20th May - 1st June 2019 International Workshop Hong Kong
Hungry Ghosts
9000 buns covering the 14m high towers in the Bun Festival last year.
Bun Mountains The Cheung Chau Bun Festival falls on the fifth to the ninth days of the fourth lunar month of every year since two hundred years. Thousands of people gather in Cheung Chau island to prepare papier-mâché effigies of deities, shaping costumes, baking buns and building three bun towers, which are the symbol of this festival. These “Bun Mountains” are ten meters high monoliths crafted by the last remaining old knowledgeable man of the island, who specifically designed the construction and the aesthetic of these bamboo obelisks. The Bun Festival is one of the few remaining Taoist ritual performed in Hong Kong and is listed as an intangible part of China’s cultural heritage.
International Workshop 2019 - Sabrina Morreale and Lorenzo Perri
Collective Totems For the locals, this is the continuation of their customs. For architects, is an opportunity to understand how these towers can become a symbolic representation of a community and how through folklore they can shape an identitarian piece of architecture. The Bun Mountains are considered as mythical beings and therefore regarded as the eponymous ancestor of a clan and its protective spirit and revered as such. Students will then engage in this cultural ground examining both popular myths and vernacular assembling processes, questioning the role of the architect in the construction of these collective totems. How could we challenge contemporary way of producing artefacts? How can we dissect this festival in several layers drifting from a morphological point of view to a more human personification? Students will be working in groups, designing their own version of the Bun Mountain, crafting updated architectural elements, to embody the symbolism of modern processions and characters. We will question the function of specific ornaments, designing through different scales and spatial perceptions. We will then collect materials in order to construct these revisited totems, using different types of structures and Joss paper surfaces, understanding their properties and construction techniques. finishings will be combined with 3D printed components and specifically conceived fragments.
Schedule 9th-13th May 2019 (optional) The Cheung Chau Bun Festival held at Cheung Chau island. Students who might want to participate in the actual festival can sign up beforehand.
First Week 20th-24th May During the first week students will investigate on the historical importance of the Cheung Bun festival. They will start analyzing traditions and routines of this ritual which last since the 18th century. They will have the opportunity to visit the Archive of the Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage in Hong Kong where photographs and old videos are catalogued. We will visit the Kwok Kam Kee Bun Factory in Cheung Chau island to interview people and to get to know the makers of the “Bun Mountain�.
Second Week 25th May-1st June In the second week, students will be divided into small groups, to start designing architectural alternatives for these Bun Mountains. We will work on geometry, structure, materiality, bun anchoring systems and assembling mechanisms, therefore addressing not only the spatial image of the totem, but also the parameters and rules determining the clinbimg competition. This process will involve updated techniques and solutions, still remaining deeply grounded with the historically established symbolism of the festival. With the collaboration of local artisans, we will construct 1:1 fragments and components of these revisited totems - hosting then a final exhibtion of all the materials produced at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. Material sampling: 2/F Tai Hing Gardens Phase II, Tuen Mun, New Territories 3/F Chong Hing Square, 601 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon
International Workshop 2019 - Sabrina Morreale and Lorenzo Perri
To know more: On the Cheung Chau Bun Festival https://www.theloophk.com/hong-kong-history-guide-whats-the-origin-story-of-thecheung-chau-bun-festival/ Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage www.cache.org.hk/en/ Poly University Hong Kong www.polyu.edu.hk/web/en/home/index.html On constructing the Bun Tower www.youtube.com/watch?v=S10WsvHO_9A
Estimate cost Flight fare - 7,200 bath (return ticket) Internal transportation Bus/public transport - 100 bath per day (if needed) Ferry to Cheung Chau Island - 65 bath (return ticket) Accomodation Airbnb in Wan Chai (available for 16 people together/on the island) 500/600 bath per night Hostel (rooms of 8 people/ on the island) - 350/400 bath per night Travel Insurance - 800 bath Workshop material - 4000 bath Museum tickets - 500 bath Workshop Studio At PolyU - free Visa - A Thai citizen holding a Thai passport may visit the HKSAR without visa for a short visit or tourism purpose and stay in Hong Kong for up to 30 days. Other passport please check. Projected maximum prices for each student. The final price depends on the number of participants and on agency offers. The proposed cost does not include personal expeditures and meals. Student card is required for admission fee discounts and bring your cameras and filming devices. Guest Tutors Henry Tung Peter Hasdell Theodora Giovanazzi Danny Wills Deborah Lopez
Location Hong Kong Polytechnic University 11Yuk Choi Rd, Hung Hom Hong Kong