Mapping the City – Introduction to Visualizing Urbanism and Urban Design by MSc in UD x CUHK

School of Architecture The Chinese University of Hong Kong

MAPPING THE CITY INTRODUCTION TO VISUALIZING URBANISM & URBAN DESIGN --PHASE I: 5-9 PHASE II: 26-30 AUGUST 2013

EDITED BY: Mika SAVELA / MO, Kar Him / YUEN, Ming Shan Connie

M.SC. (URBAN DESIGN) × CUHK

School of Architecture The Chinese University of Hong Kong

MAPPING THE CITY INTRODUCTION TO VISUALIZING URBANISM & URBAN DESIGN --PHASE I: 5-9 PHASE II: 26-30 AUGUST 2013

EDITED BY: Mika SAVELA / MO, Kar Him / YUEN, Ming Shan Connie

M.SC. (URBAN DESIGN) × CUHK

MAPPING THE CITY – INTRODUCTION TO VISUALIZING URBANISM & URBAN DESIGN Editors Mika SAVELA MO, Kar Him YUEN, Ming Shan Connie Design Mika SAVELA 2013 © School of Architecture, CUHK Publisher School of Architecture The Chinese University of Hong Kong AITB, Shatin, New Territories Hong Kong SAR, China www.arch.cuhk.edu.hk architecture@cuhk.edu.hk Tel: +852 3943 6583 Fax: +852 2603 5267 All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-962-8272-10-5 (PDF)

THE WORKSHOP

Workshop participants: Phase I, 5-9 August 2013 (BSSc in Urban Studies) CAI, Shanyu Carine YIP, Tsz Ching Jasmine TANG, Yan Man Peggy YAU, Chun Ting Nick NG, Si Ieong Hugo WONG, Lok Ting Angel WONG, Hiu Ching Angela LEUNG, Yui Yan Christy HO, Yan Ching Holly Phase II, 26-30 August 2013 (MSc in Urban Design) BI, Yueyuan Yolanda CHEN, Xiaogang Ken CHEN, Xin Constance CHEN, Yining Stefanie KANG, Ningda Ream LI, Yigang Tommy LIU, Wei Leo LU, Yuren Steven MAO, Ningyue Nydia NIE, Yueliang Moon PAN, Yifei Penny PIAO, Jinlan Park Ivan SOLOMIN SUN, Qi Kay Mathias THOEFNER XU, Yichen Isha ZHUANG, Yuwei iWay

Organized by: M.Sc. in Urban Design programme School of Architecture The Chinese University of Hong Kong Instructors: MO, Kar Him Mika SAVELA YUEN, Ming Shan Connie Special thanks to: Hendrik TIEBEN Associate Professor, School of Architecture, CUHK Director of MSc in Urban Design Programme NG, Mee Kam Professor, Department of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK Director of BSSc in Urban Studies Programme IP, Ka Wing Helen Teaching Assistant, Urban Studies Programme

長春社文化古蹟資源中心之友登記表格 We are most greatful to the Consevancy

Association Centre for for their help and support in pro姓名 Name:us (中)______________________________(ENG)_________________________________ viding with a base for our field work in Sai Ying Pun. Friends of CACHe Registration Form Heritage (www.cache.org.hk)

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INTRODUCTION

This booklet presents work and results from two separate mapping workshops run in August 2013 by the M.Sc. in Urban Design programme in the School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The workshops were themed around a fast-paced exercise in “unconventional” mapping of the small and traditional neighbourhood of Sai Ying Pun, one of the older Western districts on Hong Kong Island. In collecting the students’ work, we tried not only to document, publish and display the great energy, discoveries and enthusiasm found in both workshops, but also to further position and describe the experience in a larger framework of teaching and learning about urbanism, about communities, and how the simple idea of “mapping the city in a week” can function as a method for thinking beyond visual representations – or even design. It could be said that in general, in today’s increasingly complex and urbanized world, interesting, focused and coherent representations concerning cities are needed both as a competitive professional asset, as well as a way to convey urban information and design concepts to policy makers and to the general public. But as the technological possibilities and access to information are greater than ever, the quality of visual information that we produce as designers or experts in the urban field is becoming a vital and differentiating factor. In the abundance of possibilities and media, we need the ability to capture, simplify and present complexities, conceptual thinking, character or uniqueness. More than absolute rendering power, we need abstraction and clarity. And far more than quantity, we need innovation, precision 6

