Hong Kong International Trip and Syllabus by Ying Xiang

Hong Kong International Trip & Syllabus

Middle Man How to theorize a city that operates without theory? Such is the challenge of Hong Kong, where the combination of a growing population and limited land has cultivated an instant-fix mentality. There is neither time nor space for architectural ideologies, only pure pragmatism. But this habit has created fragments of an ideology – that there is value not only in resolving the conflict but also highlighting the two sides. The middleman functions in the same way, a bridge that is also always looking for more gaps to fill. This project, formatted as a series of video essays, investigates the city as a middleman of this uneasy duality, and the tools used to deal with the two extremes, from buildings (Entertainment Building) and objects (Escalator) to scenarios (Porosity vs. Solidity). Because Hong Kong’s urban landscape has undergone such drastic changes, its architectural qualities are easily diluted – by broad historical narratives or narrow typological studies that shuffle buildings into timelines and categories. This video series will function as a body of references for local designers and the larger community interested in the architecture of the city. Like a close reading of a novel, or video essays that analyze a specific aspect of a film, this project seeks to provide comprehensive analysis of individual architectures rather than a portrait of the city. We believe the local design culture will benefit from having a shared set of references – historical, ideological, visual – to discuss, interrogate, reinterpret.

http://middlemanhongkong.com/about.html Middle man is a serioes of documentary produced by New Office Works, a Hong Kong architectural design office

Preface Hong Kong is a city in between, it is in between China and England, East and West, tradition and modern, Mountain and sea. By this unique positioning, it gained the importance and wealthy, through being a middle man– trading business. And in term they are restrained by this identity of middle man and in constant search of who they really are.

In Hong Kong’s brief history, it was originally a remote fishing and farming village with little population, started to quickly expand after colonized by British Empire, and the economic and population boomed during the second world war and post war when refugees continuously flood into the city. At 1997, when the 99 year lease was over, Hong Kong was back to became part of China.

Now Hong Kong is a city with more than 7 million people, it is one of the most populated area on the earth, it is one of the most rich city in the world, and it is the one of the kind vertical city saturated with skyscrapers.

The architecture in the city also reflect the hybrid nature of the city, through this tour, we will see the transformation of the architecture from the local/vernacular to the most modern, and through the process to understand the city step by step. At the end of the trip, everyone of you would take a piece of Hong Kong back as what you think it is.

Chapter I: Dot

Chapter II: Line

Local Architecture

Tram

The blue house – Wanchai

British Architecture

Victoria Peak

Tramsway

PMQ – Sheungwan

Hong Kong Island

Tai Kwun – Sheungwan Old Bank of China Building – Central

Boat Star Ferry

Modern Architecture Bank of China – Central

Bus

HSBC Headquarter – Central MTR Contemporary TaiKuwn – Sheungwan

Foot bridges

M+ Museum – West Kowloon Jockey Club Innovation Tower – Hung Hom

Elevators and Escalators

Chapter I: Dot There are numerous landmark buildings in Hong Kong, here in this short trip, we will look at those most influential buildings and their design in the architecture history of Hong Kong.

Chapter III: Surface Sheung wan The Art(New) and Tradition(Old)

Sham Shui Po The vulnerable and Vibrant

We will start from the most vernacular, Tong Lau, the tenement buildings built in late 19th century to the 1960s in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southern China, and Southeast Asia. Designed for both residential and commercial uses, they are similar in style and function to the shophouses with five foot way of Southeast Asia. Along with the vernacular building we will also look at the earliest government building which now have been renovated into other functions, such as PMQ and Tai Kwun. As the one of the most important financial center, we will look at the iconic skyscrapers of the bank headquarters. These building and their location represent their power and importance to this city. The contemporary architecture design from some of the most famous architects are also not missed in this city, such as the innovation tower in Poly Tech University designed by Zaha Hadid and M+ museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Farrells.

Blue House Blue House refers to a 4-storey balcony-type tenement block located at 72-74A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It is named after the blue colour painted on its external walls. It is one of the few remaining examples of tong lau of the balcony type in Hong Kong and is listed as Grade I historic building. In 2007, the Urban Renewal Authority and the Development Bureau jointly announced that the residents of the Blue House, were to be allowed to stay in this historic monument. On the same year, one of the ground floor's shophouses of the building was occupied as a location of the Wan Chai Livelihood Place, which was later renamed as the Hong Kong House of Stories in March 2012. The building closed for renovation in 2015. The building was fully renovated and opened in 2016. It won the 2017/2018 architectural prize in 2018.

