Globalization: Collision of Brutalism and Traditions in CUHK

Gobalization:

University

大學 ARCH2058 Modern Architecture

ASSIGNMENT 3: GUIDEBOOK

| Fall 2021

Globalization: Collision of Brutalism and Traditions in CUHK Chang Yin Ching (3035696913) Chow Ho Lam (3035703728) Chan Chun Nam (3035791828)

Brutal in CUHK

Today we are going to Chung Chi College (CC), to look at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Elisabeth Luce Moore Library and Chung Chi Tang. Located at the mountainside of the CUHK, architecture in CC are designed to be shorter in general, to blend in with the natural surroundings.1 The design of CC was related to the design of ABCCC campus in Shanghai designed

by Walter Gropius, the founder of Bauhaus, and his team (one of his team members was I. M. Pei),as CC was also established by ABCCC.2 Therefore, we can see a lot of designs related to designs of Walter and Pei, like the manifesto of materiality in a modern way, Utilising modern material like concrete, and techniques like casting patterns, to archive a modern, function-first space.

1如畫清諧見匠心：早期崇基校園名家設計回顧展 (Xianggang: Chung Chi College The Chinese University of Hong Kong , 2008).

2.“Remembering PEI: Tracing the Architect’s Legacy to the Harvard Graduate School of Design,” Harvard Graduate School of Design, August 14, 2019, https:// www.gsd.harvard.edu/2019/07/remembering-pei-tracing-the-architects-legacy-to-the-harvard-graduate-school-of-design/.

1 Chung Chi Tang

The cantilevered beam

Wood texture on the board-form concrete Concrete structure

Chung Chi Tang built by Wong Ng Ouyang & Associates in 1972 is a manifesto of Brutalism in the land of brutalism architecture (CUHK) .

Designed with a simple triangular geometry, Chung Chi Tang was designed with a special twist-- the concrete beam of the architecture was casted using a template with wooden texture1, unlike the typical brutalism designs which shows the raw texture of the building material. Having an alternative execution of a typical style is echoing with modernism, which is an revolution to continuously rethink ‘architecture.’

Windows of Chung Chi Tang fulfills both functionality and aesthetic perfectly. Long and wide windows allow a panoramic view of the Lake Ad Excellentiam, it also allows generous amounts of light in and out of the building, giving it a lantern-like look at night2.

According to alumni, the triangular motifs of the architecture comes from the originate of the name Chung Chi Tang-- 众 as in 眾志成城.3 1Elser Oliver In Search of Brutalism in Hong Kong, 探尋香港的粗野主義建築, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US002UwsR6w&ab_channel=MPlus.

2黎 雋維, 陳 彥蓓, and 袁 偉然. 迷失的摩登——香港戰後現代主義建築25選. Hong Kong: 蜂鳥出版, 2021.

3董 就雄, “從校園建築看崇基 一飯記當年,” March 2011, pp. 6-7.

The exterior of Chung Chi Tang, emphasised the triangular geometry

Light coming in from the two sides of window from the interior perspective

The cantilevered beam which penetrated every structure frame and the wood texture on the board-form concrete

2 Elisabeth Luce Moore Library

Elisabeth Luce Moore Library was established in 1971, The earliest designs were made by Chau & Lee, It was later taken over by Zhou Yaonian and his Son Zhou Qiqian. Originally, the design was to build for only two layers, and preserve the potential for adding one more floor in the future.1 In general. the design of the library can be treated as the general interpretation of a combination of Chinese and western. Apart from this, The exterior of the library has a unique texture, with the latticed sunshade and the vertically concrete stripes. It shows a typical modernist design. At the ground floor, parts of the wall are added with magnificent natural stone, making a strong contrast to the grey concrete of the main building.2 The deliberately in-ward facing base, with the addition of the overhead beams, visually lightens the volume of the building and give a illusion of floating.

Drawing of Elisabeth Luce Moore Library The Elevation shows the contrast of the local material and the concerete in both color and the texture,it aaslo offers a sense of simplicty. The deliberately inward of both the window beings a illsion of lightness to the surronded people.

1 顧大慶. "範文照建築師與香港崇基學院的校園設計."時代建築, no. 4 (2015): 168-79.