and thought in pin-pointing problems, processes and solutions. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) currently runs several programmes related to urban issues. In fall 2012, the newly established M.Sc. programme in Urban Design launched a “Visual City” workshop for its new students. Chosen to run before the programme’s first academic term started, the first workshop peeked into the wider horizon of visualization in the context of urbanism, with some focus also on the technical and practical skills involved. In teaching the first workshop, as well as later in the programme, we observed the skills related to designing information, or design thinking were sometimes far more important than the technical prowess or massive productivity. We then began to wonder, how could a workshop similar to the one we had previously organized, might be able to address this process, before anything gets rendered, Photoshopped and laid out on a panel or in a PowerPoint presentation. What if you only had a pencil and a sheet of paper? Shouldn’t you still be able to visualize, to explain, to present ideas? This year the workshop was organized for the second time. Two week-long sessions were held in August 2013, the first one catering to undergraduate urban studies students, and the latter to the urban design programme’s own students. As for 2013, we decided to simplify the approach and focus purely on mapping – take some time to stop, pause and think with the students what exactly in their work is really being processed, produced, conveyed or implied, before they continue to pursue their studies. Placing pins

on a map is easy, but the act of mapping becomes far more challenging when you try to abstract information from personal observations in the urban environment and turn your subjective findings into a storyboard that others can relate to. We tried to see mapping also as a parametric challenge. What really happens when you decide to put something on a map? What to show, what to leave out? Setting most technological tools aside and instead emphasizing on self-made techniques and freehand sketching posed a further challenge. The format of the maps produced was 840 mm x 840 mm, equalling an A0-size paper sheet cut into a square. The large size and the technical limitations meant that the students had to overcome a relatively large blank space with their chosen style of visualization. Some opted for more laborious methods in filling their maps with freehand drawings, using only markers, pens and pencils. Some found ways of abstracting their observations into cut-and-paste style presentations. Most had never attempted to illustrate something of similar size. With such physical limitations, the actual work of mapping became a lengthier process requiring pre-thought and judgment. What could be achieved in the short time available? How it would really look like, in any professional sense? And would it actually be able to tell the story effectively? To offer some further distance from the usual tasks of presenting urban information, we chose to map out themes that would not reflect typical professional demands, but rather more intangible and subjective qualities of the urban environment. Rather than mapping physical realities, we chose topics ranging from cute to ugly, familiar to strange, sheltered to vibrant,

and quiet to busy. And so forth. The resulting maps presented in this booklet offer a glimpse into the process. What really surprised us was how differently people truly observe the urban environment, both physically and socially. Working in hot weather, in a strange neighbourhood, encountering a language barrier, sketching, operating outside the usual comfort zone, we saw a lot of original personal thinking being developed into concepts that were truly innovative. We were quite taken that most maps, though not perhaps entirely serious in their nature, were able to portray something new and previously unknown. Working on the maps in such a physical way also created a certain bond with their visual style and their creators. Frustrations were turned to small victories. Hidden sketching talents, model building skills and proficiencies in abstract thinking were revealed. After initial field work, most of the resulting maps were drawn or â&#x20AC;&#x153;scrappedâ&#x20AC;? together in two or three days. What could be achieved in a month or two? With this booklet the excercise continues, and another layer of communication is tested. How does the work done on large paper sheets tranfer into a published format â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a question ultimately faced by most of the visual information we produce. In a wider context, and based on our experiences so far, we see fascinating possibilities for using mapping as a workshop method in learning, not only urban visualization, but the thinking and learning about communicating such an abstract thing that design really is. --Mika SAVELA, MO Kar Him, Connie YUEN 7

