MIGRATION:
UNIVERSITY
大中 學文
THE CHINESE UNIVSRSITY OF HONG KONG
ARCH2058 Modern Architecture ASSIGNMENT 3: GUIDEBOOK
| Fall 2021
Migration:
Chinese Migrant Architects and the Early Campus Architecture in the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ng Terence (3035791696) Tang King To Anson (3035797963) Wong Ho Wang Caleb (3035740465)
EAST RAIL LINE
UNIVERSITY STATION
The Walking Tour
The tour begins at the University Station, formerly Ma Liu Shui Station which was completed in 1955. Following the development timeline of the University, we first walk along Chung Chi College, designed by Robert Fan Wenzhao, which set the foundation for CUHK and the renaming of the University Station. Then, walking up the upper part of the University we arrive at the Central Campus where iconic modern architectures including the University Library, Science Center and the Institute of Chinese Studies were situated. The tour ends at the United College, where more of Szeto Wai’s brutalist style architecture could be found.
1 ELISABETH LUCE MOORE LIBRARY Architect: Chau & Lee Architects Year Built: 1971 Location: Pond Cres, Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Elisabeth Luce Moore Library is situated at the bottom of the CUHK campus. As a part of the Chung Chi College premises, the library continued the college’s architectural characteristic of short buildings to blend in the natural environment with the architecture. The two-storey library was developed linearly to create reading and functional space, where it contrasted its connecting tall and vertical staircase block. Chau and Lee used concrete with vertical patterns and horizontal brise soleil for the exterior. These two facade features are integrated together to create an emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines of the design and are a very common approach of modern architecture. Le Corbusier’s brise soleil structure was implemented by the local architects to the library to solve the issue of overheating in Hong Kong’s hot climates with
long days of direct sunlight. On the other side of the facade, we can also find several panels of rubble wall which formed a huge contrast with the grey concrete of the original material. Although modern architecture usually follows the ‘machine aesthetic’ in the use of materials produced by industrial processes and neglect ornamentation, the decorative rubble wall can be sought as a continuation of Chung Chi College’s architectural style where Fan Wenzhao, the initial architect of the college included them in all the buildings nearby, as a way to unify all the buildings.
2 CHUNG CHI TANG Architect: 1972 Year Built: Wong Ng Ouyang & Associates Location: Pond Cres, Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Located next to the Elisabeth Luce Moore Library, Chung Chi Tang’s triangular form made itself one of the most iconic buildings in CUHK. The building which functions as a canteen and students’ activity center allows us to easily see the materiality of concrete and its structural language. With its extensive use of concrete and its clear exposure of its ‘A-shaped structure, the building is a true example of brutalism in the 70s. The special finishing of the concrete facade gives us an impression of wooden texture while it is actually concrete cast in patterns similar to wood. By choosing this method to handle the facade, Wong Ng Ouyang & Associates gave it a unique character and a fresh approach to the brutalist style. As the core venue of students activities, we can believe that the A-shaped form of the building has taken inspiration from the
Chinese character ‘眾’. Despite there being no documented proof, the form took into consideration the penetration of lighting as well as the symbolic meaning of crowdgathering to this place when students gather.
3 INSTITUTE OF CHINESE STUDIES Architect: Szeto Wai Year Built: 1971 Location: University Ave, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The organization of the Institute of Chinese Studies was formed early in 1967, while the building in CUHK was designed 3 years later by Szeto Wai, with the guidance and advice from I. M. Pei, being one of the greatest examples of a combination of modern architecture and traditional Chinese architecture. The building is located at the corner of the grand and broad University Mall, being a very eyecatching building in such a relatively open area. The clean and minimalistic touch on the façade creates a dull and mysterious atmosphere around the building, while the discontinuing placement of windows explicitly demonstrates its modernist style. However, Szeto Wai added a traditional architectural touch to it by adding a courtyard at the centre of the building. The courtyard, with benches and fishponds, responds to the design of courtyard and gardens in basically every traditional Chinese building, especially
houses, and undoubtedly creates a peaceful and sentimental feeling compared to the outside university campus. By putting these two styles together in a building, although it was quite a bold and courageous approach back in the days, at the same time it has redefined the style of modernism, which as time passes, contradicting ideas sometimes blends with each other to create forwardlooking designs.