2黎 雋維, 陳 彥蓓, and 袁 偉然. 迷失的摩登——香港戰後現代主義建築25選. Hong Kong: 蜂鳥出版, 2021.

The texture of exterier wall of the concerete was formed with the vertically stripped battering,in addition of the latticed sunshade, it offers a feelings of simplicity.

The exterior windows shows a clear repetition of the latticed sunshade, with the deliberatedly in-ward gate, if offers a illusion of lightess, the surronded greenery also bring the liveness to the library.

Looking at the exterior wall of the library, the natural stone that collected from the represents the local material, with the grey concerete, it gives a clear contrast in both color and the texture.

3 The Institute of Chinese Studies Designed by Szeto Wai, the Institute of Chinese Studies was built in 1971 in the aim of archiving the motto of CUHK.1 If you look at the architecture from the outside, the Institute of Chinese Studies is a boxy concrete structure. However, on the inside, it is hollowed out with a delicate courtyard. The corridor circulating the courtyard was supported with simple thin columns2, contrasting with the raw concrete wall of the corridor. The boldness of the exterior structure contrasts with the delicate interior, as an experiment of contrasting materiality in the design.

Some critics argue that the design of the courtyard is referencing the thesis paper done by I.M. Pei in Harvard University3, which was an experiment of putting a traditional Chinese Courtyard in a modernist space, as part of the exhibition of Chinese antique art pieces. The statement is further reinforced by the fact that the first exhibition held by the institute was about Chinese antiques4.

Drawing of Institue of Chinese Studies The slender plain white beam surrounding the courtyard contrast with the textured walls, creating a contrast materials. People circulate around the corridor wraping the central conyard, creating an orinental human and architecure interaction.

1吳 江波. 從傳統到現代 中國文化研究所 1967-1992. Hong Kong: 中國文化研究所, 1992.

2陳 方正, 與中大一同成長: 香港中文大學與中國文化硏究所圖史 1949-1997 (Hong Kong: 中國文化硏究所, 2000).

3黎 雋維, 陳 彥蓓, and 袁 偉然, 迷失的摩登——香港戰後現代主義建築25選 (Hong Kong: 蜂鳥出版, 2021).

4陳 方正, 與中大一同成長: 香港中文大學與中國文化硏究所圖史 1949-1997 (Hong Kong: 中國文化硏究所, 2000). P. 60-62

The facade the textured with rough concrete, creating a brutal exterior.

Flowers and trees planted outside the windows create a peaceful and calming view for the offices.

The exterior of the institution shows a clear geometric form combining rectangular and trianglur geometry, making a clean and memorable form, showcasing the brutalistic aesthetic.

Chinese Siheyuan Style Courtyard is surrounded by thin plain beam contrasting with the textured wall surfaceing. Different elements in the courtyard creates a peaceful atmosphere The lightless of the courtyard contrast with the brutal exterior (the triangular mass from the roof).

Brutalism and Eastern Architectural Tradition Ho Lam, Chow Globalization has been driving the standardization of spaces and architecture. It has been transforming cities, shifting spatial patterns, and shaping the built form and environment. At the same time, it is also invading different countries’ architectural traditions and cultures. Certainly, modern and tradition are always in the opposite position in a lot of aspects of society. But in terms of architecture, modern and tradition may sometimes be combined to bring in new possibilities.

Through the walking tour between these sites, it is noticeable that raw, unfinished concrete was used in their construction. For example, board-formed concrete was used in the construction in Chung Chi Tang and the Institute of Chinese Studies, leaving

the wood texture on the concrete surface.

Chung Chi Tang’s approach to its material is not only simply creating an illusion of wood texture but also an expression of traditional construction, using raw concrete to replace timber in wood construction2. Such idea of transforming one material into another is not first seen in this building. In fact, there are some other brutalist architectures that were created even earlier with similar strategies. Using these characteristics of Chung Chi Tang as the foundation, this essay would introduce the detail of board-formed concrete.

Then, the way how architects combine this kind of concrete from brutalism with the eastern architectural tradition will be discussed.