PHASE I: 5-9 AUGUST 2013 B.S.Sc. Urban Studies

THE TASK

The Urban Studies Programme is a four-year undergraduate multidisciplinary programme that leads to a Bachelor of Social Science degree. It is jointly organised by the Department of Geography and Resource Management and the School of Architecture at CUHK. As the students come without much experience in design, sketching or drawing in their usual studies, the focus of the workshop was to try and sketch by hand as much as possible on the streets and learn to utilise and develop the skills that basically everyone has. Drawing is great way to gather and communicate with people in urban communities and one should not be afraid to capture and present ideas with pens and paper to others. The workshop aimed in building confidence on your self-made diagrams, sketches and notes in producing a presentable and interesting map of Sai Ying Pun. The workshop also included several lectures. CUHK Professor Hendrik Tieben introduced Sai Ying Punâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history and some of the projects and developments currently happening in the district. Connie Yuen discussed map making and displayed her personal techniques in sketching and utilizing maps in her own research and artistic work. Mo Kar Him explained infographics and Mika Savela lectured about the basics of graphic design, to provide a short insight into the kind of skills for an urban professional that are within everyones reach. Nine students from the programme took part in the final mapping workshop. the students were able to successfully use mapping as a way of organizing their observations of the community and the physical neighbourhood. Some students chose to produce individual work, some worked in groups by either producing a set of maps or a single map, according to their resources. At the end of the workshop, the maps were displayed to the teachers and students of both architecture and urban studies students.

2ND STREET 3RD STREET

EASTERN STREET

1ST STREET

CENTRE STREET

WESTERN STREET

STUDY AREA

WORK IN PROGRESS

GRAFFITI

WONG, Lok Ting Angel

The map charted graffiti, tags and writings on buildings in the study area. Photos were taken on each finding and some of them were reproduced by sketching. Some of the work found was spontaneous, messy, others skillful examples commissioned by a neighbouring street art gallery.

SAI YING PUN WALKING MAP NG, Si Ieong Hugo

All the walkable street and alley sections in the study area were walked through and the elapsed times measured. The time was compared against the time it takes to ride the escalator on Centre Street and under the Island Crest estate. It was discovered that walking is faster than taking the escalator, which is set into low speed because of its more or less elderly users. The map also includes sketches of some of the routes and the adjoining public spaces as well as a found object – a stop watch, bought on site in a “$10 shop” for measuring walking time.

SHOP STORIES

CAI, Shanyu Carine YIP, Tsz Ching Jasmine TANG, Yan Man Peggy YAU, Chun Ting Nick

The group collected information from the older generation of shop owners in the neighbourhood, interviewing and documenting their stories. Shops and sometimes their owners were photographed and sketched by hand.

SHELTER

WONG, Hiu Ching Angela LEUNG, Yui Yan Christy HO, Yan Ching Holly

A group of three created a map themed around the idea of â&#x20AC;&#x153;shelterâ&#x20AC;? in transparent layers, each representing complimenting and also contrasting ways of looking at the phenomenon. While most ideas related to shelters have something to do with the more human approaches to the word, the map found also ways to present shelter as a quality in the non-human and inanimate aspects of a city. Without relying on ready-made basemaps, the group boldly created their own map and style of drawing.

PHASE II: 26-30 AUGUST 2013 M.Sc. Urban Design

THE TASK

The M.Sc. in Urban Design Programme at the School of Architecture CUHK focuses on contemporary urbanism in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. Most students in the programme come from architectural or planning background and to reflect this, one of the main task of the workshop was to wholly focus on producing something personal, original and experimental as a way of tackling the challenges of visualizing a coherent narrative of urban information and design. Each student was required to produce an individual map in their â&#x20AC;&#x153;own voiceâ&#x20AC;?, choosing from the six different themes and study districts (presented in the following pages). The main task was to transform subjective urban observations into a legible, interesting, well-thought-out information through abstraction, illustration or other forms of mapping. The workshop also included an introduction lecture on the history of Sai Ying Pun, and on some of the projects and developments currently happening in the district. Connie Yuen discussed map-making and shared her personal techniques in sketching and utilizing maps in her own research and artistic work. Mo Kar Him and Mika Savela instructed the group in daily tutorials and design work. In the end, seventeen students from the programme took part in the workshop. Their ideas and methods varied greatly from abstracted colour blocks to detailed urban illustrations. The students experienced the hands-on challenge of simplifying hard-toexplain ideas and then visualizing them effectively. The process required energy and experimentation of techniques, failures, try-agains and many innovations and triumphs. The workshop ended in a pin-up exhibition and review of the freshly made maps.

