Vertigo - Catalogo Mostra

VERTIGO. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN FROM FAR EAST

Vertigo Experimental Design from Far East Una sera d’ottobre di qualche anno fa Gary Chang ci mostrò l’immagine di un ristorante di Hong Kong in cui, abitualmente, i clienti impilavano i contenitori in bambù per il cibo uno sopra l’altro, una volta consumata la pietanza. Ogni tavolo si popolava così di paesaggi involontari, un’immagine suggestiva che appariva come una sorta di restituzione surreale dello spazio urbano contemporaneo in cui sono immersi gli abitanti della megalopoli cinese, e che ci ha rivelato uno scenario di visioni insolite legate alla densità e alla verticalità dei nostri paesaggi contemporanei.

Da questa immagine e dalle continue suggestioni che rilancia un mondo sempre più densificato, è nata la necessità di esplorare il tema della vertigine, come una rappresentazione simbolica e sentimentale del sublime contemporaneo, dove vivere, lavorare e costruire negli spazi dell’alta densità, genera una poetica del progetto che guarda al risparmio dei metri quadri, ai materiali innovativi, agli interstizi metropolitani come risorse essenziali capaci di generare nuove modalità di vita e identità degli oggetti che abitiamo oggi.

Abbiamo così chiesto a tre importanti studi con sede a Hong Kong e Singapore di raccontarci la loro visione della metropoli asiatica attraverso il tema della Vertigine: Gary Chang/EDGE Design Institute Ltd., Mok Wei Wei/W Architects Pte Ltd. e Barrie HoMH / BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. hanno prodotto tre racconti molto diversi tra loro, che illustrano

modalità alternative di riflessione e sguardo sulla città contemporanea.

Attraverso la proiezione di un video che ci fa percorrere ad alta velocità i percorsi intricati e voluttuosi della città di Hong Kong (Gary Chan/ EDGE Design Institute Ltd), con il racconto in quattro volumi inediti della città di Singapore nei lavori e nelle immagini di Mok Wei Wei/ W Architects Pte Ltd, e nella visione ossessiva, ripetitiva e volutamente forzata delle torri progettate da Barrie HoMH /BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd, la mostra indaga quel sottile e potente senso di Vertigine che si subisce e si vive nell’attraversare le metropoli d’oggi, leggendo nella modularità e ripetitività dei blocchi costruttivi, nella verticalità esasperata nel rapporto tra suolo urbano ed alzato, nei percorsi trasversali che penetrano le altezze e si snodano in complesse e inaspettate traiettorie e prospettive, una ricchezza di paesaggi e linguaggi che diventano tracce preziose per dare forma e voce alle nuove ecologie urbane che abiteremo nei prossimi decenni.

Luca Molinari Simona Galateo Curatori Luca Molinari e Simona Galateo con Alessia Mendichi / viapiranesi Ufficio Stampa Otto (+39 02 89410320) Media Partner Corriere della Sera

1 GARY CHANG, EDGE DESIGN INSTITUTE LTD. HONG KONG

2 BARRIE HOMH, BARRIE HO ARCHITECTURE INTERIORS LTD. HONG KONG

3 MOK WEI WEI, W ARCHITECTS PTE LTD. SINGAPORE

Index

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Hong Kong: City of New Urban Dynamics

Hong Kong: City of Extremes Old and New Structures ‌ happy together!

Flight path crosses city dwellings Clubhouses suspended in mid-air 800 meters long escalator system running from central business district to residential districts at mid-levels Ultra-tall flyovers pierce through habitats Flyovers for pedestrians over vehicular street Roller coaster cocooning within shopping mall‌ Individual incentives becoming the new code of considerations in context with neighbours

Hong Kong: City of New Urban Dynamics Smart Use of Resources Choice and Change Co-existence and Connectivity

Gary Chang March 2012 Hong Kong

Hong Kong: City of Hyper-Density and Super-Intensity Super-intense street signages spanning the entire street Blurring of boundaries between habitats and signboards Vertical Village: multi-storey entertainment centres A vertical growth of public places Pencil Towers : multi-storey dwellings on mini-lots Super Highrises on hilltops

Gary Chang, Edge Design Institute Ltd.

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Gary Chang, Edge Design Institute Ltd.

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Gary Chang, Edge Design Institute Ltd.

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Gary Chang, Edge Design Institute Ltd.

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Gary Chang, Edge Design Institute Ltd.

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Gary Chang, Edge Design Institute Ltd.

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Hyper-Density Metropolitan Architecture in Asia Urban Intervention of Hi-Rise Architecture into the Hyper-Density Metropolitan Cityscape and it’s impact are unavoidable in many developing Asian cities, such metamorphosis of transformation maybe premature, vague and even paradoxical!

The exhibition consists of three different Hi-Rise Architectural cases in three different zones explicitly demonstrates the paradoxical interventions are a direct response to the theme “Vertigo”.

Case 02- The Urban RhizomeZebrano

Case 01- The Urban Re-inventorThe Mercer

Case 03- The Urban IconKunming World Trade Centre

The Mercer- A Hi-Rise Boutique Hotel in the “Zone in Transition” area next to Central District is an Urban Intervention in an old district

by Re-introducing a new dimension within the low-rise cityscape around the region.

The Urban Intervention has brought about a new chemistry to the region especially on the blooming of the lifestyle restaurants & bars, thus the urban cityscape is simultaneously stimulated to jet up rapidly.