4 WU CHUNG LIBRARY Architect: Szeto Wai Year Built: 1956 Location: United College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Wu Chung Library is one of the seven libraries situated in CUHK, and remains as one of Szeto Wai’s most iconic brutalist architectural works till this day and age. Unlike nearby buildings, in which a layer of sunshade was usually installed in front of their window panels, the facade of the library is less fragmented and looks cleaner. To exclude the direct rays of the sun, layers of shade in the form of a double-pitched roof were applied on the library’s exterior. These horizontal strips surrounded all four sides of the building and they remain as one of the main design features of this piece of architecture. During the library’s most recent renovation in summer 2018, frameless transparent window walls are applied on the lower ground floor and the ground floor, merging the library’s interior and exterior for users to enjoy the waterfall and greenery surrounding the college, and to give users a sense of spaciousness.
5 ADAM SCHALL RESIDENCE Architect: Szeto Wai Year Built: 1971 Location: United Road, United College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Adam Schall Residence was built and established in 1970, being the United College’s first and largest student residence hostel. Designed and built jointly with the Society of Jesus back in the day, the building consists of 5 storeys and is able to hold a total of 440 student residents of all genders. The building underwent a major renovation in the summer of 2007, mainly focusing on interior refurbishment and spatial reorganization, maintaining the major structure and most of the façade designs. The Adam Schall Residence is one of the most significant examples of brutalist architectures in CUHK. The building consists of two wings of squares, with a courtyard in the middle of them respectively for natural lighting and leisure purposes, as well as bringing nature into the building. The space of the overlapping “sides” of the two square
serves as a multi-purpose hall, serving as a gathering area, connecting the two wings of male and female residents. Two exposed concrete columns extruding from the entrance façade act as the main circulation, with a very brutalist approach of exterior finishing, meanwhile applying vegetations like vines to draw a balance between the building and the surrounding greeneries.
Floor plan showing the courtyard and cirulation design
Role of Chinese Migrant Architects in Building PostWar Hong Kong: Establishing Chinese and local identities through modern architecture Tang King To Anson 3035797963
Introduction In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China after claiming victory in the internal war with Kuomintang (KMT), which caused the massive wave of migration of mainlanders to the then British Hong Kong. This large-scale migration brought millions of Chinese with diverse backgrounds to post-war Hong Kong1, where many of the highly educated professionals like architects later used their expertise to set the foundation for Hong Kong’s vibrant development in the 70-80s. The 1949 event also caused the collapse of China’s 13 elite Christian universities2, where their core members later reformed the institutes in Hong Kong as Chung Chi College, United College, and New Asia College, the three founding colleges of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), continuing the mission of education of Chinese3. This essay will investigate the role migrant Chinese architects had in rebuilding post-war
Hong Kong, including Fan Wenzhao, Chu Pin, and Szeto Wai, who all contributed to the designing of CUHK; how these professionals used their expertise in architectural design and their migrant Chinese background to establish Chinese and local identities in Hong Kong through modern architecture, with a case study into their design works in the also ‘migrated’ CUHK. The growing significance of Chinese Architects in Hong Kong Prior to the mass emigration in 1949, the architectural field of Hong Kong was highly dominated by non-Chinese architects where Victorian and neo-classical style architecture was widely introduced to Hong Kong. However in around 1949, a minimum of sixtyseven Chinese architects migrated to Hong Kong 19494 due to political instability, and since then the number of Chinese authorised architects in Hong Kong quickly surpassed that of non-Chinese.
These migrant Chinese architects came from diverse backgrounds and acclaimed their professional status through different pathways 5 . For example, some like Robert Fan Wenzhao and Szeto Wai received their civil engineering bachelor degree in St. John’s University, Shanghai and continued their architectural studies in the UK and US. Some like Chu Pin received their bachelor and master degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, US. While some others were locally trained with engineering backgrounds. Although a majority of them were professionally trained in western countries, they all returned to China before 1949 and established their career by founding their own architectural practice or joining big architectural firms in China. Through their practice in various Chinese cities, they have acclaimed networks with landlords and developers who later also moved to Hong Kong around 1949. Shortly after the migration, these migrant Chinese architects have already received a number of projects
from mainland entrepreneur immigrants6 as they quickly re-established their business and industry in Hong Kong7, which also gave the opportunity to the migrant Chinese architects to continue their profession. As the number of immigrants continued to rise after the 50s, the Chinese community in Hong Kong continued growing. The number of Chinese architects had also risen to 70% of the total number of authorised architects in Hong Kong from just 33% in the 30s8. The increasing influence of Chinese architects eventually led to the founding of the Society of Hong Kong Architects (later known as the Hong Kong Institute of Architects), where migrant Chinese Architect Su Gin Digh was selected as the founding chairman, and succeeded by many others with a similar background, including Szeto Wai. The 1949 migration event eventually established the professional status and identity of Chinese architects in Hong Kong, which became the foundation of both Chinese and local Hong