MAP SIZE 840mm x 840mm (A0 CUT INTO A SQUARE)

2-3 DAYS FIELD WORK IN SAI YING PUN

MY MA P:

WRITTEN DESCRIPTION

FIELD NOTES AND SKETCHES

THE MAPPING PROCESS 26

WESTERN STREET C

E CENTRE STREET

D EASTERN STREET

HARBOUR

DE VOEUX ROAD B

BONHAM ROAD

MAP THEMES

1 OPPORTUNITIES

2 STRANGENESS C

3 CUTENESS

4 UGLYNESS E

5 COMFORT

6 BARGAINS

THE THEME MATRIX

CHOSEN NOT CHOSEN 29

ONE FLEW OVER THE NURSING HOME 毕悦媛 BI, Yueyuan Yolanda

I chose ‘bargains’ as my topic. Sai Ying Pun has a long history, so there are many old people living here. And there are two nursing homes in my district. As we know, life in a nursing home is a little boring, so I plan for one to fly over the nursing home. I go along every street to find the shops, restaurants or resting areas which the old people like to go in my study district. And I enter every kind of shop, talk with the shopkeeper, the customers, taste some food, and record some prices to evaluate different kinds of shops by price, environment, service and some relevant factors. I noticed that although the price of meat in the supermarket is cheaper, many residents like more to buy meat or vegetables in the smaller shops. That is not only because the meat is fresher, but also because of the good relationship established by the shopkeeper and the residents. They often chat with the older people or give them cooking tips.

THE FORBIDDEN SAI YING PUN 陳曉剛 CHEN, Xiaogang Ken

As the MTR station The Sai Ying Pun is constructing, many of the lifestyles of the local residents in SYP are going to change, a metro station means a lot to the locals and the tourists. As one of the old area in Hong Kong, undoubtedly a new era is coming in SYP. But how do the SYP attract tourists from other places? What unique charateristic do this region have? Here is the imaginary concept of The Forbidden SYP. This innovation project aims to innovate the roofs of the buildings in SYP, which could make the whole area more unique in Hong Kong. The combination of the modern buildings and the traditional stylished rooftops shows an distinguished mixed style and the texture of the history of SYP. About the lanes, it is a good place for some small civil exhibition to show the history and the resident’s daily life in SYP.

THE PROMISE OF CUTENESS 陈欣 CHEN, Xin Constance

This is not only a map. It is a story, a love story of Mary and Tom. When they were little boy and girl, they lived in this area. Two cute guys played in cute places and they did lots of cute things. Cuteness is the keyword of their childhood. While one day, Tom told Mary that he had to move to Beijing with his parents. He promised that he would be back, maybe 20 years after that day at the children’s playground. But when he is back on 03/12/2033, everything has changed in Sai Ying Pan. He cannot find the cute playground, but a complicated train station with lots of floors instead. He is totally missing. He doesn’t realise that Mary is just waiting for him at the same point, but on different floor. They finally miss each other. The promise is broken when the cuteness is gone. PS: It is not only a picture drawn with imagination. It also reflect the true information of this area, such as the height and the color of buildings. So it is a story of cuteness and a cute map as well. Last but not least, the map reminds people to never destroy the cuteness in our lives.

BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE 陈宜宁 CHEN, Yining Stefanie

My topic is “opportunity”. When I did the research for the site, I found that the business of the place was very attractive and interesting. I saw a lot of workers and millions of shops and storage. When the workers moved the boxes up and down, the routes seemed as a really huge business station in Hong Kong as the fish business is flourishing here. But like other old places, the site is facing the challenge that the pattern of old district is becoming disappearing. Also, during the walk, I discovered that it is the big business that becomes the opportunity to help Sai Ying Pun from disappearing because the huge station will let the site avoid being eliminated. And some useless places will also become the opportunity to add the activity places for locals. After the long walk, I found Sai Ying Pun an interesting and unique place – maybe a representation of the old urban pattern of Hong Kong. So I guess the micro economy may be the point of penetration of learning and researching the mode of local life.

