How shoddy building construction prompted Hong Kong’s love of glazed ceramic tiles
about 5 months ago (12/01/2023)
Opinion | How shoddy building construction prompted Hong Kong’s love of glazed ceramic tiles | South China Morning Post Advertisement Advertisement A worker cleans the dust-pink glazed ceramic tiles on the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Felix Wong Opinion Then & Now by Jason Wordie Then & Now by Jason Wordie How shoddy building construction prompted Hong Kong’s love of glazed ceramic tiles By the end of the 1960s glazed ceramic tiles were a near-universal feature across Hong Kong buildings, and remain so today Contractors using salt water in concrete in the 50s and 60s led to widespread corrosion; ceramic tiles helped delay the onset of more serious structural issues Jason Wordie + FOLLOW Published: 7:45am, 2 Dec, 2023 Why you can trust SCMP Construction methods, and forms of decorative and practical building finishes, have evolved over time in Hong Kong. From the 1860s, early urban photography reveals exterior walls rendered in roughcast stucco, faced in early forms of Portland cement and ferroconcrete, or surfaced with red bricks of various provenances; while most came from elsewhere in China, some originated as ship’s ballast brought out from Britain.