Kong architects in the years after. Limitations and adaptations of ‘Chinese Style’ Before migrating to Hong Kong, Chinese architects in the Mainland had been widely designing ‘Chinese Style’ architectures as a method to express nationalism under a heavily centralized state of the Republic of China. In many works of Chu Pin, Fan Wenzhao, such as Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, Guangdong Province Municipal Building, nationalistic Chinese architectural style was adopted as propaganda of Chinese national identity, an element required by the KMT government in design competitions9. However, the Chinese nationalistic approach in design was not as widely welcomed in Hong Kong society due to highly sensitive colonial politics. While ‘Chinese Style’ was not encouraged, these migrant Chinese architects began to switch to other approaches in design,
with ‘International Style’ being the most popular alternative. Despite not designing ‘Chinese Style’ buildings anymore, traces of Chinese architectural features and ideologies can still be found in the modernism works in CUHK designed by these migrant Chinese architects. With their previously-mentioned education and practising experience in western countries, they have been influenced by the western modernism movement, but their migrant Chinese identity also allowed them to adapt new Chinese approaches in ‘international style’ and ‘brutalism’, which established Chinese identities under postwar modern Hong Kong. As the initial designer of Chung Chi College Campus, Fan Wenzhao adopted the ‘international style’ where he made use of the natural landscape of Ma Liu Shui and the local materials to achieve a modernistic approach10, similar to Le Corbusier’s naturalistic approach towards modern architecture in the design of Chandigarh11. However, elements of ‘Chinese
Style’ could be traced in his initial buildings in Chung Chi Campus where almost all buildings incorporated pitched roofs, a classic element of Chinese architecture; Chinese style grooves could also be found in the overhanging part of the buildings. Despite almost all Fan’s buildings being demolished today, local architects Chau & Lee who succeeded Fan in the Chung Chi College campus development continued Fan’s approach in including classic Chinese elements to modern architecture12. Out of all the works, the Chung Chi College Chapel (1967) and the Elisabeth Luce Moore Library (1971) have most elements of Fan’s style where Chinese fret patterns and ruffle walls were implemented to the ‘International Style’ design. In the Institute of Chinese Studies (1967), the adaptation of ‘Chinese Style’ into brutalist modernism is even more apparent and significant13. The institute was set up with the aim to promote Chinese culture in Hong Kong and establish Chinese identities in the
British colony. Migrant Chinese architect Szeto Wai, in his design of the Institute, incorporated a traditional Chinese courtyard ‘庭院’ into the middle of the box-shaped concrete structure14, forming a huge contrast between the two styles with a mixture of western modernist structural language and Chinese spatial ideas. Such an approach reflects the role migrant Chinese architects held in establishing Chinese identities under western modernism, through the expression of architectural styles and spatial experience. More traces could also be found along the University Ave, where traditional Chinese patterns originated from the Chinese Bronze Age “回紋” were added on the tiles of the road15, which could be sought as a cultural code and symbolism of Chinese culture. Despite no longer being in the mainland of China and living in a western-influenced city, migrant Chinese architects continue to reflect their nationality, building Chinese identity outside China. Switching from ‘Chinese Style’
to ‘International Style’ of modernism, they have not fully given up on reflecting Chinese identity, but instead extended it in alternative ways in the modern architecture of post-war Hong Kong. Establishing Hong Kong identity: Experimental ground of east meeting west The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, and migrant Chinese architects could all be sought a continuation of Mainland China after its unstable situation in 1949. While the University is the continuation of Chinese elite higher education and knowledge, which was reformed from the 13 shut down universities of Shanghai, Hong Kong is the place where millions of Chinese migrated, for freedom and escape from communism. Migrant Chinese architects then found a perfect experimental ground to continue their architectural career through experimenting in this land of freedom, where an interesting mixture of Chinese and Western culture vividly occurs, and with many
opportunities provided in post-war Hong Kong. Unlike the restricted nationalistic approach in the mainland, architects could experiment more freely in Hong Kong under various modernist styles of architecture. Within the CUHK campus, the highly ‘Chinese Style’influenced Institute of Chinese Studies (1967) by Szeto Wai and the experimental triangular form of brutalism in Chung Chi Tang (1972) by Wong Ng Ouyang already created a vibrant contrast between architectural styles. Even outside of the CUHK campus, we can also see these migrant Chinese architects and the other younger local Hong Kong architects (Chau & Lee, Wong Ng Ouyang, Ho Tao, etc.) experimenting with creative deviations of modernism, as well as Chinese architecture, for example, Chinese Methodist Church North Point (1960) by Fan Wenzhao; Special Room Block in St. Stephen’s College (1980) by Ho Tao. Hong Kong, the point where the east meets the west, soon began to develop
its own characteristics and identity. The city, which is not dominated by either one of the powers, allowed architects’ exploration of new ideas. The vibrant character of its architecture became the uniqueness of the city where its own Hong Kong identity began to grow. Conclusion Since the 1949 mass migration, migrant Chinese architects have played an increasingly important role in Hong Kong and set a solid professional institute for future Chinese and local architects. As the pioneers of the modern architecture movement in China, they once faced the unprecedented challenge of wars and political instability in the 40s, but such an incident also brought them to Hong Kong, where they could continue their pursuit and expertise in modern architecture. While this city might first seem to only be their temporary place to escape from the CCP regime, they have soon realised Hong Kong as their perfect ground for further developing
their career and realising their architectural ideologies through modernism, thanks to the unique mixed cultural background of both the east and west. Together with the city’s urbanisation and industrial development, these migrant Chinese architects helped establish the identity of Chinese and also the local identity of Hong Kong through their profession, and set solid foundations for the city’s rapid growth in the 70-80s.