Board-form concrete is one kind of exposed concrete which can also be called béton brut, a French term coined by Le Corbusier1. It refers to concrete that has been left incomplete after casting, revealing the patterns and seams imprinted on it by the formwork3.

Béton brut was therefore twice honest, both

in relation to the material of a formwork and in relation to the material of a building. When wood and timber are used in the material of formwork, it is called board form7. It is an old technique that preceded large panelized systems and a method to accentuate concrete’s plasticity. In lieu of plywood, boards comprise the container into which the concrete mix is poured, resulting in a finished wall imparted with the reverse impression of the face of these boards which include all the imperfections, every knot, and every line of the grain of the timber7. It is essential to use the same kind of wood throughout the project, especially on larger structures where the molds may get repeated uses. Besides, the selection of shuttering boards, their size, surface roughness, and geometrical layout are important in order to ensure the texture of the concrete. Softwoods such as spruce, pine, or larch are some woods that are commonly used in board forming7. Moreover, superplasticizer is added to ensure the concrete will readily flow into the imperfections in the

boards7. To keep the concrete form held together under the immense weight and outward pressure of wet concrete, the two sides of the form walls must be tied together or further supported with wood beams3. Furthermore, the direction of the board helps create additional atmosphere. The vertical boards tend to make elements taller while horizontal boards make elements seem longer and more directional7. Some even more expressive effects could also be achieved by arranging shuttering boards in various planes – on top and underneath. In such a way, the alternately concave, convex, and three-dimensional texture of the building could be obtained7.

An example is the sculptural facade of Exhibition Pavilion by Krystyna Różyska-Tołłoczko.

After introducing the details of boardformed concrete, zooming back into Chung Chi Tong, the wood pattern on the beams is parallel to the geometry of the A-frame structure. According to Gu, the direction of the wood pattern is designed intentionally in or-

der to further emphasize the geometry of the structure, since the A-frame structure was the architects’ symbolism mentioned in the previous introduction4. Apart from that, the core beam which penetrates every other triangular beam is slightly cantilevered which is similar to how the traditional timber construction is.

According to Oliver Elser, such a move captured the transformative power of replacing wood with concrete which creates an updated expression of traditional construction, similar to how the Japanese architect, Kenzō Tange designed the concrete structure of the Kagawa Prefectural Office in 19582. Gu also mentioned that the window arrangement of Chung Chi Tong took reference from the Izumo Grand Shrine Administrative Building, by Kiyonori Kikutake in 19634. Additionally, the two projects both used applied traditional elements in their modern architecture design or in reverse. To extend such discussion, the way how these architects combined brutalism material with eastern traditional construction will be discussed in the following.

To start off, Kenzō Tange was the first architect who emered the traditional timber construction and modern materials8. The Kagawa Prefectural Office captured Tange’s adoption of a visually expressed post and beam structure, additionally in his design of a few large beams supported on a few large columns around the perimeter of the building, supplemented by a grid of finer beams, with all beam ends visually expressed on the elevations8. All of these representations were in concrete but nearly the same as traditional Japanese timber construction. Moreover, something less visible is Tange’s use of a central core as the support of the building and provide seismic resistance. Although being the first time to be used in a concrete Japanese building, the technique has historic reference in the construction of pagodas, such as the Five-Storey Pagoda (Gojyū-no-Tō) at Horyuji Temple in Nara prefecture, where a central column penetrates the height of the building and supports the roof structures that radiate from

it whilst also providing seismic resistance effectively8. Nonetheless, board-form concrete was used in the ceiling construction of the building. The wood texture of the concrete is designed and cast carefully in order to create a visual illusion of timber construction and a further emergence between the modern material and the timber structure5. Not only does the board-form concrete emphasize the materiality in the New Brutalism, but also echos with other wood materials used in the building. The combination of brutalism material trended from the western and the Japanese traditional construction in Tange’s project opened new possibilities in terms of modernism and tradition. Initing a new architectural trend in Japan at that period, a lot of architects in Japan and other countries tried to take his strategy as a reference. As mentioned above, Chung Chi Tang had captured some of the elements from this representation of traditional Japanese construction techniques through modern materials but in a more geometrical way with its A-frame structure.

Apart from traditional construction, the Izumo Grand Shrine Administrative Building is using modern material to represent traditional Japanese building forms and techniques.

