on a grand scale, which translates into powerful architecture” (Iqbal, 1998) The flowing streamline figure of the entire airport is an unique one and that has been made probable by the implementation of number of recent technological and computer innovation. It is only because of the technological development that people are able to think about this kind of advanced model and at the same time also able to make it reality. Norman Foster just not designs this great structure to get credit from all corner of the world but at the same time he also had a bigger objective in mind. In Iqbal’s word “The airport has to work operationally, it has to minimize walking distances, it has to maximize frontage for aircraft, it has to anticipate the next generation of very large jets. It is about all of us who use airports. It has to create an experience which feels good”. (Iqbal, 1998) Conclusion: From the above analysis it is very clear that the Hong Kong airport is one of the most significant examples of modern architecture. A detail analysis and an in-depth study of the model clearly represent the fact that this outstanding architecture is not possible without the innovation of technology and science. The main help of technology needed at the very beginning when there was a need of a large area and the chosen place was not up to the mark in terms of its condition Use of high technology make it possible to develops this wonderful architecture in Hong Kong.It is not only an important communication junction for the nation but at the same time it is also a major tourist attraction. This great model provided an opportunity to the government as well to earn more foreign currency by promoting it as one of the main tourist attraction. Likewise there was also a huge improvement in the communication system across the country, the shopping mall has provided an opportunity for various people to earn some money by means of getting in touch with hundreds and thousands of tourist. Moreover this project is helpful to create a large number job opportunity in the Hong Kong both directly as well as indirectly. So this model is not only an architectural genius but at the same time a live example of how the technology and innovation in IT and computer is closely associated with the existence and development of new architectural brilliance and most importantly it is now a great source of earning for both the Hong Kong government and common people of the country. References: 1. Dietz, J.L.G., Hoogervorst, J.A.P; Enterprise Ontology and Enterprise Architecture – how to let them evolve into effective complementary notions. GEAO Journal of Enterprise Architecture, 2007, 2(1). 2. Dietz, J.L.G.Enterprise Ontology-Theory and Methodology. Springer-Verlag Heidelberg. 2006. 3. Haan D. J. Architecture, A definition. The enterprise Architect. [Online] 2007 [Viewed 15 May, 2014]. Available from: http://www.theenterprisearchitect.eu/blog/2007/05/15/architecture-a-definition/ 4. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG/VHHH), Hong Kong. Airport technology.com. 2014, [Viewed 15 May, 2014]. Available from http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/cheklapkok_new/ 5. Iqbal R. Analysis: Hong Kong airport - is it art? BBC News. 1998. [Viewed 15 May, 2014]. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/127422.stm 6. Jamal H. Hong Kong international Airport- Bridge Foundation, Tunnel and Land Reclamation. Engpedia. 2014. [Viewed 15 May, 2014]. Available from http://www.enggpedia.com/civil-engineering-encyclopedia/megastructures/hong-kong-airport 7. The California Architect Board; Definition of Architect and Architecture [online] 2014, [Viewed 15 May, 2014]. Available from: http://www.architect.ca.gov/what_architect/definitions.shtml 8. Sweeney C. The Worlds 18 Strangest Airports: Gallery. Popular Mechanics.nd. [Viewed 15 May, 2014]. Available from http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/architecture/4346192-hong-kong-international-airport#slide-12 Diagram Source: 9. Diagram 2: http://www.archsociety.com/news.php?extend.70 10. 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