Notes
1. Burns, John P. “Immigration from China and the Future of Hong Kong.” Asian Survey 27, no. 6 (1987): 661–82. https://doi.org/10.2307/2644542.Gu, Daqing. “Architect Robert Fan Wenzhao and the Design of Chung Chi Campus.” Frontiers of Architecture and Civil Engineering in China 4, no. 4 (2010): 456-64. 2. Pfister, Lauren, and Hong Kong Baptist University. 2015. “Christian Diversity in China during the Past 200 Years: Post-Secular Visions and Their Scholarly Significance.” https://religion.lafayette.edu/wpcontent/uploads/sites/53/2015/05/Pfister-lectureApril-2015.pdf. 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. Chu Ban.; 初版. ed. 香港]: 蜂鳥出版有限 公司, 2021. 4. Lau, Leung-Kwok Prudence. “Traces of a Modern Hong Kong Architectural Practice.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 54 (2014): 59-79. 5. Gu, Daqing., and Chung Chi College. The Chinese University o. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture : Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. 6. Wang, Haoyu., and University of Hong Kong. Mainland Architects in Hong Kong after 1949 : A Bifurcated History of Modern Chinese Architecture. 2008. 7. Wang, Cangbai. “Place of Desire: Skilled Migration from Mainland China to Post-colonial Hong Kong.” Asia Pacific Viewpoint 54, no. 3 (2013): 388-97.
8. Wang, Haoyu., and University of Hong Kong. Mainland Architects in Hong Kong after 1949 : A Bifurcated History of Modern Chinese Architecture. 2008. 9. Wang, Haoyu., and University of Hong Kong. Mainland Architects in Hong Kong after 1949 : A Bifurcated History of Modern Chinese Architecture. 2008. 10. Gu, Daqing., and Chung Chi College. The Chinese University o. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture : Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. 11. Rabaça, Armando. “Le Corbusier, the City, and the Modern Utopia of Dwelling.” Journal of Architecture and Urbanism 40, no. 2 (2016): 110-20. 12. Gu, Daqing., and Chung Chi College. The Chinese University o. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture : Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. 13. 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. Chu Ban.; 初版. ed. 香港]: 蜂鳥出版有 限公司, 2021. 14. Szeto, Wai. Chinese University of Hong Kong Development Plan : A Preliminary Report on the Layout and Proposals of the Grouping and Planning of Buildings to Meet Both the Present and Planned Ultimate Growth of the University. Hong Kong: University, 1964. 15. 梁詠斌. 香港築跡. 香港: 電視廣播出版有限公司, 2011.
