1

Teaching Pack

2

Specifically written to support teaching, especially in architecture, art and design,

and environmental education, this teaching pack provides ideas that can be

adopted into the teaching of varying ages, using materials about the exhibited

collection in the show, “Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection”.

There are a total of 6 chapters in this pack; each of them focuses on a particular

topic that is explored in our exhibition. Every chapter consists of a brief

introduction, suggested discussion points and simple activities, individual case

studies based on the exhibited collections, and additional references that might

be useful as interesting reads for further discussion.

Ultimately, the aim of the pack is to enhance the appreciation of architectural

design, and to encourage students to think about the built environment critically,

through considering the role and the practice of an architect, and other social

issues brought up in the process of urban design. With case studies drawn from

the exhibited collection, the pack will also provide an additional layer to the

understanding of the exhibition.

“Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection”

Introduction

The fifth in the Mobile M+ exhibition series, “Building M+: The

Museum and Architecture Collection” presents a preview of Hong

Kong’s new, multidisciplinary museum for visual culture, as seen through

the lens of architecture. Offering a closer look at the future M+ building,

scheduled for completion in late 2017, the exhibition tracks the ongoing

development of the building’s design by the renowned Swiss firm of

Herzog & de Meuron, with TFP Farrells and Ove Arup & Partners HK,

and for the first time, reveals the other shortlisted proposals from which it

was selected in an international competition held last year. The exhibition

also marks the debut of the museum's growing, and unprecedented,

architecture collection, illustrating some of the many approaches that M+

will take in conceptualising, collecting and representing the built

environment. We hope that in these ways, “Building M+” will shed light

on the important role of architecture—at the museum, in Hong Kong, and

within visual culture at large.

Museum collections are perpetually evolving, and are never finished nor

complete. However, they do have beginnings. In its first ten months of

collecting architecture, M+ has acquired hundreds of architecture-related

works and materials to form the first collection of its kind in Asia.

Including drawings, photographs, and print and video documentation

along with models, installations, digital animations and other archival

materials—many previously unseen— the collection will help uncover,

preserve, interpret and revisit the myriad narratives of the 20th- and 21st-

century built environment. It will do so from our vantage point in Hong

Kong, China and Asia, while linking these diverse geographies, and their

histories and futures, with each other and the rest of the world.

By also including works from the museum’s visual art holdings, this

exhibition illustrates some of the museum’s various approaches to

conceptualising and collecting architecture. Along the way, we hope it

offers insight into the richness of the discipline as an expression of, and

vehicle for, cultural aspirations and intellectual pursuits; economic,

political and historical forces; social relations and value systems; and the

constraints, possibilities and, sometimes, unintended consequences that

help define the world we inhabit. With an initial emphasis on works from

post-World War II Hong Kong and contemporary China, as situated

within broader global frameworks, we are pleased to present this first

look at a collection that will continue to grow in scope and depth in the

coming years.

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Content

Chapter 1 Overview: Architecture Collection, Documentation and Representation p.4

Chapter 2 Crossing Boundaries: Exchanges and Connections

Case Study 1 Frank Lloyd Wright Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

Case Study 2 Paul Rudolph Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower), Jakarta, Indonesia

Case Study 3 W. N. Chung Chartered Architect (Chung Wah Nan Architects Ltd) (Hong Kong) / Chung Wah Nan Peak Tower, The Upper

Terminal of the Peak Tramway, Hong Kong

p.16

p.17

p.21

p.23

Chapter 3 Designing for the City: Constraints and Creative Solutions

Case Study 4 Tao Ho Design / Tao Ho Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong

Case Study 5 Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)/ James H. Kinoshita Electric House(Kennedy Road Substation), Hong Kong

Case Study 6 Rocco Design Architects / Rocco Yim Hollywood Terrace, Hong Kong

Case Study 7 Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong) Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Hong Kong

Case Study 8 Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

p.27

p.28

p.32

p.34

p.36

p.39

Chapter 4 Making Iconic Buildings: Conception and Representation

Case Study 9 Iwan Baan Bird’s Nest #3 and Guangzhou Opera House #1

Case Study 10 Andres Gursky Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank 1994

Case Study 11 Jiakun Architects / Liu Jiakun Rebirth Brick

p.43

p.45

p.47

p.48

Chapter 5 Critical Futures: Imaginations and Suggestions

Case Study 12 MAD Beijing 2050, Beijing, China

Case Study 13 OPEN Architecture 2nd Ring Beijing 2049

p.49

p.50

p.52

Chapter 6 Digital Tools: Virtual and Reality

Case Study 14 davidclovers with C.E.B Rea Immuring

Case Study 15 MAD Absolute Towers, Mississauga, Canada

Case Study 16 Cao Fei RMB City

p.53

p.54

p.55

p.56

54

4

5

Chapter 1 Overview : Architecture Collection, Documentation and Representation

What is architecture – what does it mean to collect architecture?

What is Architecture?

Architecture is a broad discipline, one that is both intellectual and

physical consisting of an amalgam of intention (ideas) with iteration (the

process and results). It is about the built environment, and the making of

places for people. The design of the spatial environment takes on many

forms and operates at various magnitudes of scale. It affects our daily

lives immensely in ways in which we are often unaware.

Over many centuries, the architecture profession has expanded to cover a

wide range of disciplines, from designing to engineering, economics,

sociology, anthropology, and history. With such a broad nature,

architecture inevitably exerts a strong influence on our lifestyle, customs

and society at large.

Why is it important to study architecture?

While not everyone ends up becoming an architect, the study of

architecture consists of important knowledge. From the more technical

ends on how things are constructed, and how spaces are designed and

organised, to architecture as a design and problem-solving process,

architecture is a discipline that records historical development by

illustrating social ideas, innovations and wider philosophical and

conceptual considerations. Thus, stories of architecture should be

documented and told to further our understanding of ourselves and the

places we inhabit.

INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

Consider these quotes: “The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul

of our own civilisation.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

“Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.” –

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

“Architecture is the thoughtful making of space.” –Louis Kahn

“To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with

bureaucrats. … You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then

you have a lot of criticism about how it works.” –Ai Weiwei

“Architecture has recorded the great ideas of the human race. Not only every

religious symbol, but every human thought has its page in that vast book.” –Victor

Hugo

“Architecture is not merely national but clearly has local ties in that it is rooted in

the earth.” – Alvar Aalto

“The problem with digital architecture is that an algorithm can produce endless

variations, so an architect has many choices.” – Peter Eisenman

“Architecture is about public space held by buildings.” – Richard Rogers

“Architecture is invention.” – Oscar Niemeyer

“Architecture is to make us know and remember who we are.” – Sir Geoffrey

Jellicoe

“Architecture, under all of its constraints of engineering safety, function, climate

responsibility and economy, sometimes transcends to inspire us with ideas in space

and light – qualities achieved in the abstract” – Steve Holl

What does “Architecture” means to you? Come up with your own

interpretation and definition. Discuss by considering these quotes

and the different definitions, what do they tell you about architecture

as a discipline?

5

ACTIVITY

Have you ever considered how a space is designed to create a particular

experience for visitors? The act of sketching is instrumental in the

practice of architecture as it encourages critical observation of our

surroundings. Developing a habit of sketching will help train your skills

in visualising space and contexts while at the same time sharpening your

observational skills. This exercise invites you to look at spaces differently,

and to consider the frequently subtle elements that create particular

impressions and atmospheres of a built environment.

Look for any image of interior space (you can refer to the following

suggestions). Allow yourself just three minutes to look at it, and then take

a maximum of two minutes to sketch what you saw from memory. The

work does not have to be picture perfect. You only have to draw the

characteristics and general atmosphere of the space. Invite others to do

this exercise with you, and compare your results.

Think of the adjectives that go through your mind when you are trying to

remember and sketch the space. What features of the space lead to such

associations?

You can do a similar quick sketch exercise when you are travelling on the

underground. The doors of the MTR open for about half a minute. Carry

your sketching materials, and practice sketching the space you see when

the doors open.

Tao Ho Design / Tao Ho

Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968-1977),

Hong Kong

Tao Ho Design / Tao Ho

Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968-1977), Hong

Kong

Paul Rudolph

Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower)

(1983-1985), Jakarta, Indonesia

Image courtesy of Architectural Record

\

Steven Holl Architects

Linked Hybrid (2003-2009)

Photo Courtesy of Shu He

Steven Holl Architects

Linked Hybrid (2003-2009)

Photo Courtesy of Iwan Baan

Steven Holl Architects

Linked Hybrid (2003-2009)

Photo Courtesy of Iwan Baan

Steven Holl Architects (United States)

Linked Hybrid (2003-2009)

Photo Courtesy of Iwan Baan

Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)(Hong

Kong) /Remo Riva

42 Sassoon Road Houses (1977-1979),

Hong Kong

Photo Courtesy of P&T Group

6

View of M+ building from the Park

M+ building is designed by the celebrated Swiss architecture firm of Herzog & de

Meuron, working with Hong Kong-based TFP Farrells and Ove Arup & Partners HK.

Extra notes:

About M+ and its architectural collection

As a site of cultural discourse and preservation, M+ includes architecture within its visual

culture mission. The emphasis on “visual culture”, points not only to the shared

experience of seeing, but the many possible readings of what is being seen. Needless to

say, there are many ways of looking at architecture. Through its growing collection

architecture collection, M+ will take on different approaches in conceptualising,

collecting and representing the built environment.

So, what does it mean to collect architecture? To begin with, one must accept the

impossibility of the task. Architecture does not exist as a thing, nor is it simply an

assemblage of things. Rather, one way is to consider it as a delineation of sites: sites of

ideas, of craft and making, of encounters, politics, tactics, capital flows, networks,

systems and, even people, streets and buildings. Architecture exists as much in the

physical, formal and social realms as it does in theory and the imagination. Not to

mentioned the impracticality of “collecting buildings, cities, landscapes and

infrastructure”, collecting architecture is a difficult task.

Collecting architecture is thus predicated on the notion of multiplicity. It relies not on

acquiring a discrete, neatly-defined thing, but rather the many things that convey, represent

and mediate the multitude of meanings and consequences (both intentional and not) of

architecture. This might include drawings, models and digital files revealing an architect’s

design process and aims; or correspondence, media reports and other documents that unravel

the external forces he or she must negotiate. It might also include photographs or videos

examining how a space is used (or co-opted); or an artist’s or filmmaker’s deployment of

spatial and urbanistic devices and techniques. It could be something as simple as a brick—a

brick that tells a good story.