DISCOVERY 康寧達 KANG, Ningda Ream

The topic is ‘cuteness’ in Sai Ying Pun, an old district in Hong Kong. It seems hard to find cute things in old disorderly buildings. But what matters should be the way people think. Different people prefer different sceneries because they have different eyes. In my study area, there are many old dwellings and a large number of car mechanic shops, basic commodity shops and CVS. But there are also some romantic cafes with great interior design and cute restaurants with delicious food, where people could find a comfortable place to spend some time. And the variety of space makes a lot of possibilities for stories. Also, some amazing beautiful scenery hides in the crowded place. Through narrow gaps, some incredible new discoveries can be made about the normal things. CUTENESS means anything that makes people feel young and excited. From another perspective, from another possibility, the cuteness of an ordinary thing might appear.

康寧達 KANG, Ningda Ream

THE FACE MAP 李宜钢 LI, Yigang Tommy

This is a map about a communication network. Each person has their own job, but actually quite of them are experts in something else. Most of us fancy chatting the topic our hobbies. For this reason, I collect some shop owners’ discussions, people who settled here and are highly accessible in their location. And also, I required them to assign a person who they would like most to talk with in my survey district boundary. So in this way, the potential network of the city will be shown. When I draw the map, I also change the style of the construction in to the style which related to the owners’ hobbies. Such as the fish shop in unit 21, where the shop owner’s hobby is collecting old coins, so I draw his shop into a kind of traditional way to turn this shop looks like a antique shop. In this way, the map will turn into a strange style, but it will direct a stranger here so they can locate their physical position sooner.

李宜钢 LI, Yigang Tommy

DISORDER OF THE AMBIGUOUS 劉偉 LIU, Wei Leo

My area in Sai Ying Pun is block is F, and my concept is ‘uglyness’. So I am thinking how to limit this concept, and what is the ugliness in the city. I think ugliness is not beautiful, it is a special feeling. I we feel like losing the balance in one’s life in a city block, we probably don’t think it’s good design. I think about this concept from three point of views. Point 1 is that the texture is very different in different buildings. Much of the construction is from the early 1950s, and many building are build also nowadays. So they have different skins. I think these skins mean several memories. Many memories mean many lifestyles for many local people. Old people have done many interesting things when they were children etc. But maybe these people do not know the new texture,or maybe these big buildings have destroyed their memories. Point 2 is the block; we can see many big blocks build around a lot of small buildings. We can see them in the middle with many details. The buildings around them are very large. So this area has lost its balance . Point 3 is the direction, we can see the new direction, but not the old direction. This doesn’t really feel very good.

劉偉 LIU, Wei Leo

THE COLORFUL AREA 陸羽人 LU, Yuren Steven

When mainland people talk about Hong Kong, most of them come up with the idea of “Metropolis” with lots of modern buildings. But when I got off the bus, what appeared before my eyes were crowded streets and chaotic ad boards. And that is totally different from the typical idea. After surveying this block, I realized that this area is a mixture of old culture with modern styles. What I focused on can probably be described as “colorfulness”. First are the people there. As we know, Hong Kong is a city with so many different people. People from western countries and Asian countries, local and mainland people. People from different countries have different behaviors and cultures, and also speak different languages (Cantonese, Mandarine, English). But what makes me a surprise is the harmony. Second point is color. Buildings’ colors in this area are abundant: light green, pink and dark red, though they also present a harmonious scene. The signage is disordered, facing different directions, but actually they are striking. Different colors represent different function, like the church usually is white,

the school there is in light green. This gives people more comfort. Colorful cars running on the lanes seem like a floating ribbon. Third point is the space. This area has a great change in elevation between North and South parts. And there is a sea in the northern part of this area, so sometimes people can get a very good view of the sea from the gaps between building, or from a higher position. What impresses me a lot is the type of most buildings: stores at the bottom, and apartments always on the top. The entrance of each apartment is very narrow and face to the road directly. Elevators, stairs and alleys connect different heights, and make this area more interesting in spactial layers. The experience will vary greatly if people choose different ways to get to a place. Some spaces are private, blocked by barriers, and not easy for people to find, but when you do go in, there is actually open space. In the future, when old blocks might transform totally into new ones, maybe we can have a better use of storefronts and generate them into more reasonable and comfortable spaces.