Chinese Migrant Architects’ role in developing Chinese identities in architecture Ng Terence 3035791696
Introduction Hong Kong is one of the most unique cities around the world in which its noteworthy cultural heritage is informed by its eastern identity and western history. Under the colonization of the British government which had lasted for over a century and a half, following the western modernist movement in the early 20th century, architectural modernization also gradually took place in Hong Kong. This movement eventually helps shape the me-
tropolis’ internationally renowned cityscape at present. With reference to the architectural development of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), this essay aims at investigating the way Chinese migrant architects’ architectural practice of Western Modernism helps contribute to Hong Kong’s current state of architectural development, which features great emphasis on contemporary architecture. The surging influence of Chinese migrant Architects in Hong Kong Chinese migrant architects exerted significant influence on Hong Kong’s post-war architectural development by taking part in the design process of various building processes, including the establishment of the Chung Chi campus situated in CUHK. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, due to poor living conditions caused by the Chinese Civil War and fearing that their academic and personal freedom would be suppressed under the regime of the Chinese Communist Party, a wave of Chinese scholars was desperately in search for a better quality
of life. Given that the Cold War in eastern regions of Asia was gradually intensifying in the 1950s, with the United States and the United Nations setting up embargoes against the newly formed PRC government (Wang, 2008), many of these intellectuals chose to migrate to Hong Kong. These scholars included architects and engineers with diverse educational backgrounds — the vast majority of them are either formally trained professionals or informally trained draftsmen. Examples include Robert Fan Wen Zhao, one of the pioneering architects who provided great contribution to Hong Kong’s architectural modernism, Chu Pin, the director of the Hong Kong branch of KC&Y, which had been one of the most prominent architectural firms in mainland China at that time, and Chien Nei-jen, one of the main designers of CUHK’s Chung Chi campus (Wang, 2008). Regarding that most of these people have rich professional experience in mainland China and short-term overseas practical experience, and many of them have their statuses established in their own
country, these architects were more used to national Chinese expression of architecture. However, since the architectural profession in Hong Kong had long been dominated by Western architects and ideas, along with the fact that the colonial administration tends to promote westernization of Hong Kong’s socio-economical framework rather than conserving traditional Chinese culture, by utilizing their overseas experience, the majority of Chinese migrant architects adapted a more international approach to their building designs so that their ideas would less likely clash with the highly sensitive colonial politics. The Rise of Modernist Architecture in Hong Kong Among all western and international architectural styles, the modernist approach was far more preferred for migrant architects at that time than other styles such as neoclassical architecture and colonial architecture. The reasons are as follows: First and foremost, there were urgent needs for infrastructure and new
building construction during the 1950s, especially after the Shek Kip Mei fire in 1953, when authorities realized that vast areas of land had to be redeveloped and rebuilt to settle down the surging population caused by large-scaled migration waves originated from mainland China. Modernism became the most suitable building solution because of its simplicity and efficiency. Secondly, architects at that time believed that modern architecture could help contribute to Hong Kong’s reputation as an international city. Prominent public buildings were no longer adapted to architectural styles such as colonial style or traditional Chinese style so that the urban development of Hong Kong can be accentuated. Lastly, many of Hong Kong’s migrant architects have rich overseas studying or working experience prior to their return to China. For instance, Robert Fan Wen Zhao attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1922 to obtain his degree in architecture. He had also once worked for two architecture firms located in the United States. Sze-
to Wai, the university architect of CUHK from 1963 to 1978, also acquired his bachelor’s degrees in architecture and engineering during his study in the United Kingdom (Wang, 2008). These overseas experiences allowed Chinese-based architects to solidify their understanding of architectural modernism originated from western nations, eventually encouraging them to apply these concepts to some of Hong Kong’s major design projects, for example, the main campus of CUHK. The Chinese University of Hong Kong: A Proving Ground for Hong Kong Based Modernism It is not a coincidence that some of Hong Kong’s most iconic modernist and brutalist architectural works has been grounded on The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as many of the University’s ‘landmarks’ regarded by the general public today were actually drafted and designed by some of the most established Chinese migrant architects in Hong Kong. Most of these works are situat-
ed either in the University Mall or Chung Chi Campus. Buildings such as the Main Library, Ma Lin Building, and the Institute of Chinese Studies, all located within the university mall, are designed by Szeto Wai. In common, these buildings all showcased the texture and materiality of concrete on the exterior and utilized minimalist shapes and forms as part of their decorative element: The main library, for instance, has exhibited 3 layers of façade, with each layer possessing a unique geometric design. The Institute of Chinese Studies, in particular, incorporates Western minimalism and traditional Chinese courtyard and garden elements into one box-shaped concrete structure (Szeto 1964). Despite the fact that the array of buildings within University Mall shows similar characteristics in materiality and style, with each building having its own architectural expression, Szeto created a clever ensemble of buildings that avoids monotony (Elser, 2021). Another example of western modernism found in CUHK is Chung Chi Tang designed by Robert Fan. The iconic ‘A’ shaped
design of this piece of architecture shows other architects the possibility of applying brutalist elements into future architectural designs. With reference to the bold, experimental design approaches found within the CUHK campus, architects were more willing to express their architectural designs through featuring elements of western modernism: while providing the necessary functionality, the undecorated yet distinct appearance of buildings reforms the cityscape in its own unique way. Western Modernism: Building up Hong Kong’s Vibrant Urban Landscape After the establishment of the CUHK campus, modernist buildings gradually took over Hong Kong’s cityscape in the 70s and 80s. Most of these buildings appeared as giant ‘white boxes’ and were able to accommodate large numbers of people. Examples include Jardine House built in 1972, General Post Office built in 1976, and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building (formerly named as the Prince of Wales
Building) built in 1979. These large-scaled modernist buildings, built for efficiency and function, were able to provide a wide variety of services and large amounts of workspace for local citizens, as well as a larger profit margin for various stakeholders. This eventually planted the seeds for Hong Kong’s economic miracle and helped the city to gain international recognition. Apart from an economical standpoint, the popularization of modernist ideas had encouraged architects to refer to a wider variety of western elements into their designs, eventually leading to the rise of late modern architectural styles such as structural expressionism, examples include the Bank of China Tower completed in 1990 and HSBC main building completed in 1985. As some of these architectural works have successfully transformed into the city’s landmarks, it is without a doubt that the process of architectural modernization has reinforced Hong Kong’s status as one of the world’s most significant international cities and trade centres.