The Izumo Grand Shrine is one of Japan’s two most important centers for its indigenous Shinto religion. Thus, the shrine is closely associated with Shinto’s folk traditions, inherently inward-looking and conservative6. With such remote site and tradition-bound clientele, Kikutake found his success in proposing concrete for extending the shrine’s campus of traditional wooden structures. He proposed a simple, elongated structure that was built in concrete but achieve a delicacy with the frames and screens of traditional wooden shrine construction6. The use of two post-tensioned concrete beams allowed Kikutake to create a large, uninterrupted internal space.

The beams, which run the length of the building, are supported at each end by reinforced-concrete columns creating the form of a torii or Shintō gateway6. The material used

is again board-form concrete which not only helps reform the traditional wooden shrine construction with its wooden texture but also expresses the lightness of shrine construction. Kikutake’s trial certainly creates a new linkage between modern materials and traditional architecture through using concrete in expressing the form of Japanese traditional architecture rather than the construction.

Under the influence of openness and globalization, it is capable to see the decreasing number of traditional architecture and construction techniques. In order to stand against such a trend, more architects around the world are paying attention to those local architectures and traditions. In this situation, this essay aims to use the design of Chung Chi Tang as a starting point to bring in examples that consist of the combination between modern and tradition. Through raising Tange’s expression of a traditional construction through modern materials, and Kikutake’s representation of wooden shrine

construction by modern material, it hopes to open up possibilities in protecting not only the Eastern traditions but different local traditions and skills from all around the world.

Notes

1. Bacon, Mardges. “Le Corbusier and postwar America: the TVA and béton brut.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 74, no. 1 (2015): 13-40.

2. Elser Oliver In Search of Brutalism in Hong Kong, 探 尋香港的粗野主義建築, 2020, https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=US002UwsR6w&ab_channel=MPlus.

3. Gargiani, Roberto, Anna. Rosellini, and Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier : Béton Brut and Ineffable Space, 1940-1965 : Surface Materials and Psychophysiology of Vision. 1st ed. Essays in Architecture. Lausanne, Switzerland : Abingdon, Oxford ; New York, NY: EFPL Press ; Distributed by Routledge, 2011.

4. Gu, Daqing. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture: Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. (Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011.)

5. Koolhaas, Rem, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Kayoko Ota, James Westcott, and Thomas Daniell. Project Japan: Metabolism Talks... Vol. 100. Cologne: Taschen, 2011.

6. Mulligan, Mark.

“Kiyonori Kikutake: Structuring the Future.”

Places Journal (2015).

7. Niebrzydowski, Wojciech. “From “As Found” to Bush-Hammered Concrete–Material and Texture in Brutalist Architecture.” In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 471, no. 7, p. 072016. IOP Publishing, 2019.

8. Tange, Kenzō, and Robin.

Boyd.

Kenzo Tange.

Makers of Contemporary Architecture.

New York: George Braziller, 1962.

Brutalism meets traditional Chinese architecture – Spatial design of the Institute of Chinese Studies Yin Ching, Chang

As a school which sets its mission to instill traditional Chinese virtues in each generation, spatial considerations referencing Chinese traditional architecture characteristics can often be seen in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The most significant one has to be The Institute of Chinese Studies (the ICS) by Sze To Wai. Nevertheless, the design of the Institute is closely associated with I.M Pei, who designed the primitive form of the Institute in his graduation thesis in Harvard 1 , Museum of Chinese Art for Shanghai, and was advising Sze To Wai in the Design of the Institute. The influence of IM Pei towards the design of the Institute of Chinese Studies, and even the Chung Chi College Campus is undeniable. Looking at the establishment history of CUHK, IM Pei was part of the team

of Walter Gropius designing the new campus in Shanghai for the university established by Associated Boards for Christian Colleges in China 2. In 1956, the university migrated to Hong Kong, and so as the design strategy for the campuses, became Chung Chi College in CUHK 3.