HONGKONG & HOMETOWN 罗薇 LUO, Wei Ivy

Perceive the Sai Ying Pun through the strange skyline. --When a person is newly arrived in a city, the main approach to perceive it is to observe buildings and walking along the street . For instance, when in Beijing I saw the CCTV tower I knew I am was in the CBD area. The special shape of it altered into an particular language to describe the city feature. The instant shape of a series building consist the skyline of one street, that is one of the elements of city. In my maps, I try to create the impressions and memories about the Sai Ying Pun through expressing the street skyline. And then I found some strange profile about the clear comparison between the high residence and the small shops. In this map I give up other forms to layout the information of this district, just focused on the relationship between the street profile and the sky. So I select black board stands for the street elevation. And it is easy for everyone to catch the skyline information in a directly sense. The mapped ‘strangeness’ in here doesn’t mean “bad or uncomfortable”, it’s just result in HongKong ‘s situation: restricted space and huge amount of people. This has produced the strange skyline which is totally different from my hometown’s. And it is reasonable, so it is called Hong Kong. That is what in the city attracts us.

THE FOODIE BIBLE

Similarly to the famous religious book, my map is meant to be a Bible for foodies. The map is drawn for new settlers or visitors to SYP. With my map they can to find what they want to eat easier as well as things they want to buy. In my map, I classify four kinds of food shops: the restaurant, the beverage shop, the take-out shop and the bakery. Each of them has a distinctive symbol, the signs is easy for people to recognize. Besides the symbols, I have also listed four basic details for each food shop: the name of the shop, open time, location, contact number or website. More importantly, I’ve also collected some information about their own features. For example I give each shop a total mark through grading it in 3 different aspects: food,service and environment. In this way people can choose their favourites with ease. The other things which need to mention is that through some investigations or interviews, I recommend one or two dishes for each shop, and conclude the average spending for an ordinary meal. I think if there are more people to join us, and write some comments on those shops, then this kind of map would be very useful.

毛宁悦 MAO, Ningyue Nydia

SECOND

THE FORGOTTEN SPACE 聂月亮 NIE, Yueliang Moon

This is a map of Sai Ying Pun E block, and the keyword is ‘ugliness’. During my walking in this area, I observed how people used their space as entrances, seats, working space as well as resting space. It is an area with features like narrow, messy, and old. It especially lacks resting space. Pleople have to sit outside some shops, on stairs of buildings or just sitting on streets. I observed this and defined it kind of ugliness. I also saw something that very different from that in the Chinese mainland: the entrances of residential buildings. Basically, they are directly opened to vehicle roads, just between shops. Maybe the local residents are used to this kind of entrance, but as a stranger here, I observed that the whole business street was divided into different parts by these black holes. I also define this as kind of ugliness. So in this map, I pointed out all the entrances and places for a rest, like a branch of McDonald’s where I sat in to escape from the sunshine, the bank I walked in to enjoy the air condition, theThai food restaurant I had meal as well as some place where the local people sat. I put some other things I observed in the map as well, for instance, the escalator which is a convenience, some small yards that are well-used, a dog which was locked on the street. Generally speaking, it is a map of my own emotions such as like or dislike which I define as the ugliness.

聂月亮 NIE, Yueliang Moon

TRAVEL IN THE OCEAN WORLD 潘怡菲 PAN, Yifei Penny

My topic is ‘comfort’ and I focus on the needs of tourists. If we go to a strange place and want to enjoy ourselves, the map that is easy-understanding is necessary. First of all, to find fast where you are is essential, and compared with the direction, drawing landmark buildings those situated in there corners in my map is a ideal choice. From my perspective, comfort means high-efficient,convenient and easy to find what tourists are really concerned about. This block in Sai Ying Pun is famous for seafood,where many shops sell seafood (e.g.haliotis gigantea, shark’s fin, starfish and so on). So I catch the feature to make the map just like a ocean where many different animals in, moreover, I use the ships to replace the buses,cars and other vehicles. The north of the zone is full of water that relevant ocean elements are included. When people get the map in their hands, they can easily find what they want, like the different categories of local famous seafood, car-parking, entertainment areas and hotels. After shopping, travelers must be in hunger and cannot help tasting delicious local or foreign food. So they can ‘land’ on the ground which is located in the southwest of the block that is a shopping haven for delicacies and cosmetics. Of course, money is the basics of everything which means banks and exchange must be emphasized. In a word, I make a map that point out all elements that tourists are really concerned about and that make traveling easy.

