Terrace: Animal Facility in Hong Kong

Taking advantage of people's intimate relationships with animals, my intergenerational project focuses on an urban animal facility that is run by the experienced and retired elderly and provides related services to preschool aged children. This program, based on research on Animal Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Activities, explores the relationships between humans and domesticated animals, with particular emphasis on the mental and physical benefits animals can provide for both old and young generations. This project is located at a foot of a hill next to the ocean in Stanley Bay, Hong Kong. Stanley Bay is an ideal site with diverse social entities who interact with its fascinating natural characteristics. To reserve and better emphasize this site's natural sense, a terrace garden was added in the middle to occupy the core of the footprint as a focal point of the project. Rising from the south, the terrace leads animals from their private enclosures toward the center of the courtyard where they can interact with people. An intergenerational space established above this courtyard is shaped by the perimeter of the terrace garden. Transitioning from the communal public space to a more private learning space, sliding louver windows and sliding doors function as two envelopes of the building. By opening and closing in different situations, these two aspects of the project provide a gradient of privacy and flexibility for multiple uses.