Architectural research and production come in many forms—as texts, animations,

installations, data visualisations, manifestos—and there are just as many ways of

collecting them, depending on their time and contexts. Sometimes, it’s imperative to

collect the “original” (as with a drawing that holds nuances and subtleties); in other cases,

“originals” are entirely irrelevant (a digital file). Occasionally, new reproductions are

called for and, increasingly, the things we collect will be virtual. The only blanket rule is

that there are no blanket rules.

To be sure, collecting architecture requires both humility and judgment. Humility in

recognising that total comprehensiveness is unattainable, and judgment in making well-

considered decisions about what to collect, and why. Underlying it all is a constant

awareness that what and how a museum collects can have an impact on architectural

practice itself. We hope M+ will have a positive effect on the study and future of the

discipline in this most dynamic region.

7

How do we tell stories about a building?

How do we document and represent buildings, whether still existing or

lost, space, or even an entire city? A building or an architectural project

can be represented by a multitude of documentation materials, which may

include drawings, photographs, models and newspaper clippings. Each of

these records tells a story about various aspects of the project. These

materials, forming an archive or a collection, are often best kept in places

where they can be accessed by the public, such as a library, museum or

other research institution.

Various types of materials reflect the different features and aspects of an

architectural project. These include its background, its conception, design

and construction process to the final outcome and reception by the public.

Architects may use drawings and models to explore and visualise their

ideas, or to put their ideas into reality.

DISCUSSION

How can architects express their ideas, for themselves, clients and

builders?

What different materials and media did you see in the exhibition? Make a

list of all the materials you remember. Think of how each one presents

information about the building project in different ways for different

audience. Each type of medium has its specific function. Discuss the

advantages and disadvantages of each of the materials

Which of the exhibits were the most memorable? Discuss the most

memorable, arresting, unusual, or interesting exhibits you found in the

show. What strikes you as so special about them?

Refer to the following various types of materials that can be seen in the

gallery, what do they reveal about the process of designing a building?

What aspects of the project are illustrated through these materials? The

tools an architect uses depend on the different stage of the design process,

the budget, the needs and expectation of their clients, as well as the

materials that are available to actualise their ideas. Can you think of more

possible tools that help illustrate an architect’s ideas?

8

Drawings

There are different types of drawings that make up the architectural design process.

First sketch ideas are

quick drawings put

down at the start of a

project as a study or as

the basis for possible

ideas. Often, sketch

books are used for

collecting and

researching ideas.

Exhibit 9

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Germany

and United States, 1886-1969)

Plan and Interior Perspective for

Court House Studies (1931-1938)

1933

ink on paper

In the 1930s, the preeminent modernist

architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

undertook a series of “court house”

studies investigating the relationship

between interior and exterior space.

Exhibit 39.4

Steven Holl Architects/Steven Holl (United States, b.

1947)

Filmic loop study for Linked Hybrid (2003-2009),

Beijing, China

2003

watercolour on paper

Architect Steven Holl’s Linked Hybrid was one of the

most significant architectural projects to rise in

Beijing during the period around the city’s 2008

Summer Olympics. It proposes a more urbanistic

alternative to the private gated developments seen

throughout the city, while also exemplifying Holl’s

interests in phenomenology, a mode of architectural

thinking that emphasises the sensorial nature and

ephemeral qualities of built space.

The 220,000 square-metre complex includes a ring of

towers linked by aerial bridges that form a “filmic loop”

while accommodating a number of public and semi-

public functions. Built around the towers were parks, a

school, and a hotel, cinematheque and viewing platforms

placed among reflecting pools. Over 600 geothermal

wells were installed to help heat and cool the project. As

an ideal, Linked Hybrid’s mix of uses was aimed at

creating a vibrant and “porous” urban space—begun, like

all Holl projects, as a series of watercolour studies, and

translated in an interplay of light, colours, overhangs and

floating volumes.

Exhibit 16

Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)(Hong

Kong) /Remo Riva (Hong Kong, born

Switzerland, 1946)

Axonometric drawing for 42 Sassoon

Road Houses (1977 -1979), Hong Kong

1977

coloured pencil and ink on paper

Gift of the architect

An axonometric drawing is a scaled

representation of a building or object,

shown as a three-dimensional volume

and usually at a 45-degree angle. It gives

the impression that one is looking from

above, revealing more than one side of

the building or object in the same view.

This colourful drawing shows how

Riva’s designs for the 42 Sassoon Road

Housing were articulated and derived

from a rigorous grid plan.

9

More detailed drawings

or technical drawings

are used to present

more concrete designs.

Whether it is the

building’s exterior form

or the details of the

interior design,

technical drawings play

a crucial role as

communication tools

that help transform

ideas into reality in the

design and construction

process.

Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)(Hong Kong)

Back elevation for Electric House (Kennedy Road Substation)

1967

print on paper

Image courtesy of P&T Group

This back elevation drawing of Electric House delineates the details of its

functional yet dramatic design.

Exhibit 7.4

Frank Lloyd Wright (United States, 1867 – 1959)

Detail for ornamental block of the theatre balcony stone

railing, Imperial Hotel (1916-1923), Tokyo, Japan

c. 1920

graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper

Exhibit 26.1

Wong ∙ Tung & Partners Architects

and Planners (Hong Kong) Pedestrian movement plan for

Taikoo Shing (1972-1988), Hong Kong

1973

print on paper

10

Models

Model making is one of the most direct tools in communicating ideas three dimensionally. Different types of models are produced in the various

stages of the designing process for particular purposes.

Model-making can be

a process by which an

architect examines

various issues or

specific features of

the design such as its

shape and form

Exhibit 46

Sou Fujimoto Architects (Japan)

/ Sou Fujimoto (Japan, b. 1971)

15 concept study models for

Nature/Architecture, Serpentine

Gallery Pavilion, London, U.K.

2013

various materials

For Fujimoto, model-making is not

so much about representing a final

result as undertaking a process by

which to examine various notions

and concepts.

17 x 17 x 11cm

10 x 10 x 10cm

18 x 23 x7cm

5 x 5 x 5cm

10 x 10 x 9cm

13 x 13 x 8cm

13 x 12 x 8cm

13 x 13 x 10cm

11 x 12 x 8cm

9 x 9 x 6cm

15 x 18 x 8cm

12 x 11x 6cm

9 x 11 x 5cm

13 x 13 x 7cm

13 x 10 x 4cm

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Presentation models

show the architect’s

ideas in the most direct

and representational

way. These can be

models of a building,

or a site plan or even

an entire city.

Exhibit 14

W. N. Chung Chartered Architect

(Chung Wah Nan Architects Ltd)

(Hong Kong) /

Chung Wah Nan (Hong Kong,

b. 1931)

Model of Peak Tower, The Upper

Terminal of the Peak Tramway

(1967-1972), Hong Kong

c.1969/2013

various materials

This photograph shows one of the

original models made during the

conception of the tower in the 1960s

that is now lost. The museum sought

the permission of the architect to

reproduce the model according to its

original drawings and plans, under

the supervision of the architect

himself and the original model

maker.

Exhibit 28

Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) /

Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China,

1936)

Site model for Metroplan,

West Kowloon Reclamation

Concept, Hong Kong

1988/ 2013

acrylic and card stock

A striking example of visionary architecture for

Hong Kong, Metroplan, West Kowloon

Reclamation Concept was developed in 1988

by architect Tao Ho with architecture and urban

design students at the University of Hong

Kong. It was undertaken in response to a

request by the Hong Kong government for

alternative ideas for a proposed land eclamation

project in the area now roughly occupied by the

West Kowloon Cultural District site.

Instead of infill, Ho and his students called for

building an extended deck over the harbour,

supported by caissons and forming an arm

linking Yau Ma Tei with Tsim Sha Tsui. While

creating a central spine for transportation and

other services, the deck would support flexible

and modular commercial development

alongside cultural and recreational amenities.

The plan is reminiscent of Japanese

Metabolism–which in the 1960s had proposed

transformable, floating megastructures—as

well as vernacular waterfront architecture. In

seeking to create an iconic attraction while

supporting area land values, Ho’s proposal was

responding to the commercial and market

imperatives of Hong Kong at the time.

Exhibit 37.2

MAD (China)

Beijing 2050: Tian’anmen Square

2006

wood, plastic and paint

For its Beijing 2050 project, the Chinese architecture firm

MAD proposed three hypothetical scenarios for Beijing in

the year 2050, this model shows one of which that called

for turning Tiananmen Square and Chang’an Avenue into

a park and green boulevard, respectively,

12

Plans

Presentation models show the architect’s ideas in the most direct and representational way. These can be models of a building, or a site plan or even

an entire city.

Showing a series of

horizontal layers of the

layout of a building

from above, floor

plans are one of the

most common types of

drawings an architect

uses for working out

how rooms and spaces

relate to each other.

Exhibit 22.2

Wong Ng Ouyang &

Associates (Hong Kong)

Typical floor plan of Hong

Kong Adventist Sanitarium-

Hospital (1967-1971), Hong

Kong

1968

print on paper

Gift of the Architects

The first hospital design by Hong Kong firm Wong & Ouyang, the Hong

Kong Adventist Sanitarium-Hospital conformed to its hilltop site with a

novel circular tower. The building’s radial, panoptic plan reflects a humanist

medical planning approach that was gaining currency at the time; perimeter

wards ring the central nurses’ stations, minimising the need for support

spaces while allowing direct sightlines between caretakers and patients.

Exhibit 22

Wong and Threadgill Architects &

Engineers (Wong Tung

& Partners Ltd, Hong Kong)

4th-19th floor plan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen

(1965-1978), Hong Kong

1966

print on paper

Gift of the Architects

Upon its completion in 1978, the Mei Foo housing estate was the

world's largest housing estate and Hong Kong's first self-contained

residential community. One of the innovative were its double-

cruciform-shaped towers, accessed from the three-storey podium,

which employed “scissor stairs” that provided the multiple means of

egress required by building codes while using the minimal amount of

space.

A site plan is a top-

down view of a

building in its

surrounding context,

including other

buildings, streets,

plants, and driveways.

They are often used to

show the relationship

of the building with

other buildings and

facilities in the

neighbourhood.

