rocker-lange blog

We’re pleased to share that Christian J. Lange and Mono Tung’s collaborative MArch research studio, conducted in Fall 2023 within the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong, has been featured in the latest issue of the HKIA Journal. The studio focused on AI-driven design strategies for the renewal of aging public housing estates in Hong Kong.

Their article, “Reimagining Choi Hung Estate: AI’s Role in Future Public Housing Design,” highlights innovative design methodologies that leverage artificial intelligence to reimagine one of the city’s most iconic housing developments. The piece explores how tools such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion were integrated into the architectural design process, enabling students to generate speculative yet contextually grounded proposals.

Addressing key issues of urban renewal, housing density, and community identity, the studio demonstrates how computational design—when paired with cultural sensitivity—can offer a forward-thinking model for the future of public housing in Hong Kong and beyond.

To read the full article, please go here:
HKIA Journal – Issue 80

We’re excited to share a recent feature on RTHK titled “Reimagining Hong Kong – AI Everywhere: What ideas do HKU architecture students and professors have for redeveloping Choi Hung Estate? And how does AI help?” The segment highlights the work of Christian J. Lange and his architecture students at the University of Hong Kong, showcasing how artificial intelligence is being used as a creative and analytical tool in rethinking the future of one of Hong Kong’s most iconic public housing estates. Through this lens, the feature explores how emerging technologies are shaping new possibilities for urban renewal and design innovation in the city.

Please visit youtube to watch the entire feature:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vEwft3qK-c

We are happy to share that Cities of Repetition: Hong Kong’s Private Housing Estates, co-authored by Christian J. Lange and Jason Carlow and designed by Kay Bachmann is printed and up for sale!

Cities of Repetition provides a comprehensive graphic documentation and analysis of the largest Hong Kong housing estates built by private developers from the late 1960’s through the early 2000’s. The original drawings and diagrams illustrate and compare the ultra-dense, mass-produced, highly repetitive built environments in which hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents live. Drawings, diagrams and photographs not only display the immense scale of the housing estates within the city, but also present the hundreds of similarly planned housing units and their subtle differences. Detailed diagrams compare statistical information to show how the planning of these massive estates has evolved over the past decades to efficiently conform to building regulations. The publication and larger research project present a comprehensive analysis of the architectural and spatial realities of some of the most densely populated, urban environments ever built.

While there are many positive aspects of Hong Kong’s housing estates, including remarkable urban density and economic viability, new building codes that allow for and encourage variation and heterogeneity for mass housing developments, must be developed and implemented if cities of the future are to provide humane and diverse modes of housing to sustain socially viable, heterogeneous communities.

For more information on the book, please visit:
https://appliedresearchanddesign.com/product/cities-of-repetition