PMQ PMQ (former Police Married Quarters), is a historic site containing a grade III listed building, the old Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters, now used as a mixed-use venue for arts and design, in Hong Kong, between Aberdeen Street, Staunton Street, Hollywood Road, and Shing Wong Street.

The site occupies what was originally the grounds of Queen's College, which built a school on the site in 1889. After wartime damage, the site was repurposed as quarters for married junior policemen.In 2014, after nearly 15 years of disuse, the building was renamed PMQ and opened to the public. The building's residential units were turned into studios, shops and offices for creative enterprises and exhibition spaces for the public.

Tai Kwun Tai Kwun, or the Former Central Police Station Compound (CPS Compound) includes three declared monuments in Central, Hong Kong: the former Central Police Station, the Former Central Magistracy and the Victoria Prison. Surrounded by Hollywood Road, Arbuthnot Road, Chancery Lane and Old Bailey Street, the compound underwent a heritage revitalisation and reopened to the public on 29 May 2018 as "Tai Kwun" (Chinese: 大館), a centre for heritage and arts. 16 heritage buildings have been restored for reuse. An additional two new buildings have been constructed, featuring designs inspired by the site's historic brickwork.

Bank of China Tower Bank of China Building (Chinese: 中國銀行大廈) is located at no.2A Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong. It is a sub-branch of Bank of China (Hong Kong). The site was originally occupied by the eastern part of the old City Hall, which had been built in 1869. The western part of the City Hall was demolished in 1933 to make way for the 3rd generation of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building, while the eastern part was demolished in 1947 to make way for the Bank of China Building.

It was designed by Palmer & Turner and built by Wimpey Construction in 1951 with a goal to surpass the 3rd generation Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building nearby to become the tallest building in Hong Kong at the time.

The Bank of China Building was originally the headquarters of Bank of China in Hong Kong. When the headquarters moved into the new Bank of China Tower in 1991. After the restructuring of China's banks to form Bank of China (Hong Kong) in 2001, the building was returned to the Bank of China again and is used as a sub-branch.

Bank of China Tower(New) The Bank of China Tower (BOC Tower) is a skyscraper located in Central, Hong Kong. Located at 1 Garden Road on Hong Kong Island, the tower houses the headquarters of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. One of the most recognisable landmarks in Hong Kong, the building is notable for its distinct shape and design, consisting of triangular frameworks covered by glass curtain walls.

The building was designed by Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei and L.C Pei of I.M Pei and Partners. At a height of 315.0 m (1,033.5 ft), reaching 367.4 m (1,205.4 ft) high including masts, the building is the fourth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after International Commerce Centre, Two International Finance Centre and Central Plaza. It was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992, and it was the first supertall skyscraper outside the United States, the first to break the 305 m (1,000 ft) mark.

Construction began on 18 April 1985 on the former site of Murray House, and was completed five years later in 1990. Sporting a steel-column design, the building is accessible from the MTR's Central station.

HSBC Headquarter HSBC Main Building is a headquarters building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which is today a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings. It is located on the southern side of Statue Square near the location of the old City Hall, Hong Kong (built in 1869, demolished in 1933). The previous HSBC building was built in 1935 and pulled down to make way for the current building. The new building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster and civil & structural engineers Ove Arup & Partners with service design by J. Roger Preston & Partners. It was constructed by the John Lok / Wimpey Joint Venture. From the concept to completion, it took seven years (1978–1985). The building is 180 metres high with 47 storeys and four basement levels. The building has a modular design consisting of five steel modules prefabricated in the UK by Scott Lithgow Shipbuilders near Glasgow, and shipped to Hong Kong.

M+ Museum M+ is a museum of visual culture currently under construction in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong. It is scheduled to open in 2021. After an architectural competition, six finalists for the design of the M+ museum were announced in 2012, namely Herzog & de Meuron and Farrells, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA), Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Shigeru Ban and Thomas Chow Architects, Snøhetta, and Toyo Ito and Benoy. The winning design, by Herzog & de Meuron and Farrells, was announced by the WKCDA in June 2013. As part of the Masterplan for the West Kowloon Cultural District designed by Foster + Partners, the architects proposed incorporating the use of underground "found space", referring to the space surrounding the Airport Railway tunnels running directly beneath the site, as a "radical" subterranean exhibition and performance area. The building's design has the basic appearance of an upside-down T. The main horizontal slab housing exhibition spaces is lifted off the ground, permitting pedestrian circulation underneath. Above, a tower houses "public restaurants, lounges and gardens" along with offices and research facilities. Of the structure's total 700,000 square feet (approx. 65,000 m²), plans call to reserve 185,000 square feet (approx. 17,000 m²) for exhibitions, only slightly more than MoMA. In addition to the interior space, an LED lighting display system will be integrated into the horizontal louvres on the facade, serving as a gigantic screen for works of art, visible across Victoria Harbour.