Exhibit 26.1

Wong Tung and Threadgill Architects and Engineers (Wong Tung &

Partners Ltd, Hong Kong)

Comprehensive plan for Taikoo Shing (1972-1988), Hong Kong

1973

print on paper

Wong & Tung & Associates (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd)

Masterplan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen

1973

documentation print on paper

Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd

Mei Foo housing estate comprised 99 blocks of 20-storey apartment

buildings for over 80,000 residents, and was pioneering in terms of

its scale, scope, and planning concepts. It was then the world’s

largest private high-density housing development and Hong Kong’s

first self-contained residential community, in which accommodation,

transport, retail and recreational facilities were stitched together via

an elevated continuous podium, making it a “city within a city”.

13

Presentation materials and publication

Other presentation materials include publications and notes produced by the architects where they explain a design to an audience such as a client.

Exhibit 15.1

Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936)

Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968-1977), Hong Kong

1981

31 photographic prints on cardboard

Documents

Other documents such as correspondence and paperwork reveal unknown aspects of the design and construction process that perhaps other

materials would not ordinarily address.

Exhibit 25

Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936)

Five letters between Tao Ho and the Building and Lands Department on the Container Office (1989-1992)

1986-1989

print on paper

Gift of the architect

14

Newspaper Cuttings

Newspaper clippings about the project provide a different angle in which the project is represented and perceived.

Chinese and English media coverage of the Peak Tower in 1967.

Photographs

Photographs are used to document and present the architectural project. They can be used as a reference on the site condition, or to present the

completed building.

Photograph of the site during construction

of Peak Tower

Photographs of Chung Wah Nan’s Peak

Tower

Exhibit 47

Iwan Baan

Bird’s Nest #3

2007

C-print

Exhibit 29

Ian Lambot (England, b. 1953)

Aerial view from south-west of Kowloon

Walled City, Hong Kong

1989/ 2013

bubble jet print on Moab gloss art

paper and Perspex

15

Video documentation

Video recordings are another way to document the physical space as one explores it, and are often used for research and documentation purposes

Exhibit 30

Suenn Ho (United States, born

Hong Kong, 1961)

Research Footage of Kowloon

Walled City, Hong Kong

1991

video

Duration: 90’ 00’’

Loaned from Cole Roskam

A fourteen hours of video footage taken while Suenn Ho meandered through the densely-packed community in Kowloon Walled City as part of a “video mapping” exercise for her

research project. Ho’s route offers voyeuristic glimpses, interspersed with snippets of conversation with various shopkeepers, at a time when Kowloon Walled City’s occupants

were beginning to relocate prior to its demolition.

Digital renderings

Computer-generated renderings are often used to present a virtual rendition envisioned by the architect, or to reconfigure a lost structure in digital

format.

Exhibit 41.2

OPEN Architecture (China)

2nd Ring Beijing 2049

(2009-2011)

2011

Dual-screen video

Duration: 9’ 58”

OPEN architecture presents their Beijing 2049: 2nd Ring proposal with the digital

representation where the city’s congested Second Ring Road is transformed into a

“green lung”

Exhibit 36

Cao Fei (China)

The Birth of RMB City

video simulation

2007

Gift of Sigg Collection

16

Chapter 2 Crossing Boundaries: Exchanges and Connections

As architecture transcends geographic and cultural border, what does it mean to be “local” and “global”?

Architecture transcends geographic and cultural borders, morphing and

evolving as it shifts among them.

By looking at the discipline’s complex flows of ideas and influences—for

example, the impact of European and American modernism on Hong

Kong and Asia; its localised adaptations, as seen in Chung Wah Nan’s

Peak Tower and Tao Ho’s Hong Kong Arts Centre; and the

appropriation, in turn, of vernacular typologies by designers from abroad,

as exemplified by Paul Rudolph’s Wisma Dharmala Sakti —

one can begin to understand how a multiplicity of architectural narratives

has shaped our interconnected global condition

INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

Make a list of architectural works that were designed by architects not

native to Hong Kong. Are there any such examples in the part of the city

you live in? Do you think the nationality of an architect matters? Does it

imply anything when the nationality of an architect is or is not

emphasised?

Consider Case Studies 1-4 as examples of cultural exchange. Think in

terms of the context where these architectural projects took place, and

the education and professional background of the architects.

Connections and contacts between different cultures are natural

occurrences in architectural practice. Reconsider the concepts of “local”

and “global” in the field of architecture. What does it mean to be local vs.

international? Do you think it is necessary to make a distinction between

the two?

Do these case studies change your views on the nature of influence in

architectural practice between West and East? Do they disrupt the

common hierarchy of “international” over “local”, or is such a

distinction irrelevant?

FURTHER REFERENCE

“Does the quest to participate in the emerging global, imported context have to be at the

expense of local knowledge?” – Mark Hoisted, “A Global Context for Local

Architecture”, Reports on AIA Committee Visit, Places/Design History Foundation and

American Institute of Architects, October 2001,

<http://places.designobserver.com/media/pdf/The_American_I_350.pdf>

“Localization [is] the other face of globalisation … Localisation is closely associated with

the politics of identity” – Robert Adam, “Architecture and Globalisation” (June 2007),

Architects’ Review, February 2008, http://www.adamarchitecture.com/images/PDFs/RA-

Globalisation.pdf

17

Image courtesy of Imperial Hotel

About Imperial Hotel (1916-1923), Tokyo, Japan

In 1913, the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright began work on one

of the largest, most complex and significant projects of his career: a new

building for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Designing everything from the

building and its ornaments to the interiors, furniture and dinner sets,

Wright, who is considered a quintessentially American modern architect,

showed his inventive originality, but also his capacity for absorbing

outside influences; while not directly attributable, traces of Japanese and

other traditions can be seen in Wright’s work. With the Imperial Hotel,

Wright left an imprint on Japan. But it can also be said that Japan and

other cultures left an imprint on Wright.

About Frank Lloyd Wright (United States, 1867- 1959)

Best known for his projects including the Guggenheim Museum in New

York and the Fallingwater residence in Pennsylvania, Wright’s “Prairie

Style” architecture was influential to American modernism and urbanism

on numerous levels.

Wright was particularly known to be an admirer and avid collector of

Japanese art, especially Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, helping the

Metropolitan Museum of Art and other American institutions develop

their collections. When Wright made his first trip outside the United

States in 1905, it was not, as one might expect, to Europe, but instead to

Japan.

Frank Lloyd Wright and staff in front of Imperial Hotel, 1922

Case Study 1 / Exhibit 7

Frank Lloyd Wright

Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

18

Exhibit 7.5

Detail of ornamental stone carving for stairwell, Imperial Hotel (1916 - 1923), Tokyo,

Japan

c.1920

graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper

In this drawing appear some handwritten lines of a Chinese poem at at the

corner, scribbled in non-native Chinese, probably by one of Wright’s

Japanese workmen or colleagues. Drawings reveal different aspect of the

design process as one look closer to the details.

DISCUSSION

What does the drawing reveal about the cultural ties and relationship

between the American architect and the Japanese team?

Wright is just one of countless examples of how trans-cultural influences

have long shaped architecture, a discipline that has only become more

global ever since. What makes architecture “local” or “global,” and what

does that distinction mean? Are the terms “local” and “global” really

contradictory in meaning as they might appear? Are these terms relevant

to a time when architectural practice is increasingly collaborative and

trans-bordered?

ACTIVTIY

Go out and sketch buildings in Hong Kong, whether modern or historic.

Are there elements in the buildings you have chosen that reflect

influences from other cultures? Who are the architects behind these

designs?

FURTHER REFERENCE

“Frank Lloyd Wright – Wright in Japan”, The Westcott House Foundation,

<http://www.westcotthouse.org/wright_in_japan.html>

Kathryn Smith, “Frank Lloyd Wright and the Imperial Hotel: A Postscript”, The Art Bulletin, <

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3050913>

19

Exhibit 7.1

Drawing for stonework, underside of eaves, Imperial Hotel (1916 - 1923),

Tokyo, Japan

c. 1922

graphite and ink on vellum

Exhibit 7.2

Diagram of soffit, Imperial Hotel (1916 - 1923), Tokyo, Japan

c. 1920

graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper

Main entrance with frontal pond

Photo of the Theater

20

Exhibit 7.3

Drawing for ornamental block of the foyer fireplace, Imperial Hotel (1916 - 1923),

Tokyo, Japan

c. 1920

graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper

Exhibit 7.4

Detail for ornamental block of the theatre balcony stone railing, Imperial Hotel

(1916 - 1923), Tokyo, Japan

c. 1920

graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper

View of the promanade

View of the Banquet Halls

Garden View

21

About Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) (1983 - 1985), Jakarta,

Indonesia

The Wisma Dharmala Sakti tower in Jakarta is an important example of

the American architect Paul Rudolph’s significant body of work in

Southeast Asia in the 1980s. It was during this period, when he was

facing professional difficulties in the United States, that the innovative

modernist also designed the Bond Centre (now Lippo Centre) in Hong

Kong and the Colonnade and Concourse in Singapore.

The building exemplifies the virtuosic forms, urbanistic concerns and

climatic sensitivities for which Rudolph was known. Its rotated floor

plates and deep, canted overhangs, borrowed from indigenous Indonesian

dwellings, shield offices from direct sunlight and provide terraces on all

floors while giving the tower its striking silhouette. Planters cascade

towards the forest of paired structural columns supporting the podium-

level atrium, making the building a vertical garden within Jakarta’s

central business district.

About the Paul Rudolph (United States, 1918 - 1997)

Paul Rudolph was one of the most prominent architects of the 1950s and

1960s whose complex interior spaces and brutal use of concrete helped

define the modernism of that period. Having gained renown for his home

designs early on while living in Florida, his best-known work is perhaps

the building for the Yale School of Art and Architecture (1964), where he

served as dean from 1958 to 1964. Among his students at Yale happened

to be Norman Foster. By the late 1970s, however, he turned his attention

to Southeast Asia, where his brand of modernism, and its suitability for

tropical climates, was embraced while his work had fallen out of favour

in the US. Significant projects in this region include the Wimsa

Dharmala Tower (1988), Jakarta, the Bond Centre (now Lippo Centre) in

Hong Kong (1988), and the Colonnade (1987) and Concourse (1994), in

Singapore. With their intricate, interlocking spaces and atria, these

buildings have influenced numerous other designs throughout the region.

