This mural and beautification designs at the Sand Street Stairs and Rock Hill Street are reflecting the local historical features and characteristics of Sai Wan neighbourhood and fostering a sense of belonging in the community.

Sands Street was named after the iconic ( Capital Sand’s Slip ) where it was built in Sai Wan in the 1870s. The Ship Slip was firstly established by Alexander Macdonald who owned A. Macdonald & Co. in West Point (now Watty Street and Queen’s Road West) in 1864, and it was adjacent to the West Point gas works which was built by The Hongkong and China Gas Company Ltd.

This patented slipway is an inclined platform for ship-building which has a water depth of 28 feet at high tide and it could accommodate vessels with a draft of 13 feet or a weight of 1,500 tons. McDonald’s also made a special trip to Scotland to purchase auxiliary machines that can tow 250-foot-long boats off the water. After McDonald’s died in Scotland in November 1872, and its patented slipway was taken over by the captain of G.U. Sands in 1874, which is now known as “Captain Sands’s Slip” (山市船臺).

The unique inclined feature of the long stairs at Sands Street are physically associated with the inclined nature of Ship Slip. The mural proposal is aiming to re-create the similar aerial perspective of the ship slip as well as the West Point gas works containers, where were also other local landmark in the 1870s. The side wall of the stairs would display a mechanical section of the ship slips together with map and description texts for information. Apart from that, the proposal is also include a “mooring post” stool which is echoing with the “ship-making” theme. It is made with fiberglass and genius sailing ropes. The stool could provide a seat and also a photogenius feature for selfie.

Client: Central Western District Home Affair Office
Role: Design and Build
Status: Completion