The ICS is a chunky concrete box on the outside. The bold geometric forms with the rectangular core and the two triangular blocks on the roof, thick floor slabs seen from the facade, the naked concrete plastering, clearly echos with Brutalism as defined by Reyner Banham​​, ‘memorability as an image, clear exhibition of structure, and a valuation of materials ‘as found’’4. However, on the inside, there is a delicate Chinese courtyard with simple slender columns framing the corridor surrounding the courtyard. The huge contrast of the delicacy inside and brutalism outside is thoughtfully designed. Sze To Wai was trying to create contrast between material properties, manifesting the modernistic pursuits of

challenging old way of doing architecture. Sze might also had got this idea from Pei’s design.

the requirements of space are different under various cultures in places around the world.

According to Pei, the design of the Museum in Shanghai was trying to prove that ‘there is a limit to the internationalization of architecture’5. He believed that climate, history, culture, and living all differ in different parts of the world. All of these elements must be considered in the architectural design 4. There will never be a style that fits all like internationalism. He investigated his topics with the fundamental contrast in how art pieces were commissioned and displayed in China and the West due to cultural differences. Western museums featured art artifacts that were intended to be on permanent exhibit to the public, demanding large galleries and plenty of wall space. In contrast, Chinese art museums kept art artifacts that were historically supposed to be brought out from storage and presented only on rare occasions and as a private, intimate experience 4. With this difference in art display culture, he deduced

Owing to the difference, the contrast of west and east style becomes an iconic characteristic in the design of the ICS because of it resonates with its aim - ‘combine tradition with modernity, bring together China and the West6,7. Which is demonstrated with the spatial and material design of the ICS. From the site, the spatial arrangement, to the aesthetic considerations of the ICS is designed in accordance with the identity of the ICS, with a mixture of traditional Chinese style and a modernist twist.

In the history of China, important architectures like palaces were often located at the center of the country, not only did the location provide the ruler with extensive networks spreading across the countries, the center of the country also represents superiority in symbolism of Chinese architecture. The Institute

of Chinese Studies is located at the very center of the campus of CUHK, demonstrating its importance, as well as symbolising the vision to promote Chinese virtues widely is the core value of CUHK 2, symbolically spreading the virtues extensively with its physical location.

Spatially, the design of the ICS pays tribute to the traditional Chinese Siheyuan7. Traditional Siheyuan is bilaterally symmetrical and has very specific rules to follow when deciding the orientations of the siheyuan and allocations of rooms, following feng shui and the patriotic hierarchy of China.8 The major structure is on the courtyard’s central axis, while insignificant rooms are placed on the sides.8 In the ICS, the hierarchy of space can be seen.

The art gallery of the ICS is placed on the middle of the centripetal axis of the courtyard complex, while classrooms and staff rooms are placed at the sides symmetrically, implying the importance of exhibiting and promoting Chinese art as the identity of the ICS.

Inside the gallery, the exhibition space is constructed with the wide and gradually elevating stairs, pathed with white granite stone which reflects the light from the angled skylight towards the North which allows maximum light to penetrate through2. The white and shiny granite stone also contrasts with the roughly textured handrail base, this presentation of the purest form of material in their natural beauty showcases the very original brutalist aesthetics, as practiced by architects Alison and Peter Smithson back in 1953, claiming that ‘...[we] were concerned with the seeing of materials for what they were: the woodness of wood; the sandiness of sand.’9 Outside the gallery, there is the courtyard.

It has practiced characteristics of traditional Chinese landscape architecture, where traditional ideals like ‘unity of man with nature’, and concepts like five elements of nature, etc are often applied to spatial elements, in order to pursue and indirectly communicate a ‘balanced and harmonious’ environment.10,11

In the courtyard, we can found four of the five elements of nature: the bronze statue of Dr Li Choh-ming, the willow behind the status, the lake, and the big rock that was mined during the early development of the campus of CUHK,2 representing metal, wood, water, earth respectively. It is believed that balancing between the five elements benefits the feng shui and brings peace to the place.10 Traditional courtyard spaces made for socialization are placed surrounded by rooms of individuals, acting as the extra living space for the family.11 While in ICS, the harmonious environment of the open courtyard companies with the semi-opened corridor circulating around the courtyard provides the perfect venue for the social interactions and cultural exchange between teachers and students.1The daily activities of student and teachers wandering around the courtyard and the corridor shows a oriental humanscape.1 The courtyard also connects back to the exhibition hall, forming the complete exhibi-

tion space. As Pei suggested in his thesis, the courtyard acts as a continuation of the Chinese antique exhibition,1 and the courtyard itself also becomes part of the exhibition. This gesture is expanding the purpose of the traditional courtyard, at the same time redefining the border between spaces, showing the revolutionary pursuits of Modernism, to rethink the purpose of architecture and execute architecture in a new way.

