Presented in parallel with the HKU Department of Architecture symposium, 2020:Housing China, this exhibition contains a collection of projects by local and international researchers, designers and architecture firms related to housing in Hong Kong, China and greater Asia. The work presented is a combination of academic research, actual built projects and speculative ideas for the future of housing in an increasingly dense and urbanized China. Projects exhibited are designed for an array of contexts from urban, to suburban, to rural and range in scope from single detached houses to urban scale developments. Projects explore a range of housing topics including the formulation of architecture around specific social issues, new construction methodologies, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, innovative connections to infrastructure, new opportunities provided by digital technology and the historical development of housing over recent decades. Overall, the exhibition seeks to re-frame the development of mass housing over the course of the twentieth century and offers important models for a new century of Chinese growth.

Sponsored by:
Dennis Lau and Associates
Curated by:
Jason Carlow, Assistant Professor in Architecture
The University of Hong Kong

Collective Visions
10-20 May 2013
Opening Reception: May 10th, 18:30
KK Leung Concourse, The University of Hong Kong

China’s urban population will increase in the next twenty years from about 50 % at present to almost 70% by 2030. With an estimated 300 million people moving to the city by 2020, China will change from a rural into an urban society. This transformation will influence the environment and habitation patterns of almost a quarter of the nation’s population. This rapid urbanization will not only have a significant impact on material resources, the society and the environment, it will also initiate the most prominent housing laboratory in human history challenging designers, planners and builders alike.

As a socio-political microcosm, Hong Kong has been dealing with the impacts of hyper-dense urban environments since the mid-twentieth century. During the past three decades the city has been also an active player in the development of China’s housing through various public and private initiatives. The essential questions are: What are the models at hand and is Hong Kong the right model for China? What are the alternative options and how can we make a difference through critical review and proposition?

The housing symposium entitled ” 2020: Housing China ” will explore issues related to these questions with a focus on housing typology, urban models, and their social and urban implications. Invited architects and scholars from Hong Kong, China, Asia and Europe will review and present collective housing developments within a historical and contextual framework. The symposium will provide a platform for shaping discourses and propositions on how architecture can be spatially and socially proactive by maintaining sustainable and innovative living environments for China in the 21st century.

10-11 May 2013,
KB419, 4/F Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

Panel 1: Perspectives | Contexts
10 May 2013, 13:30 – 18:30
William S.W. Lim 林少偉 – Professor, Singapore
Huang Yi-ru 黃一如– Professor, Tongi University, Shanghai
Gu Daqing 顧大慶– Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Carolin Fong Suet Yuen 方雪原 – Director, Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers (HK) Ltd, Hong Kong
John Ng 伍灼宜 – Former Chief Architect, Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong

Panel 2: Density | Scale | Typology
11 May 2013, 9:30 – 13:30
Dietmar Eberle – Professor, ETH Zurich, Faculty of Architecture; Shareholder, Baumschlager Eberle Group, Lochau Austria
Li Xinggang 李興鋼 – Chief Architect, China Architecture Design and Research Institute, Beijing
Meng Yan 孟岩 – Principal, Urbanus, Shenzhen
Keiichiro Sako 迫慶一郎 – Principal, SAKO Architects, Tokyo / Beijing

Panel 3: Urban Housing | Housing the City
11 May 2013, 14:30 – 18:30
Winy Maas – Professor Delft University; Principal MVRDV, Rotterdam
Dong Yi 董屹 – Partner, DC Alliance, Shanghai
Khoo Peng Beng 邱彬銘– Partner, Arc Studio. Architecture + Urbanism, Singapore
Qian Yuan 錢源 – Director, Vanke Wanchuang Design Management Center

For more information please visit: http://fac.arch.hku.hk/event/spring-2013-housing-symposium-2020-housing-china/

For more information please visit: www.encodingarchitecture.org