MAPPING YOUR MEMORY 朴锦兰 PIAO, Jinlan Park

A typical traditional map usually provides too much information at a time. While getting to know a new place for most people is a process with the investment time and experience. This memory map intends to create a few different time phases to represent the increasing status of people’s idea of this certain area. Instead of guiding people where to go, the memory map pays more attention to people learning on their own. Upon people’s first arrival to some place, they have no knowledge of the area just like a piece of white paper. On the first day, they may start to learn the streets and bus stops in case they won’t get lost. Every day, or every time people find some interesting or useful area, they can come back home, find the place on the memory map and tear off the cover page or write something down for example the price and taste to keep a note helping them to deepen the impression of this certain place. This idea comes from my own experience. I hope it could be used to help people like me, a new settler seeking the potentials and the possibilities of unfamiliar environment every day.

朴锦兰 PIAO, Jinlan Park

AVOID THE GAP

SOLOMIN Ivan

My initial goal was to map ‘opportunity’, which is a tricky task because opportunity is intangible, and it’s not really there until you find something to project it with. For me, looking for an opportunity is looking for what is missing, what needs remain unsatisfied. On site, I’ve seen steep roads with narrow pedestrian lines, very exposed to the sun, with no places to sit and rest in shade. There is virtually nothing to do outside once you’re not minding your own business on the way from A to B. There is just one place on Third Street, that has a playground, and it’s quite popular among locals. Just as are all the spots that have shade and some space to sit (usually on the ground). I thought – why not make more of these? But where? I have spotted a number of empty places evenly distributed across the area. Apparently from some technical reasons there is nothing built on them, and though being reasonably empty they create a paradox in context of high density and high land price

in Hong Kong, because they look unpleasant to be in and are completely misused, looking like voids in urban fabric that alienate people. Why not to fill those with function that might benefit local community and serve public needs? So I came up with an idea to create in those spots micro public spaces, that could have different scenarios of use – be it resting, eating lunch, exercising, socializing. These suggestions absorb the two main construction trends in Hong Kong – building high up to maximize space use of the floor space and make them spread on neighboring rooftops where possible following the trend of using rooftops. This might not only benefit local residents and guests, but local business as well. And this helps me to map the opportunity on the map – in green there is opportunity for obtaining a function, and in red – second-step opportunity generated by those spots to the area around them.

SOLOMIN Ivan

MAP OF PEACEFUL LIFE 孙琦 SUN, Qi Kay

This is a map full of memories and feelings. Imagine you’re a stranger here and wandering among the streets in Hong Kong, how can we feel the original peaceful city life in the old town? For me, I have a fantastic journey in two days. Just follow my steps, walking among the narrow lanes. First you can stop at some shops which have some particular elements that can call up your memories: Maybe you can also sit on the stairs and talk to the local people, they can tell you the stories of Sai Ying Pun, or you can keep silence and watching the people passing by, or you find an interesting book in a little book store and buy a fresh rose for yourself. You may not feel the time has passed by and when you come back home, you can think back these precious scenes, connect them together following your travel routes and draw a travel map of yourself. It can be busy but happy, a little bit noisy but full of life, crowded but warmhearted, and this is normal peaceful life of local people in Sai Ying Pun in my heart.