Other than the courtyard, thoughtful designs fill the space of the ICS, aiming to create the perfectly tailored environment for Chinese cultural exchange and promotion. The office located at the two sides has windows that look towards The University Mall or mountainscape, with trees and flowers planted outside the windows framing the panoramic views of nature, and doors facing towards the inner courtyard for easy access to appreciate the peaceful fish pond.2 At the two corners there are the library and a 108 seats theater, referencing the 36 Heavenly Spirits and

72 Earthly Fiends in Shui Hu Zhuan19.2 With various Chinese philosophy and applied to the spatial design of The Institute of Chinese Studies, the whole architecture creates a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere, making it a perfect venue for scholars to focus on their works, thinking and meditating.2 The influence of the Museum of Chinese Art for Shanghai does not only applies to the ICS, the museum was both renowned in its influence to the global architectural development and important to the career of Pei. Pei’s longtime partner Henry Cobb also suggested the project was something absolutely crucial to him, and it became a driving force in his later professional life in a very real way5. Pei did a lot of research and designs based on challenging the boundary and creating balance between old and new architecture, the very famous example would be the Renovation of Louvre Museum5, and a lot of different museums. The investigation in material and spatial design in his later career also started off

with this project5. The Department of Architecture of Harvard University once stated that Pei’s thesis on the design of the Museum of Chinese Art for Shanghai was the most influential project ever done in Harvard5. It even influenced projects that are irrelevant to museums and exhibitions, for example, the Kips Bay Plaza. The site design of Kips Bay Plaza included parks and gardens for inhabitants, replicating Pei’s thesis project’s combinations of gallery and office with Chinese gardens.5 The Institute of Chinese Studies, as the physical representation of the idea, has executed the major ideas of the design for the Chinese Art Museum in Shanghai which created the wonderful place of the demonstration of how tradiitonal style and technique could be brought and infused into modern designs, how Chinese and Western cultural can be influencing each other in architecture. Making the place a very successful cruddle for incubating Chinese Studies scholars and sharing Chinese virtues to the world.

Notes

1. 黎 雋維, 陳 彥蓓, and 袁 偉然, 迷失的摩登——香港戰 後現代主義建築25選 (Hong Kong: 蜂鳥出版, 2021).

2. 陳 方正, 與中大一同成長: 香港中文大學與中國文化硏究所 圖史 1949-1997 (Hong Kong: 中國文化硏究所, 2000).

3. 王 楚, “中文大學大興土木,” in 亞洲週 刊 Asia Weekly, vol. 9 no. 13 (Hong Kong: Contemporary Publications Ltd, 1972), pp. 2-6.

4. Elser Oliver In Search of Brutalism in Hong Kong, 探 尋香港的粗野主義建築, 2020, https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=US002UwsR6w&ab_channel=MPlus.

5. “Remembering PEI: Tracing the Architect’s Legacy to the Harvard Graduate School of Design,” Harvard Graduate School of Design, August 14, 2019, https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/2019/07/ remembering-pei-tracing-the-architects-legacyto-the-harvard-graduate-school-of-design/.

6. CUHK Archives, “中國文化研究所 Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS),” 中國文化研究所 Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), accessed December 21, 2021, http://cu-uar.blogspot. com/2017/03/institute-of-chinese-studies-ics.html.

7. 吳 江波. 從傳統到現代 中國文化研究所 19671992.

Hong Kong: 中國文化研究所, 1992.

8. Xioahu, Liu & Mohamed Saiefeddine, Azaiez. (2017).

Literature review of the features of Chinese Architecture.

9. In Search of Brutalism in Hong Kong, 探尋香港的 粗野主義建築, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=US002UwsR6w&ab_channel=MPlus.

