Maintaining breezeways, view corridors and air ventilation corridors. In order to preserve views to ridgelines and mountain backdrops, a 20% to 30% building free zone is to be maintained as recommended by the Urban Design Guidelines. Visual analysis has been conducted for the refined urban design framework to ensure the proposed new buildings in the NCH comply with these guidelines. Diversity in building mass and varying building heights along the Harbourfront is provided to promote a skyline with visual interest and enhance the dynamic image of the harbour. Building height restrictions have been applied with consideration to the scales and heights of the nearby existing developments. Sites near to the harbour which span across the Harbourfront, including Sites 4 and 6, would be occupied by buildings of small footprints to avoid creating an impermeable “wall” along the harbourfront and hindering air ventilation. Major refinement include limiting the heights of the landscaped deck and building developments at Site 1 to +25mPD (5 m lower than the IFC Podium), and the height reduction of the iconic building at Site 2 to +60mPD. The refined building cluster at Site 1 and 2 form a cascading building profile complemented by the height and disposition of Site 3 developments to maintain breezeways, view corridors and air ventilation corridors to and from the harbour. The disposition of buildings, open space, public realm and pedestrian network is arranged to allow view corridors to preserve views to and from the harbour, the ridgelines, major landmark buildings and buildings free zones. A degree of visual permeability is achieved through ground level “transparency”, well-defined entrances and integration of visual landmarks. Building lines would also help to define and direct view corridors. A series of open space corridors and linked open spaces are adhered to in order to achieve north-south view lines for a more permeable waterfront. The visual softening is proposed to mitigate any interference to these visual corridors. These are highlighted by the use of screening by xxxx xxxxx such as tree alignments and structures. The ground level finishes are used to enhance visual interest to open spaces.