Case Study 2 / Exhibit 12

Paul Rudolph

Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower), Jakarta, Indonesia

22

Exhibit 12.1

Exterior perspective of Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) (1983 - 85), Jakarta,

Indonesia

1984

ink on vellum

Exhibit 12.2

Exterior perspective of atrium of Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) (1983 - 1985),

Jakarta, Indonesia

c. 1983

coloured pencil on tracing paper

DISCUSSION

Paul Rudolph looks to local and

vernacular architecture for

inspiration for his designs. Why do

you think it is important to study

traditional architecture as a reference?

What can we learn from buildings

derived from a long history of design

and metamorphosis? Do you think an

architecture that reveal the culture,

history, or the identity of the place offer a deeper bonding with the people?

Can you think of other modern buildings that reference traditional

building design and features? Gather such examples and discuss whether

the merging of the traditional with modern design works. Think of the

intention of such approach, the function and aesthetic of the result.

< Perspective Drawing of Bond Centre (Lippo Centre)

Paul Rudolph’s buildings in Hong Kong have a

direct impact on the subsequent work of Wong

and Ouyang group, which was Rudolph’s local

design partner on the Bond Centre.

Compare the design of these two buildings. In

what ways do the designs reference Rudolph’s

style? Discuss your views on the cultural

exchange between foreign architects and those at

local firms. As architectural practice is

increasingly cross-boundary in nature, what does it mean to be labelled

“local” or “international”? Are these terms relevant nowadays?

Select an ancient building form that interests you most and study its

features. Think of new ways these features could be incorporated into a

new building in our contemporary era. Come up with your own design,

and present it with drawings, models or other materials. Explain how you

could learn from previous designs.

^Indonesian landed tropical villages

23

About Peak Tower, The Upper Terminal of the Peak Tramway (1967-

1972), Hong Kong

The now-demolished Peak Tower designed

by Chung Wah Nan was a key landmark of

Hong Kong, and one of the city's most

daring and highly engineered structures at

the time of its completion. While clearly in

the modern idiom, it was also designed to

evoke the watchtower of an ancient Chinese

wall, firmly anchored at its base but

seemingly floating at the top.

The news of its commissioned came about in

1967, providing a much needed boost and

discussion point for the city at a time when it

was politically and economically strained by

the Cultural Revolution occurring in China.

When it officially opened on 29 August

1972, the Tower’s ‘restaurants-in-the-clouds’

and indoor-outdoor observation decks

immediately made it not just a major tourist

lure but also a dramatic part of the Hong

Kong skyline. Reported to symbolise the

city's 'sky-high confidence in the future', the

Tower was celebrated by having its image

printed on the 500 HKD note.

About Chung Wah Nan (Hong Kong, b. 1931)

After graduating from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London in

1959, Chung started private practice in 1964 and later teamed up with

British architect Alan Fitch, one of the designers of City Hall, to form

Fitch & Chung. The partnership lasted until 1985. While working in the

modernist vein, Chung, who is also known for his writings on traditional

Chinese architecture and landscape design, has been influential in

attempting to infuse modernism with historical Chinese concepts.

DISCUSSION

What do you think of the design? Did you know the Peak Tower looked

like this? What are the similar elements between the Peak Tower and a

Chinese watchtower? Discuss how the architect has modernise the

ancient building type by adopt the features to its design of a viewing

tower. Why do you think he decide to reference and adopt such design

features?

Also refer to Hong Kong Arts Centre in Case Study 4 as another

comparative case study on this topic

What sort of impact does a high-profile building project have on a city?

Can you think of other buildings or architectural projects of similar

impact? What effects will they have on the city? What messages do these

projects, whether they are in the stage of merely being announced, in

construction or completed. Refer to media coverage of such architectural

projects, how are they described and represented?

Refer to p. 24 to 26 for newspaper cuttings of the announcement of the

building of Peak Tower in 1969 for the discussion.

Case Study 3 / Exhibit 14

W. N. Chung Chartered Architect (Chung Wah Nan Architects Ltd) (Hong Kong) / Chung Wah Nan

Peak Tower, The Upper Terminal of the Peak Tramway, Hong Kong, China

24

25

26

27

Chapter 3 Designing for the City: Constraints and Creative Solutions

What are the urban strategies – how do we respond to environmental and spatial constraints?

The city acts as a laboratory: social, economic and political forces

converge with land pressures and other variables to test the built

environment and its effect on how people and communities function,

interact and transform.

Urban strategies can manifest in any number of ways, whether highly-

planned, as with Wong Tung’s comprehensively-designed Mei Foo

Housing Estate; surgical, as with Urbanus’ speculative Urban Village

studies; or informal and extra-legal, as with the Kowloon Walled City.

They can also produce inventive approaches to infrastructure and spatial

efficiency, at scales ranging from Andrew Lee’s space-saving Scissor

Staircase to DLN’s “stacked” ATL Logistics Centre. On the other hand,

Tao Ho’s unauthorised Container Office helps illustrate the frictions that

sometimes arise between design and bureaucracy in a highly regulated

environment.

INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

Restrictions and constraints at times invite people to push boundaries and

think outside the box to come up with great design solutions. Discuss

your views on the notion of freedom and control in relation to creativity.

Would you prefer to respond to certain parameters as a way to stimulate

ideas, or would you rather have complete freedom in creating? Think in

terms of a number of creative fields including art, writing, and

performance.

When considering Hong Kong as a site for construction, what sort of

restraints do the unique features of the city impose? Refer to Case

Studies 3-6.

How do architects respond to our cityscape through their projects? How

do these finished designs reflect the living conditions of Hong Kong?

Consider elements of density, verticality and efficiency that are

distinctive of Hong Kong’s built environment as a response to regulations,

lack of space and resources. While natural or man-made, can some of

these restrictions be avoided through planning and consideration of land

allocation policy?

What is the architect’s role facing such restraints? How do they shape the

city in this regard? How can restrictions and challenges be transformed

into assets?

FURTHER REFERENCE

“Town Planning”, Planning Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, June 2013,

<http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/town_planning.pdf>

“Urban Design Guide for Hong Kong”, Planning Department, Hong Kong SAR

Government, November 2002,

<http://www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/p_study/comp_s/udg/udg_es/udg_es_eng.pdf>

“Becoming a Planner: What Planners Do?”, American Planning association,

<http://www.planning.org/ncpm/pdf/UrbanPlannerExcerpt.pdf>

28

About Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968 - 1977), Hong Kong

Having been given only a small piece of reclaimed land measuring 30 m2,

Tao Ho managed to realise a vision of the centre for contemporary arts in

the city. The reclaimed land was too soft for construction, and the

reinforced-concrete building was finally constructed atop of a 2-metre

thick concrete raft supported by more than 300 piles.

Ho managed to pack and stack a 200-

seat recital hall, a 100-seat studio

theatre, a rehearsal room, a 463-seat

theatre, a sizable exhibition gallery

with sculpture terrace, spaces for

restaurants, a member’s club, artists’

studios, musical practice rooms, and

offices functioning as rentable spaces

to support the arts centre.

Sandwiched between two large

buildings, there is no access from two

sides. In response, Ho created a plan

with an L-shaped service core that

runs on two sides to accommodate

staircases, lifts, lavatories, mechanical

equipment, and storerooms. With this plan, an impressive vertical and

asymmetrical foyer was also created.

In this promotional book published by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, one

can find some of the elements that contributed to the design, along with

still shots of the building and its interior when it opened in the late 1970s.

About Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936)

Dr. Tao Ho attended Williams College, majoring in art history. He went

on to pursue a master degree in architecture at Harvard University and

was once a personal assistant to Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius. After

a decade of architecture practice in the US, he returned to Hong Kong and

became a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, bringing the

design infrastructure and sophistication he found in the States to Hong

Kong. He also played a key role in the development of the Hong Kong

Institute of Architects (HKIA). In 1968, he founded Taoho Design, Hong

Kong’s first native multidisciplinary design studio. Moved among various

disciplines and thrived in combining an active public life with wide-

ranging personal interests, he is one of the world’s most renowned

architects as well has having been a prolific contemporary artist while in

Hong Kong.

Case Study 4 / Exhibit 15

Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho

Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong

29

Exhibit 15.1

Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968 - 1977), Hong Kong

1981

Selected from 31 photographic prints on cardboard

ACTIVITY

Faced with the difficulties of a site with limited space and asked to design

a complex containing shops, galleries, theatres, studios rooms, and office

space, Tao Ho realised his innovative and ingenious design solution for

the Arts Centre that stacked up various spaces in this small corner

footprint.

Select a three-dimensional object and trace its form, viewing it from the

sides, on a piece of paper. Now consider the shape as the elevation of a

complex building.

Decide what the building’s function will be: a residential complex,

university, hospital, shopping mall or other. Use the sketch to create a

cross-section of the building.

Plan the use of space within the building. Think of what spaces will be

needed, how people will use them and the relation between different

spaces and the circulation of people.

30

Exhibit 15.1

Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968 - 1977), Hong Kong

1981

Selected from 31 photographic prints on cardboard

31

Exhibit 15.1

Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre (1968 - 1977), Hong Kong

1981

Selected from 31 photographic prints on cardboard

ACTIVTIY

Tao Ho’s design references a Chinese pagoda in its stacking design.

Shown in his publication porfolio are references that inspired his design

for the Arts Centre.

Look for magazine spread with elements that interest you, and write

down what strikes you about the images.

Take an element and convert it into an idea for a structure.

Keep a scrapbook of ideas whenever you are designing and creating.

Ideas and inspiration often comes from the most unexpected places.

Refer to the Peak Tower in Case Study 2 for a comparison on how

architects look to traditional buildings as reference and inspiration.

FURTHER REFERENCE

Tao Ho Design Website, <http://www.taoho.com>

“Milestone, History of the Hong Kong Arts Centre”, Hong Kong Arts Centre,

<http://www.hkac.org.hk/en/milestones.php>

32

About Electric House ( Kennedy Road Substation) (1967 - 1970), Hong

Kong

Conceived by architect James Kinoshita and structural engineer Heinz Rust

of Palmer & Turner (now P&T Group), Electric House was an electrical

substation consisting of two piers supporting a horizontal building that

elegantly bridged a valley, with a stream running beneath. On top, two

parabolic hoods received and protected high tension cables coming from

the surrounding hills. Palmer & Turner (P&T Group) (Hong Kong)

During the building’s early stages of construction, directors of Hong

Kong Electric, the client, decided to move the company's headquarters to

Electric House, turning what was meant to be a purely pragmatic

switching station into a point of company pride.