10. Xiangqiao Chen and Jianguo Wu, “Sustainable

Landscape Architecture: Implications of the Chinese Philosophy of ‘Unity of Man with Nature’ and Beyond,” Landscape Ecology 24, no. 8 (September 2009): pp. 1015-1026, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-009-9350-z.

11. Zhifen Cheng, Shangyi Zhou, and Baoxiu Zhang, “The Spatial Factors of Cultural Identity: A Case Study of the Courtyards in a Historical Residential Area in Beijing,” Sustainability 10, no. 8 (2018): p. 2587, https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082587.

The fusion of both Chinese traditions and the modernism—— from the general arrangent of Chung Chi College Chun Nam, Chan

The Chung Chi College is one of the first three colleges of the Chinese University. It was established to address the local shortage of the higher education institutions in Hong Kong, which focus on Chinese language and culture to develop talents.1 As the oldest college of the Chinese University, the Chung Chi campus can reflect the social and cultural conditions at that time to a great extent. In the following pages, the architectural concept of Chung Chi College will be explored from its early stages of general arrangement Firstly, at that time, Chung Chi College was founded by a group of immigrant architects and educators from the mainland, and its predecessor can be regarded as 13 Christian universities in the mainland, this also led to the influence of Chinese and Christian culture on

the early construction of Chung Chi College.

On the other hand, one of the immigrant architect Fan Wenzhao was chosen to be the chief architect of Chung Chi College. He and the school have worked out the general design guidelines and basic layout of the Chung Chi campus, in respect of the location of Chung Chi College, Fan Wenzhao combined his own idea with that of the school and chose the New Territories be the location, which is far away from the Hong Kong Island. In the school believes: the environment has the power of subtle, with the beautiful and quiet places, it breeds talents, so they determined to stay away from the noisy crowded urban areas.2later, Fan Wenzhao and school changed the site of Chung Chi College further from the valley-like Kau to Shan to Ma Liu Shu, and those 10 acres of land were spread over seven sites in order to obtain a wider area and higher location for the further development of the college. At the same time, the Chinese geomantic architecture theory also says that the site of the building should take topography

into the consideration. The building should be in a beautiful and open area of mountains with forests, which is conducive to people’s living.3 it can be seen that Fan Wenzhao and the school are also influenced by the Chinese Feng Shui when considering the site selection.

On the other hand, in the 1930s, many architects were influenced by ethnic-state ideology and used Chinese architecture as an important means of expressing Chinese identity, but when those architects came to Hong Kong as a colony after 1949, they need to be politically neutral, so international architecture becomes the mainstream. Influenced by this, Fan Wenzhao started to abandon the vintage Chinese architecture and give up the idea of eclecticism, he began to advocate the modernism, in which he considered the local natural environment and using the topography, structural materials and other modernist characteristics to create architecture. Therefore Chung Chi College was also influenced by that.

Secondly, in the general arrangement of Chung Chi College, it stressed on two points,

one is harmony, the other is simplicity. First, harmony is divided into two categories. The first type is the harmony between architecture and environment, which can also be regarded as the co-exist between nature and human beings. The second type is the harmony between architectural distribution and its features, while simplicity was expressed in the use of materials and the overall environment.

And the layout of Chung Chi College is no longer the same as that of an ordinary university, it no longer creating the pattern of imposing just like the other universities, but hoping to spread the buildings in different places, in keeping with the surrounding landscape and topography, the pond and forest will be preserved as much as possible, and enough space will be left around the building for future development, thus achieving the goal of building in harmony with nature, although this is contrary to the architectural style of the axis of the ancient Chinese Academy, 4it is in line with the idea of the coexistence of human being and nature in the

geomantic theory, as well as with the view of modernism that the layout of the building should be free and in cooperation with the topography. On the other hand, Fan Wenzhao divided the campus into three parts: the teaching area, staff residence and student dormitory area. The administrative and teaching area is located on the eastern slope of Tai Po Road. While the teachers ‘and students ‘dormitories are located on the north side of the hill and facing south, the sports ground is located between the rice fields and the railway, It created a situation of both separation and encircling at the same time, and offer the development potential to the Chung Chi College. Furthermore, Fan Wenzhao abandoned the style of Chinese ornaments, but tried to consider the majority of the design based on different people’s visual experiences in the space of the architecture. This also reflect to the modernism, in which it considers the experiences of human being are the start of the process of creating architecture. This kind of action was also like what says In the Chi-