Conclusion Migrant Chinese architects have played a major role with regard to the architectural development in Hong Kong and provided the professional institute for both local and Chinese based architects. Despite the deteriorating living conditions and political instability during the Chinese Civil War and the Cold War, these Chinese architects chose to migrate towards Hong Kong where they were able to continue their pursuit in architecture. Although formerly living in a nation where traditional ideologies and indigenous customs were prevalent, they are still willing to explore the possibilities of incorporating western modernism into their own design approaches. By coincidence, Hong Kong, during its 50s to 70s, was in desperate need of providing adequate housing, infrastructure, and public facilities in order to accommodate the surging population. This serves as a perfect opportunity for architects to implement their architectural ideologies of western modernism on this ‘experimental ground’. As the metropolis’ industrial and ter-
Notes 1.
2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Gu, Daqing. Architect Robert Fan Wenzhao and the design of Chung Chi campus — A case study of the mainland migrant architects working in Hong Kong, China in the 1950s. Higher Education Press. 2010. Gu, Daqing., and Chung Chi College. The Chinese University o. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture : Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. Lau, Leung-Kwok Prudence. “Traces of a Modern Hong Kong Architectural Practice.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 54 (2014): 59-79. Elser, Oliver. In Search of Hong Kong Brutalism. M+ magazine. 2021. https://www.mplus.org. h k / e n / m a g a z i n e / i n - s e a rc h - o f - h o n g - k o n g - b r u t a l i s m / Wang, Haoyu., and University of Hong Kong. Mainland Architects in Hong Kong after 1949 : A Bifurcated History of Modern Chinese Architecture. 2008. What is Modern Architecture? Royal institute of British Architects. Accessed 20 December 2021. https:// www.architecture.com/explore-architecture/modernism Ives, Mike. ‘Box’ or Gem? A Scramble to Save Asia’s Modernist Buildings. The New York Times. Published 25 December 2020. 吳啓聰., 朱卓雄., and 朱卓雄. 建聞築蹟 : 香港第一代華人建築 師的故事. Chu Ban, Di 2 Ban.; 初版, 第2版. ed. 香港: 經濟日報 出版社, 2007. 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. Chu Ban.; 初版. ed. 香港]: 蜂鳥出版有限公司, 2021.
The Rise and fall of brutalism in CUHK Wong Ho Wang Caleb 3035740465
Being one the oldest tertiary schools in Hong Kong, the history of different aspects of The Chinese University of Hong Kong(CUHK) are always worth discussing. In terms of architecture, CUHK has undergone a number of stages of development and metabolism, and now becoming one of the best academies in Hong Kong, and the university having the greatest site area in Hong Kong. Among different periods of development, the style of brutalist architecture has been a significant and frequently appearing idea from the very beginning till modern days, being a very crucial element in the architectural designs in CUHK. Therefore, the essay will further discuss the rise and fall of brutalism in CUHK throughout the journey.