Image courtesy of P&T Group

About James H. Kinoshita (Canada)

James H. Kinoshita is a Japanese Canadian architect and traveller, born in

Vancouver, Canada. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the

University of Manitoba, and Master of Architecture from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked for three years in

America before setting off for Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, he got a job with Palmer and Turner, an established

international architectural engineering firm with a practice widely

respected in the South East Asia. He has been involved in projects in

Indonesia, Singapore, Hawaii, and Sydney. When China started to open

its doors in 1978, he became involved in China, recalling the firm's past

glory of the many buildings they designed along the Bund in Shanghai.

His significant projects in Hong Kong include the Hong Kong Hilton,

America International Assurance, Jardine House, the Hong Kong

Polytechnic University, and the Landmark. He is now retired and lives in

Hong Kong.

Image courtesy of P&T Group

Case Study 5 / Exhibit 18

Palmer & Turner (P&T Group) (Hong Kong) / James H. Kinoshita

Electric House (Kennedy Road Substation), Hong Kong

33

Image courtesy of P&T Group

DISCUSSION

What is the relationship between the form and function of a building?

Can you think of buildings that are remarkable for overcoming structural

and technical challenges while also being striking in their form?

ACTIVITY

Using two different cards, each person comes up with a building design

and a location. Imagine the type of building, as well. Will it be located in

a valley, in the middle of the ocean? Will it be a hospital, a school, a

residence? The sky is the limit.

Behind each respective card, jot down qualities of the location and the

building including site limitations, and specific building features.

Collect the two sets of cards and shuffle them.

Each person draws a card from each pile.

Design a building according to the location and the building type,

responding to the limitations set out on the back of the selected card.

FURTHER REFERENCE

P&T Group Website, <http://www.p-t-group.com/profile.php>

34

About Hollywood Terrace (1987- 1999), Hong Kong

The dense and textured fabric of Hong Kong’s Central-Western District

calls for a careful response to the urban environment, and an intricate

appropriation between private and public realms. A system of public

spaces is developed in the form of a series of landscaped gardens and

terraces that, together with the punctuating stairs and lifts, form an

elaborate twenty-four-hour pedestrian access connecting Queen’s Road

Central with Hollywood Road through and within the site. As the public

thoroughfare interweaves spatially with private pathways, movement

remains physically independent, connected only through an interesting

play of visual empathies.

Gift of the architects

About Rocco Yim (Hong Kong, b. 1952)

Rocco Yim is one of Hong Kong’s most prominent architects, known for

buildings that respond sensitively and inventively to the topographical,

urbanistic, and infrastructural conditions of their context, especially in

Hong Kong. Graduated from the University of Hong Kong, Yim initially

joined the firm of Spence Robinson before starting his own practice in

1979. Soon thereafter, in 1983, he earned international attention as one of

three first-prize winners in the competition to design the new Bastille

opera house in Paris.

Yim’s buildings are studies in geometry and spatial relationships,

evolving through addition and subtraction in response to programmatic,

aesthetic-compositional and urbanistic requirements. Strong volumetric

solids shift alongside voids; spaces become multi-layered, linked from

both within and without. Yim has also investigated the reconciliation of

his modern design vocabulary with historical Chinese practices and

references. His Bamboo pavilion of 2000, in Berlin, created a decidedly

contemporary expression of traditional bamboo construction. More

recently, he has explored courtyard typologies, as is the case with his

Distorted Courtyard House (2002) in Beijing, and metaphorical devices,

as seen in his Guangdong Museum (2010).

Case Study 6 / Exhibit 24

Rocco Design Architects / Rocco Yim

Hollywood Terrace, Hong Kong

35

Documentaiton prints of the site plan of Hollywood Terrace

DISCUSSION

What does public space really mean? Discuss this term from the

government, developers, and citizen’s perspectives. How could we strike

a balance between their views?

ACTIVITY

As a group, select a district in Hong Kong.

Visit the district and sketch an overview map. Consider choosing a

landmark as a starting point for exploration, and a central point for the

map.

As you wander the city, think of how public and private places are

connected and defined by the spatial and architectural designs. How are

different spaces “created” in a dense district?

Notice human activities as you visit, such as the circulation and

movement of people, and their interactions with the many spaces in the

area. What effects does spatial design have on human activities?

Evaluate and examine the planning of the district, is there room for

improvement?

36

About Mei Foo Sun Chuen (1965 - 1978), Hong Kong

When it was largely completed in 1978, the Mei Foo housing estate

comprised 99 blocks of 20-storey apartment buildings for over 80,000

residents, and was pioneering in terms of its scale, scope, and planning

concepts. It was then the world’s largest private high-density housing

development and Hong Kong’s first self-contained residential community,

in which accommodation, transport, retail and recreational facilities were

stitched together via an elevated continuous podium, making it a “city

within a city”. Also innovative were its double-cruciform-shaped towers,

accessed from the three-storey podium, which employed “scissor stairs”

that provided the multiple means of egress required by building codes

while using the minimal amount of space.

Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd

Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd

About Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung &

Partners Ltd, Hong Kong)

Wong Tung & Partners was founded in Hong Kong in 1963 by Shanghai-

born Americans, Bill Wong and Albert Tung. It has affiliated practices

around the globe. The company made its mark internationally in the late

1960s when it was commissioned to create a master plan and design for

the Mei Foo Sun Chuen housing estate (1965 - 1978).

Case Study 7 / Exhibit 22

Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong)

Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Hong Kong

37

Masterplan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen

1973

documentation print on paper

Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd

DISCUSSION

Why it is important to consider the context in which a building will be

built? How does urban planning affect people’s daily lives?

ACTIVITY

A building is not an island, but should be considered in terms of its

context and surrounding community.

How does your home or estate relate to what's around it? Draw a map of

your neighbourhood to understand these relationships. Start by visually

tracking your daily routines on the map.

Look at what makes up this particular neighbourhood and evaluate your

neighbourhood from the point of view of urban planning by making notes

of how the roads, shops, houses and other facilities are planned.

What makes an environment comfortable and what annoys you? What is

ingenious and what leaves you unimpressed? Is there room for

improvement? What suggestions can you make?

38

Exhibit 22

4th-19th floor plan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen (1965 - 1978),

Hong Kong

1966

print on paper

Gift of the Architects

DISCUSSION

The double-cruciform-shaped floor plan design allows each residential

unit to have at least two or three sides that open out, allowing circulation

and access to daylight. It also places service facilities including stairs,

elevators, and garbage collection at the centre of each cross, eliminating

the need for wasteful narrow corridors that were common in previous

residential building designs.

This design solution is a direct respond to the dense living condition of

Hong Kong by creating a more effective use of space. Such examples of

creative solutions are all around us. Look for any kind of such gestures,

small or large, that improve our way of life.

Refer to the Kowloon Walled City in Case Study 6 for comparison on

such urban strategies. Think about intention and unintentional design

solutions, and the planned and unplanned organisation of communities.

39

\

About Kowloon Walled City

Due to a historical anomaly, the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City

existed under the full jurisdiction of neither the Chinese nor British

colonial governments. This made it an extraordinary enclave, known for

its lawlessness and unregulated development—but also for its vitality as a

community of migrants, refugees and others inhabiting what was thought

to be the most crowded piece of land in the world. The Kowloon Walled

City was one of the most remarkable architectural and urbanistic

developments, informal or otherwise, to have been part of Hong Kong’s

built environment.

ACTIVITY

Interview members of your family’s older generation regarding their

impressions of the Kowloon Walled City. Ask them about the reputation

of the place, and what the place was like.

Draw your impression of the Walled City according to what you have

heard and seen. What is your impression of the famous Kowloon Walled

City?

Refer to the photograph by Ian Lambot (Exhibit 29) and video by Suenn

Ho (Exhibit 30) and compare how you imagined the place with the

documentation materials.

What is the importance of these documentation materials? If these

materials did not exist, how else could we perceive the demolished city?

Is it important to keep records of places like the Kowloon Walled City?

While there is a need to develop and regenerate the city, whether for

regulatory or economic reasons, what factors must be considered when

deciding to tear down buildings and structures that might have historical

and cultural value?

Case Study 8 / Exhibit 29-30

Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

40

Exhibit 29

Ian Lambot (England, b. 1953)

Aerial view from south-west of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

1989/ 2013

bubble jet print on Moab gloss art paper and Perspex

About Aerial view from south west of Kowloon Walled City ( 1989), Hong

Kong

Beginning in 1988, the photographer Ian Lambot spent four years

documenting Kowloon Walled City, an enclave in Hong Kong that was

claimed by both the British colonial and Chinese governments and

consequently existed under the actual jurisdiction of neither. Accordingly,

it became known for its lawlessness and unregulated development—but

also for its vitality as a community of migrants, refugees and others

inhabiting what was thought to be the most crowded piece of land in the

world. Lambot’s aerial view captures Kowloon Walled City’s dense,

informal development before its demolition began in 1993.

About Ian Lambot, (England, b,1953)

Ian Lambot is a British-born architecture photographer who originally

trained as an architect. He moved to Hong Kong in 1979 and remained in

the city for 20 years. During his time here, he worked for Norman Foster

and Partners on the early stages of that firm’s design of the HSBC

building, and set up an architectural model-making studio before

becoming a freelance architecture photographer. In his latter role, he

documented the construction of the HSBC building extensively.

Collaborating with Greg Girard, he spent four years exploring the

Kowloon Walled City before its demolition, and published the book City

of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City, which features 320

photographs, 32 extended interviews, and an essay on the City’s history

and character.

DISCUSSION

The vertical village structure of the Kowloon Walled City manifested

organically as the tenants and landlords altered and shaped their living

environment as a natural response to the high level of living density that

the place was famous for.

Think of growth in terms of a city: cities grow and adapt to changes to

suit various needs of the community and society. Straddling a position

between chaos and order, what can an architect learn from an exceptional

case of organic growth that is the Kowloon Walled City?

41

Exhibit 30

Suenn Ho (United States, 1961)

Research Footage of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

1991

video

Duration: 90’ 00’’

Loaned from Cole Roskam

About Research Footage of Kowloon Walled City ( 1991), Hong Kong

While as a Fulbright Scholar in 1991- 1992, the architect Suenn Ho

undertook a 10-month research project studying Kowloon Walled City.