孙琦 SUN, Qi Kay

AUSPICIOUS COMFORT THOEFNER Mathias

aus•pi•cious /ôˈspiSHəs/ Adjective 1. Conducive to success; favorable: “an auspicious moment to hold an election”. 2. Giving or being a sign of future success. Synonyms favourable - favorable - propitious - fortunate

In the Chinese tradition, many elements have been considered to be auspicious or inauspicious in their nature. This has led to a development of many small individual shrines located outside shops and residential units, protecting the residents and bringing good fortune to the inhabitants. These shrines form an indication of where traditional Chinese values still hold a deep root. The Map of Auspicious Comfort shows the location of each shrine and their perceived area of influence, from guarding the door of a shop, to forming larger areas of auspicious energy. The simplistic layout also marks a distinct border between the old buildings and traditional lifestyles, and the newer developments streamlined into an ever globalizing and neutral world. Supporting the map is a folder with pictures of each individual shrine, showing the variations in design, wear and tear and current usage. These pictures give a glimpse into the older ways of life in Hong Kong, a lifestyle that is continuously being pushed away by the new developments in the name of economic gain and prosperity. Yet, these shrines are devoted to that purpose, to bring good fortune and prosperity, so are their diminish from the streets an indication of their power working, of having brought success to an area, and now giving way to the new indicators of development?

THOEFNER Mathias

ACTIVITY LEVELS OF VARIOUS SELF-MADE SPACES

This district can be divided into two parts, the active part with lots of self-made space in orange colour near the central street, and the inactive part in black near the Bonham Road. There are lots of self-made spaces which can be catalogued into three groups in three different colours in my map. Yellow colour means the space is created by somebody using rain sheds, plants and something else, and the space is also used by others. Shops there are good examples. Blue colour means the space is created by somebody which is normally used by the space maker himself. The green balcony is a good example. Red colour means the space are created and used by many people, which is usually in public space such as alleys. And the length of the bar means the activity level, the activity level is higher when the bars ‘length is longer.

徐燚琛 XU, Yichen Isha

UGLY, UGLIER, UGLIEST

The workshop requires us to map the Hong Kong’s oldest neighbourhoods, which is called Sai Ying Pun, in the western districts of Hong Kong Island. The area was divided into six parts, from A to F. My assignment is to use map to describe the ‘ugliness’ in area D. 1. How to define ugliness? Ugliness is full of our subjective ideas, especially when it’s judged by our eyes. We can explain ugliness with the things make us feel bored, unhappy, even disgusted. However, in my opinion, ugliness of a city can be divided into different levels – ugly, uglier and ugliest. The lower level could be seen easier, so the ugliest of city, which is highest level, could be invisible and hidden. 2. How to represent different levels of ugliness? Ugliness of area D is divided into three levels, which are ugly, uglier and ugliest. How to represent these different levels could be a problem. I found there was a bus stop at the north of my area, and some residential buildings at the south of here. I imagined a route which could go through all of these main parts and describe the felt ugliness, including complex markets, dirty street, boundaries between rich area and poor areas. The mood of going through this road changes among these three levels. 3. How to explain the levels of feeling ugliness? On the route, I used three colours to explain the levels of feeling. Yellow means ugly, dark yellow represents uglier, and dark brown gives the meaning of ugliest. The colours are gradually changing 80

莊雨煒 ZHUANG, Yuwai iWay

while walking, which could mean the emotion of walking could be changeable as well. On the obvious point, I used six red circles in different sizes, which gave detailed explanation to describe exact ugliness in the street. The bigger the circle, the uglier the feeling. Point 1 is at the corner of the street between the market and a narrow hidden street, where local people get off the bus. Point 2 is in a dirty street. Point 3 is in the biggest circle, cause it’s located between ‘rich’ area – Island Crest, and ‘poor’ area – residential buildings. In my opinion, the rich area is near the poor area without obvious separation, which could bring about lots of hidden problems to influence environment, safety and the emotion of the local people. I think such an invisible problem can be the ugliest. Point 4 is back to the complex street again. Point 5 is in another dirty narrow street. Point 6 is on the way to the observer’s home. This diagram shows the changeable feeling of ugliness.

4. Additional Declaration Ugliness should be described in ugly way, so teachers asked me to use creative method to make the map not-beautiful. I tried to use coffee and chocolate to make the sketch facades dirty and boring. Then I stood up the sketch paper to construct the feeling of narrow and changeable street.

莊雨煒 ZHUANG, Yuwai iWay