Established in 1963, the Chinese University of Hong Kong was originally combined from three colleges, Chung Chi College, New Asia College, and United College. Established by educators who were migrated from the mainland, the ideal of establishment is based on the problem of the increasing number of people entering Hong Kong from mainland China, hence a huge education shortage during the early 1960s. With a very limited human and monetary resources, the university was lucky to have given a site of more than 360 hectares of land in Ma Liu Shui, and thus hiring the Hong Kong architect Szeto Wai as the main designer of the school. Bringing on the theme of being welcoming, simple and minimal, while having a very limited budget, brutalism then spontaneously becomes one of the main ideas and styles of the campus design. Proposed by Le Corbusier and gaining its popularity in Europe and Japan since the 60s, brutalism is an architectural style that talks a lot about breakthrough the idea of the society, looking for new ideas, new orders, indi-
viduality and autonomy. Instead of letting the society defines the material, architects tend to allow the materials to express themselves, and define their own value and qualities, emphasizing the “truth to materials” and their “characters”. Therefore, in terms of material, fair-faced concrete was very widely used, both as structures and surfaces. Raw and reinforced concretes create unique and natural texture, and without a perfectionist finish, the material remains as itself until it dries and becomes part of the architecture. Brutalism also emphasizes on big columns and structures, and exposes them on the exteriors, giving the architecture a raw touch from the outside but a functional and natural feeling as a whole. One of the most rigid examples of all would be the Institute of Chinese Studies building. Institute of Chinese Studies building is an example of brutalism and a unique touch of Chinese and local architecture style. The organization of the Institute of Chinese Studies was formed early in 1967, while the building
was later designed and built together with the CUHK campus in around 1970-1971 by Szeto. Moreover, it was said that I. M. Pei had given guidance and advice for Szeto, hence creating one of the greatest examples of a combination of modern architecture and traditional Chinese architecture. The building is located at the corner of the grand and broad University Mall, being a very eye-catching building in such a relatively open area. From the outside, some might argue that the building has only taken a minimalistic approach by using simple lines and geometries on the façade, with smooth and polished concrete walls. However, the brutalist touch of the design exists on the bold and bulky use of concrete walls on the façade, as well as exposing the wooden beams and panel to the outside, and the discontinuing placement of windows, all explicitly demonstrate a modernist style, and more importantly, creating a faithful and true expression using the materials themselves. Moreover, by comparing old photos and photos taken today, how the concrete
has changed and got old would also act as documentation of the metabolism of the material hence the architecture itself. On top of the brutalism characteristics spotted on the outside, by travelling through the entrance, Szeto and Pei decided to add a touch of traditional Chinese architectural style by designing a Chinese courtyard at the centre. Compared to the straightforward touch on the façade that creates a relatively dull and noir atmosphere around the building, the courtyard, together with benches and fishponds, respond to the design of courtyard and gardens in basically every traditional Chinese buildings, especially Siheyuan “四合院”, and undoubtedly creating a peaceful and sentimental feeling comparing to the outside university campus. By putting these two styles together in a building, some might criticize it as quite a bold and courageous approach back in the days, however, the collision of these two ideas did not only foster the ideals of the university of blending western and eastern knowledge, it has also explicitly redefined
the style of modernism, which as time passes, contradicting ideas sometimes blends with each other to create forward-looking designs. One of the biggest ideals in brutalism also discusses the relationship between humans, architecture, and nature, and how human designs and the natural form a symbiotic relationship between each other. Located in such a natural site at Ma Liu Shui, facing the Tolo Harbour, a lot of early buildings in CUHK, especially for those located on lower lands like Chung Chi College, are relatively low, not taller than 5-storey, in order to minimize the effect of landscape and views from the artificial elements. Other than controlling the building heights, some natural red stones and rocks taken out when opening up the site were also delicately used on the building façade, aiming to blend in the buildings to the site naturally. Speaking of which, how Szeto designed Adam Schall Residence is also worth discussing. The Adam Schall Residence was built and established in 1970,
being the United College’s first and largest student residence hostel. Designed and built jointly with the Society of Jesus back in the days, the building consist of 5 storeys, and is able to hold a total of 440 student residents of all genders. The building underwent a major renovation in the summer of 2007, mainly focusing on interior refurbishments and spatial re-organization, maintaining the major structure and most of the façade designs. The building consists of two wings of squares, resembling the Chinese character “回”, with a courtyard in the middle of them respectively for natural lighting and leisure purposes, as well as bringing nature into the building. The space of the overlapping “sides” of the two square serves as a multi-purpose hall, serving as a gathering area, connecting the two wings of male and female residents. Two exposed concrete columns extruding from the entrance façade act as the main circulation, with a very brutalist approach of exterior finishing, meanwhile applying vegetations like vines to draw a balance between
the building and the surrounding greeneries. Although brutalism architectures have made their frequent appearance at different corners around the campus, such style of design started to face challenges as time passes. In the 80s, the design approach of CUHK started to shift from brutalism to leaning more to the functionalism style. Under such a direction, building designs started to have more clean exterior finishes, or the application of paper stones covering over facades with brutalist finishes. Moreover, in order to lower the school’s expenditures on building renovations, climbing plants and vines were removed to prevent damaging or corrosion of building exteriors. In the 90s, the university has also decided to start increasing the building heights to more than 5 storeys, contradicting with the brutalism ideal of architecture being harmonious to the natures and not to avoid the nature view too much. Moving to nowadays, the existence of brutalism is facing its extinction while more and more contemporary buildings, such
as the newly built CUHK Medical Centre, have big glass panels and steel bars on its facade, and having a building height of 80m. The Chinese University of Hong Kong has been one of the most significant and existing documentation of the style of brutalism architecture in Hong Kong, recording the early emergence of such a modern and innovative approach of designing, to the local and Chinese influence of the style, and to the diminishing appearance of the style itself in modern days. However, despite the fact that brutalism is no longer a popular architectural style in CUHK or even in Hong Kong or place around the world, brutalism has set a rigid foundation of architecture style for CUHK, not only being a style of building and design, but even more, assisting the formation of CUHK in terms its ideal and education style, as well as a documentation of the development of the collision and convergence of ideas and knowledge through the time.