Included was over fourteen hours of video footage taken while Ho

meandered through the densely-packed community as part of a “video

mapping” exercise. Ho’s route offers voyeuristic glimpses, interspersed

with snippets of conversation with various shopkeepers, at a time when

Kowloon Walled City’s occupants were beginning to relocate prior to its

demolition.

About Suenn Ho (United States, 1961)

Suenn Ho, an American architect and urban designer, received her

Bachelor of Arts from Williams College and her Master of Architecture

from Columbia University. Ho was the designer and public outreach

coordinator who helped redo Old Town/Chinatown along 3rd

and 4th

Avenues in Portland. In 1995, Ho received a research grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts to investigate the distinct physical and

visual patterns of historic urban Chinatowns in Boston, New York,

Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. As one of the founding

members of Northgate Group LLC, she was actively involved in the first

Asian-friendly senior housing project in Portland's Chinatown Pacific

Tower. She has also served on the board of the Portland Classical

Chinese Garden and was a board member of the Chinese American

Citizens Alliance as well as Transition Project Inc. In 2004, she joined

MulvannyG2 Architecture as a Senior Architect. Besides her roles as an

architectural and urban designer, Ho has also taught architecture at

Columbia College, and the University of Hong Kong, University of

Oregon, and Portland State University.

DISCUSSION In the preface to her research publication, An architectural study on the

Kowloon Walled City: Preliminary findings, Ho notes her interests in

studying “the interrelationship between the Walled City’s architecture

and its inhabitants”1, a reminder of the people who live there that gave

vitality to the place, and who shaped the environment.

What stories have you heard about the Kowloon Walled City? What are

your impressions of it as a “non-designed” place? In what ways do you

shape your own environment? Please write down and share examples of

other spaces that are used in ways that are perhaps unintentional.

1 Suenn Ho, An Architectural Study on The Kowloon Walled City Preliminary Findings,

Hong Kong, 1993

42

Extra notes:

Twenty years after its demolition, the Kowloon Walled City has been, and still remains, a

fascinating architectural and urban phenomenon that continues to captivate architects,

designers and others around the world. During the early 90s, different people have tried to

document and study the intriguing structure and spatial development, as well as its

community.

Recently, there have been various attempts to represent and recreate the city (The South

China Morning Post published a feature on the Kowloon Walled City in 2013, 20th

anniversary of its demolition2; while an arcade in Japan was created modelled on the

Walled City3). Can you look for more of such re-creations and adaptations? What do you

think of these re-presentations of a lost space? Consider the intention and accuracy of

such representations

2 “Kowloon Walled City: Life in the City of Darkness”, South China Morning Post, Hong

Kong, 16 March, 2013. 3 “Arcade brings Kowloon Walled City back from the dead… in Japan”, South China

Morning Post, Hong Kong, 1 October, 2013,

<http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1321559/arcade-brings-kowloon-walled-city-

back-dead-japan>

FURTHER REFERENCE

“3D 九龍城砦 kowloon walled city”, We are making 3D model of Kowloon Walled City,

5th Oct 2013, <http://3d.kowloon-walled-city.info/top/en>

"MulvannyG2 Architecture Welcomes Suenn Ho as Senior Designer", MulvannyG2

Architecture website, <http://www.mulvannyg2.com/en-

us/ink/NewsItem.aspx?From=Archive&Category=1&ItemID=125>

“Suenn Ho Champions Old Town Chinatown”, Old Town Chinatown Crier: The Crier,

Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association, Fall Edition, 2005,

<http://www.oldtownchinatown.org/pdf/newsletter-2005-fall.pdf>

Barbara Basler, “Hong Kong Journal; The Walled City, Home to Huddled Masses, Falls”,

The New York Times, 16th Jun 1992, <http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/16/world/hong-

kong-journal-the-walled-city-home-to-huddled-masses-falls.html>

EDW Lynch, “Photos of the Final Years of Hong Kong’s Notoriously Overcrowded

Kowloon Walled City”, Laughing Squid, 24th Sept 2013,

<http://laughingsquid.com/photos-of-the-final-years-of-hong-kongs-notoriously-

overcrowded-kowloon-walled-city/>

Rebekah Rhoden, “Kowloon Walled City Photographed by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot”,

Lost At E Minor, 27th Sept 2013, <http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/09/27/kowloon-

walled-city-photographed-by-greg-girard-and-ian-lambot/>

Julian Ryall, "Arcade brings Kowloon Walled City back from the dead … in

JapanKowloon's infamous slum is recreated in an amusement park in Kawasaki - from its

eerie, narrow corridors right down to the rubbish", South China Morning Post Publishers

Ltd., 1st Oct 2013, <http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1321559/arcade-brings-

kowloon-walled-city-back-dead-japan>

43

Chapter 4 Making Iconic Buildings: Conception and Representation

How is an “image” of a building created, and used?

Architecture and locality exist in a state of tension, with each defining the

other through a range of complex mechanisms.

In its iconic, highly-mediated form, architecture plays a central role in the

image-making of a city, as contemplated in Andreas Gursky’s photograph

of the HSBC building and Iwan Baan’s image of Beijing’s Bird’s Nest

stadium. Architecture also draws, and sometimes improvises, on

indigenous materials, typologies and techniques—for example, Rocco

Yim’s Bamboo Pavilion, Urbanus’ Urban Tulou, and Ai Weiwei’s

Caochangdi Home and Studio – while providing responses to the

immediacy of a localised situation; Jiakun Architects’ Rebirth Brick

project was a rapid reaction, using the materials at hand, to the 2008

earthquake in Sichuan province.

INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

How is an image of a building created through photographic

representation? How are elements emphasised and for what purpose?

How does architecture represent and shape the identity of a city?

Consider the qualities that various iconic buildings are designed to

embody and represent of their place. Why are some buildings more

“iconic” than others?

What are other reasons for creating an impact with architectural projects?

Are there different ways of telling the stories of architecture? Are there

other purposes that the making of architectural “images” can serve? Refer

to the Rebirth Brick Project in Case Study 11.

ACTIVTIY

Pick a well-known building. Present the building to others with a

selection of five images. Focus on why you have selected these particular

five images to represent the building. How do you think they best

represent the building?

How does a photograph present an architectural building as an object, as

part of a city, on its own, and in terms of utility? Focus on the viewing

distance, the presence or absence of human activity, how the photograph

is framed etc.

FURTHER REFERENCE

Dear Deyan, “Can we still believe in iconic buildings?”, Prospect Publishing, 26th Mar

2005,

<http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/canwestillbelieveiniconicbuildings/#.Usm

mR9IW18E>

Rich Heap, "Iconic Buildings: Only We Can Decide", The Global Community for 21st

Century City Decision Makers, 14th Jun 2013,

<http://www.ubmfuturecities.com/author.asp?section_id=242&doc_id=525200>

Dessen Hillman, "How To Make Architecture, Not Art", ArchDaily, 1st Mar 2013,

<http://www.archdaily.com/337603/how-to-make-architecture-not-art/>

Fred Kent, "Toward an Architecture of Place: Moving Beyond Iconic to Extraordinary",

Project for Public Spaces, <http://www.pps.org/reference/toward-an-architecture-of-

place-moving-beyond-iconic-to-extraordinary/>

44

Extra notes:

Can you name these iconic buildings and the cities they belong to:

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Louvre Museum, Paris,

Empire State Building, New York

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Taj Mahal, Agra

The Coliseum, Rome

Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Palace of Westminster, London

Sydney Opera House, Sydney

CCTV Headquarters, Beijing

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao

Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong

45

Iwan Baan’s architectural photographs approach even the most iconic

building as not isolated and detached objects, but as sites of human

activity. Baan’s images of two of the most famous examples of

contemporary architecture in China – Herzog & de Meuron’s “Bird’s Nest”

stadium in Beijing and Zaha Hadid Architects’ Guangzhou Opera

House—attest to Baan’s observational acuity, capturing the sometimes

disjunctive relationship between architectural ambition and reality.

Exhibit 48

Guangzhou Opera House #1

2010

C-Print

About Iwan Baan (Netherlands, b. 1975)

Iwan Baan is perhaps the most prominent and sought-after architectural

photographer of his generation. Instead of approaching buildings as

isolated and detached objects, he established a technique that positions

even the most iconic examples of architecture in their human and spatial

contexts. Working frequently for architects from Wang Shu and Ma

Yansong to OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, and

Steven Holl, Baan has, perhaps more than any of his peers, documented

the astonishing development of architecture in China, and in other parts of

the world, at the turn of the 21st century.

DICUSSION

Baan has also taken photographs of the same building without the

audience. Search for the image and compare the two. Discuss the

differences in styles and messages presented. Take a photo of the same

building at varying distances with and without people, and then compare

the differences.

How do scale and the relation between the human and the building affect

the feel of the photograph?

Have you ever considered why photographs of buildings are often devoid

of people and human activity? What difference does it make?

Do you prefer the grandeur of the architectural object glorified by the

photographic medium, or the real life stories that are associated with the

building revealed through the mediated lens of the photographer? What

different purposes do these two approaches serve?

ACTIVITY

Study the people in the image. What do you suppose these people are

thinking? Think of how they might react to the design of the space. Write

a script of their thoughts and act it out.

Case Study 9 / Exhibit 47-48

Iwan Baan

Bird’s Nest #3 and Guangzhou #1

46

Exhibit 47

Birds Nest #3 2007

C-print

Iwan Baan is known for revealing the multiple and layered stories of

architecture in his images of buildings and cities. This photograph of the

Bird’s Nest stadium, taken while it was still under construction for the

2008 Beijing Olympics, shifts attention from that famous structure to the

workers who are building it. In this way, Baan gives pause for reflection:

largely anonymous, invisible and forgotten, the labourers can be seen

watching television, taking a break from erecting an iconic building that is

itself being built, in large part, for media consumption.

DISCUSSION

Search for other representations of the Bird’s Nest and compare it with this

image. What are the similarities and differences? What different stories

does each image tell of the same building?

Through his lens, the photographer invites you to look at buildings

differently. What are the stories of these construction workers? Who are

the other behind-the-scenes people who make buildings like the “Bird’s

Nest” possible? Imagine what they think of the building that they are

constructing. Does considering their roles make you think about buildings

differently?

Putting the focus on different types of audiences, to whom do you think

the image of these iconic buildings are “made” for?