Jockey Club Innovation Tower Jockey Club Innovation Tower is a building of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University located on Chatham Road South in Hung Hom district, Kowloon. It was designed by Pritzker-prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid. This building is her first permanent work in Hong Kong. Zaha Hadid's firm won the competition to design the building in 2007. The competition brief called for "a beacon structure symbolising and driving the development of Hong Kong as a design hub in Asia." She and her team took as their guiding principle the "collateral flexibility" between the departments to be housed in the building. Their solution was to "dissolve ... the classic typography of tower and podium to create a seamlessly fluid new structure ... creat[ing] a building which is inherently organised and understood to visitors from the point of entry." Athletic fields surrounding the building were razed to create a new surrounding landscape. The main pedestrian entrance was placed at podium level, as with the other buildings on campus. A long pathway from nearby Suen Chi Sun Memorial Square to an open foyer creates a focal point, where the building space opens to shops, a cafeteria, museum, and exhibition area.

Chapter II: Line As a city is famous for its speed, trams, bus, MTR and boats connect is the vain of the city and keep the city running on a clock. However, other than the typical vehicles which are connecting every corner of the city, many unique walkways can be found in Hong Kong: the footbridge can connect all the towers horizontally and the elevators can connect places vertically. During the visit to Hong Kong, other than the destinations, the approach to the destination is also part of the journey. Because this defines how would we perceive the city. The dimension of the city is different when we look from boat or bus, and the moment when we step out the underground MTR station, the suddenness of encountering a different part of the city often gave a shocking effect.

Chapter III: Surface In this chapter we would like to look at the community and the city-scape they weaved through their daily activities. Two districts will be closely looked at, the Sham Shui Po and the Sheung Wan district. Needless to say that each district of Hong Kong is unique in its own ways. Sheung Wan is one of the oldest colonial settlement and given by the steep slope topography, many of the old structure/housing still kept till the day, along with its community. It is also one of the “oldest” district in terms of the average age of the residents. However, in a traditional and historical district like Sheung Wan, it attacted many young vibes, artists and expats to live and work here. Apart from the PMQ we mentioned earlier, there are SOGO and numerous designer shops, mingle with traditional shops sells antiques and dry goods. Another district we will look at is Sham Shui Po. Although it is predominantly poor, Sham Shui Po is one of the densest and most vibrant neighbourhoods in Hong Kong. It has a diverse mix of migrants from rural China, working-class families and seniors, with many living in cage homes, subdivided flats and public housing estates. Sham Shui Po has many lively street markets, electronics outlets, fabric stores, restaurants and food vendors. We will not just look at the dense shops and shopers, but the people left behind, the people selling scrapes at sidewalk, the people live in poor conditions, even homeless people. Through this district we could see the huge divide of wealth and poor in the city.

Syllabus

Other Proposal Due to the uncertainty at this point, we cannot confirm on the following two proposals as of now, this can be discussed whenever the time approaches.

Class 1: Introduction of the city Hong Kong “Middle Man”

Optional1: a visit and an interactive activity with Architecture school at The Chinese University of Hong Kong(CUHK)

Class 2: Group Project Divide the students to groups and each group give a in-depth presentation on a building they selected from this syllabus. The research of the building should include the architecture drawings of plan/elevation/section, the concept, the sketch, the history, the material the site, the form, the function, the influence, the context, etc. Class 3: The international trip to Hong Kong Day 1: Reach HK in morning, check in the hotel, stay at Sheung Wan Walking tour to PMQ, Sheung Wan district Take street car to Central, visit Bank of China, HSBC headquarter Day 2: Take tram reach the peak and see the skyline of HK Take bus from peak to Wanchai, visit Blue house Take street car to go back to Sheung Wan and visit Tai Kwun Day 3: Take MTR to go to Kowloon Visit M+ and Jockey club Innovation tower Visit Sham Shui Po Day 4/5: Individual activities (Itinerary only for reference for now) Class 4: Summary of the Hong Kong trip After coming back every student give a presentation on the topic “a piece from Hong Kong”. In this presentation, students need to select one object in the city-space of Hong Kong most attractive to them, and why that object can reflect the city as what it is.

Optional 2: the bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architectcure in Shenzhen and Hong Kong supposed to be held this year of 2021. It is considered the world’s only Biennale exhibition to focus specifically on urbanism and urbanization.