Jim was initially asked to go to Hong Kong
to grade the timber for the roof construction; but as it turned out, his long
experience with Heritage Buildings in the UK was of great benefit to the
building contractors and to the Hong Kong Government's Building Department.Jim Coulson and Jan Antonovics of TFT Woodexperts paid a visit to Hong Kong just prior to Christmas 2011, to help with a Heritage project, restoring a community building on Ma Wan Island that was being retained, rather than replaced with a new concrete structure. In particular, the timber roof was being reconstructed exactly as it would have been built, over 200 years ago.
Jim's long experience with Heritage Buildings in the UK was of great benefit to the building contractors and to the Hong Kong Government's Building Department – none of whom had any experience in the uses of timber as a construction material. (Fortunately, Jim is a member of the UK Executive Committee of ICOMOS-UK: the International Council on Monuments and Sites and he has worked on a number of historic projects over the years (for examples, see some of the other Case Studies, on this website).
Hong Kong is only just rediscovering its timber heritage; and it is now beginning to formulate plans to rescue and restore some of its remaining old structures, rather than letting them all be replaced by high-rise steel , glass and concrete.
The Community Building on Ma Wan Island
Building frontage with Bamboo Scaffolding
TFT's Jan Taking Notes on the Timber Grading