Focus on a number of high-profile building projects. Discuss the nature of

image-making, and the impact it has on architural practice, nowasdays.

What do you think of the nickname “Bird’s Nest”? What other buildings

have nicknames? Can you think of any? How do they help create an

image of the building? For example, The Absolute Tower in Case Study 15

was nicknamed "Marilyn Monroe" tower due to its curvaceous, hourglass

figure. Think of other buildings with which you can associate with

something else.

FURTHER REFERENCE

Iwan Baan Website, Preview of the construction of the National Stadium - The Main

Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing,

<http://iwan.com/photo_National_Olympic_Stadium_Beijing_2008_Herzog_&_de_Meuro

n.php>

Karen Burshten, “Top 13 Nicnames for Iconic Buildings”, The Daily Traveller, 18 May,

2012, <http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2012/05/architecture-buildings-best-

nicknames>

47

Exhibit 50

Andreas Gursky

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank 1994

1994

C-print

About Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (1994), Hong Kong

The renowned photographer Andreas Gursky’s image of the HSBC

building in Hong Kong inverts that architectural icon by capturing it at

night. The innovative structural system that makes the building instantly

recognisable becomes lost in the shadows, supplanted by its grid of

windows, which are lit from behind to reveal the activities inside. Taken in

the large format for which the artist is known, the photograph points to

Gursky’s rigorous approach and interests in sites of globalisation.

About Andreas Gursky (Germany, b.1955)

Andrea Gursky is a visual artist who currently lives and works in

Dusseldorf, Germany. Gurksy studied photography in Folkwangschule in

Essen under Otto Steinert between 1978 and 1981, then at the

Kunstakademine Dusseldorf in Germany from 1981 to 1987 under Hilla

and Bernd Becher. Andreas Gursky has participated in numerous solo and

group exhibitions at major cultural institutions including “Andreas Gursky”

at the Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast (Dusseldorf, 2012), “50 Artists, 50

Years” at the MOMA (New York, 2012), “The Inverted Mirror” at the

Guggenheim (Bilbao, 2012), “Postmoderism: Style and Subersion, 1970 to

1990” at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2012), Venice

Biennale in 1990 and in 2004, the Biennale of Sydney in 1996 and 2000.

He is exhibiting two solo shows at the National Art Center in Tokyo (2013)

and at the National Museum of Art in Osaka (2014).

DISCUSSION

What new perspectives and impressions does this photograph of one of

Hong Kong’s iconic buildings provide you?

With his play of light and darkness, the photographer distils the building,

which is often represented it its iconic skeletal form, to an abstraction that

highlights its interior activities. Take photographs of other iconic buildings

in your part of the city from unexpected angles or with unusual

composition to produce images that differ from the usual representation of

the building. Think of what you are emphasising beside the architecture.

Are there stories and messages you want to tell others with this image?

Case Study 10 / Exhibit 50

Andres Gursky

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank 1994

48

About Rebirth Brick (2008 –)

The Rebirth Bricks project started as a response to the 2008 Wenchuan

earthquake in Sichuan province. Developed to assist the rebuilding effort,

especially in rural areas, the project allowed for the onsite making of new

bricks by mixing debris from collapsed buildings – which had often been

of substandard construction – with wheat branches and concrete. In

attempting to decentralise the means of production, the project invokes

multiple suggestions of renewal that extended beyond its recycling of

materials. Since the earthquake, Rebirth Bricks has continued, though

using rubble from demolition sites.

About Liu Jiakun (China, b. 1956)

Liu Jiakun is the Founder and Chief Architect at Jiakun Architects. His

projects have been selected in world-wide exhibitions including “Chinese

Young Architects’ Work Exhibition” in Germany, “Chinese Contemporary

Architecture Exhibition” in France, “NAI China Contemporary

Architecture”, “International Architecture Exhibition in Russia”, and

“International Architecture Exhibition” at the Venice Biennale. He won the

Honor Prize of the 7th ARCASIA, Chinese Architecture & Art Prize 2003,

Architectural Record Magazine China Awards, Far East Award in

Architecture and Architectural Design Award from Architectural Society of

China, Audi Arts Design Award. His projects have been published by

architectural magazines such as A+U, AV, Area, MADE IN CHINA, and

AR. He has lectured at MIT, the Royal Academy of Arts, Palais de Chaillot

in Paris and many universities in China.

DISCUSSION

How do we pick up the pieces from ruins resulting from natural disasters?

When do homes become ruins? Can we find elements that can help form

homes from ruins?

How can architects re-evaluate their roles under unfortunate circumstances

such as natural disasters?

Think of other examples of architectural responses to natural or man-made

disasters.

FURTHER REFERENCE

Jiakun Architects Website, “Rebirth Brick Proposal”, May 2008, <http://www.jiakun-

architects.com/projects/11rebirth_brick_proposal>

OFFICINA ALESSI Website, <http://www.alessi.com/en/1/435/jiakun-liu>

Andrea Chin, "venice architecture biennale 08: 'rebirth brick' in the chinese pavilion",

designboom, 15th Sept 2008, <http://www.designboom.com/architecture/venice-

architecture-biennale-08-rebirth-brick-in-the-chinese-pavilion/

Richelle db, “liu jiakun: rebirth brick project”, designboom, 12th Dec 2011,

<http://www.designboom.com/architecture/liu-jiakun-rebirth-brick-project/>

Case Study 11 / Exhibit 58 Jiakun Architects / Liu Jiakun

Rebirth Brick

Bird’s Nest #3, 2007 and Guangzhou #1, 2010

49

Chapter 5 Critical Futures: Imaginations and Suggestions

What are the purpose of putting forward imaginary architectural proposals for the future?

The future has a long history in architecture – as an attempted reality, in

the imagination, and as a utopia and its dystopian opposite.

Fluctuating between fictive and real, and progressive and subversive,

many architectural propositions reflect on the present by projecting into

the future. MAD’s Beijing 2050 and OPEN Architecture’s 2nd Ring

Beijing 2049 envision radical changes to China’s capital at a time of

mounting social, environmental and other problems. Steven Holl’s

Linked Hybrid complex and Turenscape’s Shenyang Architectural

University Rice Campus offer their own, differing visions of idealised

scenarios – though enacted in the present. Meanwhile, critical

observations like MAP Office’s Homes for China and Homescapes and

anothermountainman’s Lanwei photographs show how architecture can

emblematise both aspiration and overreach.

INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

What was housing like in various time periods in history? Research

typical shelters and building types from as early as the Stone Age. What

types of housing is built today? What will tomorrow’s dwellings look like?

Why do you think styles and trends changes through time? Technological

advances might be a reason for such change in style. Refer to Chapter 6

for more on this topic.

Architects do not just design and build cities; they also re-imagine them.

In doing so, they expand the limits of what is possible while offering

visionary ideas and, sometimes, critiques and provocations.

Consider Beijing 2050 and the 2nd Ring Road in Case Studies 12 and 13.

How and why do you think the architects decided to come up with such

proposals and urban solutions for China in 2050? What aspects of the

current situation do you think the architects are commenting?

ACTIVITY

How has the future imaged by others besides architects? Look for other

representation of the future in other fields and discipline such as movies,

art or writings. Which one is the most convincing to you? Share with

others these examples and why they are convincing scenarios.

FURTHER REFERENCE Rachel Nuwer, “Will we ever... live in underwater cities?”, BBC, 30th Sept 2013,

<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130930-can-we-build-underwater-cities>

“Life in 2050: How much space will you have to live in?”, BBC, 29th May 2013,

<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130529-how-living-space-changes-by-2050>

Postcards From The Future Website, <http://www.postcardsfromthefuture.co.uk/>

50

About Beijing 2050 (2006), Beijing, China

Beijing 2050 proposes three hypothetical scenarios for China’s capital in

the year 2050: a network of cloud-like structures hovering above the

Central Business District; the transformation of Tiananmen Square and

Chang’an Avenue into, respectively, a park and green boulevard; and the

insertion of “bubbles,” housing public facilities and amenities, throughout

the city’s historic hutong alleyway districts. Evolving from a project that

MAD co-founder Ma Yansong began as a graduate student at Yale, Beijing

2050 is a speculative take on the future based on a critical awareness of

both historical and contemporary social, structural and ideological

developments in Beijing. In 2009, a fully functioning, full-scale “bubble”

was constructed in a traditional courtyard house in the city.

Exhibit 37.1 Beijing 2050: Floating Island over the Central Business District 2006

wood, plastic and paint

About MAD (China)

Beijing-based MAD is one of China’s most widely recognised, leading-

edge contemporary architectural practices. It was founded in 2004 by Ma

Yansong, a graduate of the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and

Architecture who later received his Masters in Architecture from Yale

University. Having worked for Zaha Hadid, Ma is known for employing

daring and wildly futuristic forms in exploring contemporary

interpretations of Eastern notions of nature. His firm often employs

conceptual methodologies that can be critical of its current-day Chinese

context.

In 2006, MAD became the first Chinese firm of its generation to notably

win an international design competition when it was commissioned to

build the Absolute Tower, in Mississauga, Ontario, the success of which

prompted the addition of a second tower. The firm has been published

and exhibited extensively, including at the 2008 Venice Architecture

Biennale. In addition to the Absolute World Towers, its built projects

include a museum in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and the Hutong Bubble 32

in Beijing.

ACTIVITY

What will your home look like in the future? Re-imagine your home and

think about how you will live in the future. Will houses float in the air, be

unusual in shape or require rooms for alien visitors and hover-cars?

Draw or make models of houses, buildings or cities that fit with your

vision of the future. Picture yourself in the future you envisaged. What is

your daily life like in this future and how is the built environment differ

accordingly? Why do you think the future will look like this?

Case Study 12 / Exhibit 37

MAD

Beijing 2050, Beijing, China

51

Exhibit 37.2

Beijing 2050: Tian’anmen Square

2006

wood, plastic and paint

Exhibit 37.3

Model for Beijing 2050: Hutong Bubble

2006

wood, plastic and paint

DISCUSSION

While it’s unlikely such proposals will be realised—though one of

MAD’s “hutong bubbles” was, in fact, constructed in 2009—what is the

value in putting them forward?