Notes
1. ICS – About ICS. (2021). Retrieved 18 December 2021, from http://www.ics.cuhk.edu.hk/en/about-ics 2. Lau, Leung-Kwok Prudence. “Traces of a Modern Hong Kong Architectural Practice.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 54 (2014): 59-79. 3. Gu, Daqing., and Chung Chi College. The Chinese University o. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture : Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. 4. 中國文化研究所. (2021). Retrieved 18 December 2021, from https://www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/ publications/research/article.aspx?articleid=58895 5. 中國文化研究花繁葉茂. (2021). Retrieved 18 December 2021, from https://www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/ publications/CUHKUPDates/article.aspx?articleid=1928 6. 中大早期建築興衰史. (2021). Retrieved 18 December 2021, from https://site.douban.com/141457/ widget/articles/6785224/article/16652009/ 7. 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. Chu Ban.; 初 版. ed. 香港]: 蜂鳥出版有限公司, 2021. 8. 吳啓聰., 朱卓雄., and 朱卓雄. 建聞築蹟 : 香港 第一代華人建築師的故事. Chu Ban, Di 2 Ban.; 初版, 第2版. ed. 香港: 經濟日報出版社, 2007.
Bibliography
Burns, John P. “Immigration from China and the Future of Hong Kong.” Asian Survey 27, no. 6 (1987): 661–82. https:// doi.org/10.2307/2644542.Gu, Daqing. “Architect Robert Fan Wenzhao and the Design of Chung Chi Campus.” Frontiers of Architecture and Civil Engineering in China 4, no. 4 (2010): 456-64. Gu, Daqing., and Chung Chi College. The Chinese University o. Chung Chi Original Campus Architecture : Hong Kong Chinese Architects’ Practice of Modern Architecture. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. Lau, Leung-Kwok Prudence. “Traces of a Modern Hong Kong Architectural Practice.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 54 (2014): 59-79. 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. Chu Ban.; 初版. ed. 香港]: 蜂鳥出版有限公司, 2021. 梁詠斌. 香港築跡. 香港: 電視廣播出版有限公司, 2011. Pfister, Lauren, and Hong Kong Baptist University. 2015. “Christian Diversity in China during the Past 200 Years: Post-Secular Visions and Their Scholarly Significance.” https://religion.lafayette.edu/wp-content/uploads/ sites/53/2015/05/Pfister-lecture-April-2015.pdf.
Rabaça, Armando. “Le Corbusier, the City, and the Modern Utopia of Dwelling.” Journal of Architecture and Urbanism 40, no. 2 (2016): 110-20. Szeto, Wai. Chinese University of Hong Kong Development Plan : A Preliminary Report on the Layout and Proposals of the Grouping and Planning of Buildings to Meet Both the Present and Planned Ultimate Growth of the University. Hong Kong: University, 1964. Wang, Cangbai. “Place of Desire: Skilled Migration from Mainland China to Post-colonial Hong Kong.” Asia Pacific Viewpoint 54, no. 3 (2013): 388-97. 吳啓聰., 朱卓雄., and 朱卓雄. 建聞築蹟 : 香港第一代華人建築 師的故事. Chu Ban, Di 2 Ban.; 初版, 第2版. ed. 香港: 經濟日 報出版社, 2007. Wang, Haoyu., and University of Hong Kong. Mainland Architects in Hong Kong after 1949 : A Bifurcated History of Modern Chinese Architecture. 2008.
大中 學文
ARCH2058 Modern Architecture ASSIGNMENT 3: GUIDEBOOK
| Fall 2021
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.
© ARCH2058 Eunice Seng 2021