nese theory, the unity of man and nature, in which the relationship between man and all things in the world can be regarded as a flesh and blood separately. and man is the soul of all things in the world, and all things are the body. It can be said to be complementary and people-oriented at the same time.5 On the perspective of the simplicity of the campus design, Chung Chi college was hoped to only build one floor for each building, but the government required for two floors, to tackle this, Fan Wenzhao straddled the building on the hill and part of the second floor was situated on the hillside. On the other hand, with the limited usage of concrete and stainless, the usage of local Tauren stone, brick, and trellis wall.it create a contrast of color with the concrete and create the feelings of simplicity. With the simplicity and harmony, the Chung Chi College can achieve a modest atmosphere, and with the cooperation of both environment and landscape, It can be poetic and picturesque at the same time Finally, when we focus on the entrance and

main road of Chung Chi College. The first road was started from the train station and treated it as the major point of view, along the road, on the one hand the building was built along the contour line, on the other hand the building was arranged along the height of the mountain, forming a stretching horizontally.

At the same time, the path to the main campus twists and turns, allows the students to enjoy the natural scenery, and when accessing to the library, dining hall or the lobby of the administration building, students can also look back to the train station. The second road was following down from Tai Po Road, there was a square between the administration building and the teaching building. From this forward, a main passage to the library will appear, and reaching to the teaching buildings and other part of the campus. The third road started from the teaching building, by facing the back hillside, thus creating another layer of visual experience, which also laid the groundwork for the layout design of the inner courtyard in the teaching building.6

When combine these three, we can see that the road design was based on human’s experiences, Moreover, it also focusses on the visual experiences of people. By placing the road like that it offers an multitude of angles to see the buildings in Chung Chi College.

In conclusion, under the guidance of Fan Wenzhao and the school, the early design of Chung Chi College, paid attention to the dual characteristics of Chinese traditional culture and modernism, the feng shui of the former influenced the chosen location of Chung Chi campus, as well as the harmonious combination of architecture and nature in the campus, and emphasizing the concept of the unity of man and nature within the design process, the latter was influenced by the transformation of fan Wenzhao from Classicism to modernism, therefore, the layout and architecture of the Chung Chi campus have obvious modernist characteristics. It’s simple linear structure and locally sourced materials keep the building in a unified style at the same time, With all of this, it creates Chung Chi College.

Notes

1. 王 楚, “中文大學大興土木,” in 亞洲週 刊 Asia Weekly, vol. 9 no. 13 (Hong Kong: Contemporary Publications Ltd, 1972), pp. 2-6.

2. 顧 大 慶 . “ 範 文 照 建 築 師 與 香 港 崇 基 學 院 的 校 園設計.”時代建築, no.

4 (2015): 168-79.

3. 龐 春 勇 . ” 淺 談 風 水 在 建 築 設 計 里 的 運 用”.重慶建築, 17, no.

5 (2018): 53-54.

4. Gu, Daqing. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture: Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. (Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011.)

5. 邱 建偉. 走向”天人合一”: 建築設計的人文反 思與非線性思維觀建構 (天津: 天津大學, 2006.)

6. An Exhibition on Architectural Design of the Early Campus of Chung Chi College.（Hong Kong: Chung Chi College The University of Hong Kong, 2008.）

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The Modern Architecture Guidebook Hong Kong’s built environment represents a unique site of inquiry in the global history of the Modern Movement. The Modern Architecture guidebook series draw from an inter-disciplinary toolkit of knowledge, references, and field studies to understand the processes at work in the built environment. Each walking tour in the series begins with one of the 98 MTR stations in Hong Kong as the meeting point.

First opened in 1979, this modernist infrastructure has produced a city rationalized around transportoriented development. Organized around key themes (industrialization, colonization, environment, internationalization, migration, decolonization, counterculture, and globalization), the guidebooks present a critical yet open perspective towards the implications of large-scale modernist schemes on the environment and community.

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