< Hutong Bubble 32, Beijing

FURTHER REFERENCE

MAD Architects Website, <http://www.i-mad.com/>

leeji choi, “MAD architects: 'hutong bubble 32', Beijing”, desingboom, 23rd Aug 2009,

<http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mad-architects-hutong-bubble-32-beijing/>

Sarah Housley, "Hutong Bubble 32 by MAD", Dezeen, 14th Sept 2009,

<http://www.dezeen.com/2009/09/14/hutong-bubble-32-by-mad/>

Brendan McGetrick, "Hutong Bubble", ICON, November 2009,

<http://www.iconeye.com/read-previous-issues/icon-077-%7C-november-2009/hutong-

bubble>

Nicole Saieh, “Beijing Hutong Bubble / MAD”, ArchDaily, 24th Feb 2014,

<http://www.archdaily.com/50931/beijing-hutong-bubble-mad/>

52

About 2nd Ring Beijing 2049 (2009 - 2011)

Beijing 2049: 2nd Ring calls for the transformation of the city’s

congested Second Ring Road into a “green lung” by the year 2049, the

prospective centennial of the People’s Republic of China. Traffic would

be diverted underground, replaced by a linear network of parks and

cultural, recreational and athletic facilities. The Second Ring Road

follows the former path of Beijing’s historic city walls, which were razed

soon after the 1949 establishment of the PRC. Though not explicitly,

OPEN's proposal evokes the Chinese architect Liang Sicheng's well-

known, but unsuccessful, effort at that time to preserve the walls as a park.

Exhibit 41.1

2nd Ring Beijing 2049 (2009-2011)

2011

digital print on paper

About the OPEN Architecture (China)

OPEN Architecture is a Beijing-based firm founded in 2006 by Li Hu and

his wife, Huang Wenjing. A graduate of Tsinghua and Rice universities,

Li was previously in charge of the New York architect Steven Holl’s

Beijing office, overseeing high-profile projects including the Linked

Hybrid (Grand MOMA) in Beijing, the Vanke headquarters in Shenzhen,

the Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, and Raffles City in Chengdu. At the

forefront of its generation of contemporary Chinese practices, OPEN is

known for its experimental typologies that promote progressive urbanism

and the social and sustainable potential of architecture. Widely published,

the firm’s notable projects include the Gehua Youth and Cultural Center

in Qinghuangdao, a planned ocean research centre for Tsinghua

University, and a forthcoming high school outside Beijing.

Exhibit 41.2

2nd Ring Beijing 2049 (2009-2011)

2011

Dual-screen video

Duration: 9’ 58”

Case Study 13 / Exhibit 41

OPEN Architecture

2nd

Ring Beijing 2049

53

Chapter 6 Digital Tools: Virtual and Reality

How have technological advances impact the design, representation and construction of buildings?

The digital age has transformed architecture, not only in practice, but also

in how it’s conceived, consumed, produced and conceptualised.

Computer-aided design has made possible forms that previously weren’t

achievable, such as the undulating curves of MAD’s Absolute Towers,

while generating new architectural meanings, as with the barcode- and

circuit board-evoking Digital Beijing by Studio Pei-Zhu and Urbanus.

Elsewhere, digital fabrication techniques have combined with online

platforms to redistribute architectural expertise and production, as can be

seen with davidclovers’s Immuring. The digital construction of space has

also produced entirely virtual cities, whether they be analytical tools – as

with Hong Kong’s 3D Spatial Data – or fictional, simulated realities like

Cao Fei’s RMB City.

INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

How does digital technology affect the design, representation and

construction of buildings nowadays? Why do you think it is important to

continue exploring new boundaries? How do you think the role of

architects, their craftsmanship and professional skills shifts according to

these changes in technology?

Computer-generated visualisation is one of the commonest means of

presenting designs to clients, planning committees and the media. While

initially developed by the military, computer-aided design (CAD) was soon

extended to replace drawing boards in most architectural offices as they

enable better organisation and updates of the thousands of documents in

large projects. While model-making and hand-sketching are still important,

CAD has almost completely taken over the production of the working

drawings phase of architectural design.

Some would lament the loss of hand-drawing skills in light of such

changes. What are your views? At the same time, why do you think

sketching and model-making are still taught in architectural schools?

ACTIVITY

Technological advances constantly break through ideas which were once

considered impossible. What do you think architectural practice will look

like in the future? How can an architectural design that may be impossible

nowadays be designed, presented and constructed in the future? Share with

other your version of what it will be like to be an architect in the future.

FURTHER REFERENCE Matthew Allen, “Archeology of the Digital”, Domus, 15th May 2013,

<http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2013/05/15/archaeology_of_thedigital.html>

Timothy Carter, "Smart cities: The future of urban infrastructure", BBC , 22nd Nov 2013,

<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131122-smarter-cities-smarter-future>

Emilie Chalcraft, "In the future we might print not only buildings, but entire urban

sections", Dezeen, 21st May 2013, <http://www.dezeen.com/2013/05/21/3d-printing-

architecture-print-shift/>

“Archaeology of the Digital, 7 May to 27 October 2013”, The Canadian Centre for Architecture

(CCA) website, 2013, <http://www.cca.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/1964-archaeology-of-the-digital>

54

About Immuring( 2008 - 2010)

Immuring is an explorative prototype for the cladding system of Lunar

House, a 2,300 square-foot speculative house sold through Hometta.com.

Users can purchase plans, as well as other aids for building the home,

online. Embedded with dense networks of LED-lit, computer-generated

lines, Immuring's three full-scale Corian panels for Lunar House reflect

the architects’ interest in examining the threshold between two-

dimensional and three-dimensional forms via digital design and

fabrication.

Exhibit. 38

Immuring

2008-2010

three full scale façade prototypes for Lunar House; etched and embossed

Corian®, LED lighting

Project credits: Immuring was developed and created with support from: DuPont China Ltd and SpeedTop Ltd

(Hong Kong). Collaborators include: E-Grow (Shanghai), William Koh and Associates (Los Angeles), Inhabit

(Hong Kong), AHL Lighting and Media Facades (Shenzhen) and Tortoise Industries (Los Angeles)

About davidclovers (Hong Kong)

davidclovers was founded by David Erdman and Clover Lee in 2007 in

the United States. They have collaborated in designing and completing

residential homes, interiors and exhibitions. As both academics and

practitioners, their projects emphasise architectural massing and its

material effects. The way they work and develop projects reflects both the

thoughtful research of their academic backgrounds and their fastidious

innovative capabilities as a practice. Combining digital modelling,

prototyping and fabrication with standard construction methods each

project integrates basic elements including ceilings, windows, lighting

and structure in unique ways affecting space and inhabitation.

In 2009, davidclovers relocated to Hong Kong where they have since

completed a number of projects. David and Clover have lectured widely

and have been published in numerous architectural journals, newspapers

and books throughout Asia, Europe, and the US. Their work has won

several international awards, and has been exhibited at leading arts

institutions and in significant group exhibitions including the Venice,

Beijing, and Korean Biennales.

FURTHER REFERENCE David Clovers Website, <http://www.davidclovers.com/>

Case Study 14 / Exhibit 38

davidclovers with C.E.B Reas

Immuring

2nd

Ring 2049, 2009-2011

55

About Absolute Tower (2006 - 2012), Mississauga, Canada

Led by Ma Yansong (China, b. 1975), Beijing-based MAD first earned

widespread attention in 2006 when it won an international competition to

design a condominium tower in Mississauga, near Toronto. Eventually

consisting of two highrises, the Absolute Towers exhibit the organic,

curvaceous forms that have continued to make MAD one of the most

prominent experimental architecture firms in China.

Image by Iwan Baan, courtesy of MAD

About MAD (China)

Beijing-based MAD is one of China’s most widely recognised, leading-

edge contemporary architectural practices. It was founded in 2004 by Ma

Yansong, a graduate of the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and

Architecture who later received his Masters in Architecture from Yale

University. Having worked for Zaha Hadid, Ma is known for employing

daring and wildly futuristic forms in exploring contemporary

interpretations of Eastern notions of nature. His firm often employs

conceptual methodologies that can be critical of its current-day Chinese

context.

In 2006, MAD became the first Chinese firm of its generation to notably

win an international design competition when it was commissioned to

build the Absolute Tower, in Mississauga, Ontario, the success of which

prompted the addition of a second tower. The firm has been published

and exhibited extensively, including at the 2008 Venice Architecture

Biennale. In addition to the Absolute World Towers, its built projects

include a museum in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and the Hutong Bubble 32

in Beijing.

FURTHER REFERENCE “MAD architects: absolute towers completed”, designboom, 12th Dec, 2012,

<http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mad-architects-absolute-towers-nearing-

completion/>

Case Study 15 / Exhibit 40

MAD

Absolute Towers, Mississauga, Canada

2nd

Ring 2049, 2009-2011

56

Exhibit 36

The Birth of RMB City

video simulation

2007

Gift of Sigg Collection

About RMB City (2007)

Launched in 2008, RMB City is a virtual city created by the artist Cao Fei

in the online world of Second Life. Examining the relationship between

the physical and virtual realms, users and their avatars interact in this

digital manifestation of China’s hyper-development, populated by

dystopian versions of well-known buildings and landmarks from

throughout the country.

About Cao Fei (China, b. 1978)

Cao Fei's photography, video installations and new media works look at

aspects of role play, fantasy and simulated reality within today's media-

saturated society. Her artistic practice poignantly captures the ways in

which others imagine themselves amidst the hyper-transformative and

often disillusioning context of contemporary China. Her recent project

RMB CITY (2008 - 2011) has been exhibited in Deutsche Guggenheim

(2010), Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2009), Serpentine Gallery,

London (2008), and Yokohama Triennale (2008). Cao Fei also

participated in 17th & 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006/2010), 52nd

Venice Biennale (2007), Chinese Pavilion, Moscow Biennale (2005),

Shanghai Biennale (2004), 50th Venice Biennale (2003). She also

exhibited video works in Guggenheim Museum (New York), the

International Center of Photography (New York), MoMA (New York),

P.S.1 (New York), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Musee d'Art Moderne de la

ville de Paris (Paris), Mori Art Museum (Tokyo). She was the finalist of

Hugo Boss Prize 2010, and won the 2006 Best Young Artist Award by

CCAA (Chinese Contemporary Art Award).

FURTHER REFERENCE

Cao Fei Webpage, <http://www.caofei.com/>

Case Study 16 / Exhibit 36

Cao Fei

RMB City

2nd

Ring 2049, 2009-2011