The Kunming World Trade Centre is a metaphor of a brutal insertion of an Iconic Hi-Rise Tower into a tranquil landscape painting, the manifestation of inserting the Tower into Kunming Centre is an attempt to Re-construct the new rules and logics of Tall Tower’s typology within the boring socialist/ communist cityscape.

The Zebrano- An Urban Rhizome erected in the heart of a rapidly Post Second War World Shophouses’ zone - Kowloon City is an “Unavoidable” Urban Redevelopment scene by ReInterpreting a Hi-Rise Residential Development is based on an interpretation of the region as a Forest, but planting a Tall Tree to transform the silhouette of the short shrubs.

Barrie Ho MH

Case 01 - The Mercer @ Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Barrie HoMH,BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. 8

Barrie HoMH,BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. 9

Case 03 - The Urban IconKunming World Trade Centre: The Vertical Twist

Case 02 - Zebrano @ Kowloon City, Hong Kong Barrie HoMH,BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. 10

Case 03 - The Urban IconKunming World Trade Centre: The Musical Variation Barrie HoMH,BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. 11

Case 03 - The Urban Icon- Kunming World Trade Centre: The Chinese Fortune Motif

Case 03 - The Urban IconKunming World Trade Centre: The Square Boxes

Case 03 - The Urban IconKunming World Trade Centre: The Stairway to Sky Barrie HoMH,BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. 12

Barrie HoMH,BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. 13

Vertigo With a population density of 7,257/ Km2, Singapore is one of the densest countries in the world. Faced with competing first world demands on its limited land mass of 714.3 Km2, Singapore does not have a backcountry of land reserves to fall back on and was classified by the United Nations as the only country with a 100% urban population in 2010.

tower blocks to the North and South, Three Three Robin’s massing is segmented to capitalise on distant and close-up fields of view1. The sky terraces of The Oliv condominium are shared between two apartment units per floor and enlarge the extent of the balconies to create the impression of a garden patio within a highrise development2.

The contestation for space characterises the practice of city planning and architecture in Singapore. To deal with this struggle, a thoughtfullycalibrated approach is required to balance the various demands for land whilst creating a liveable environment. The collection of works present but three strategies out of a wider body of solutions that grapple with the inter-related issues of land scarcity and urban density.

The second strategy involves the building’s massing in relation to the ground plane which could be raised, stacked or stretched-out depending on the site context and programme.

This is illustrated in three institutional projects. Our competition entry for the Singapore School of the Arts proposed raising the school fourstoreys above the main street and allowing the ground floor to be used as a public space3.

Singapore is a highly structured and regulated nation. In tandem with this, building professionals are required to creatively negotiate a wide and far-reaching set of building codes.

At the same time, the government also uses these regulations to relieve congestion as a result of high-density living and this is most apparent in the residential projects the office has undertaken. Surrounded by residential

The Singapore Safety Driving Centre consisted of a multi-storey building of large plates, each about the area of two football fields, as a way of economising on the amount of land the programme would have occupied4.

The Education Resource Centre at the National University of Singapore is deliberately suppressed to two storeys and covered by a green roof so as to create a green lung in the middle

Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

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of the high-rise, high-density student residences surrounding it5.

The last strategy relates to Singapore’s urban development policy which strives to enrich the quality of the built environment by integrating both natural as well as built heritage into the daily life of the city. The government’s creation of regional parks linked by a system of green corridors allows for continuous, scenic experiences of nature and reinforces the vision of Singapore as a city in a garden6. Prior to the 1980s, Singapore’s rapid intensification resulted in the demolition of many old buildings.

However, following the mid-1980s, more has been done to strike a balance between conservation and urban redevelopment.

The office has all along taken a keen interest in advocating the preservation of Singapore’s built heritage, having also participated in its physical implementation from time to time. In the early 1980s, its proposal for the conservation of Boat Quay played a major role in raising awareness of the quay’s historicity which eventually lead to it being gazetted for preservation. More recently, the office completed a major refurbishment to the National Museum of Singapore7 and

is currently working on the redevelopment of the Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall8. At the same time, it has also embarked on the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum which houses a historic collection of Southeast Asian flora and fauna9.

Mok Wei Wei

1 Thr3e Thre3 Robin 2 The Oliv 3 School of The Arts 4 Singapore Safety Driving School 5 Education Resource Centre 6 Alexandra Garden Trail 7 National Museum of Singapore 8 Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall 9 Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

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School of The Arts The Oliv

Thr3e Thre3 Robin Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

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Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

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Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall

Education Resource Centre

Singapore Safety Driving School

Alexandra Garden Trail

National Museum of Singapore

Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

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Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

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Gary Chang EDGE Design Institute Ltd. www.edge.hk.com Gary Chang founded EDGE in 1994 which was renamed EDGE Design Institute Ltd. (in 2003) to better describe its mix of research-based and commercial activities. His representative projects have included the controversial Suitcase House in Beijing at the Commune by the Great Wall, the Kung Fu Tea Set for leading lifestyle accessories design brand Alessi, the Domestic Transformer (his iconic 32sqm Apartment), a “Workstation” for Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific, The Broadway Cinematheque (HK), Recalibration of The HK Arts Centre, Mega-iAdvantage Data Centre (HK) and ACTS Rednaxela Serviced-Apartment Tower (HK).

Biographies

BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd.

www.barrieho.com He was the only Hong Kong/China architect included in the publication “40 Architects Under 40” published

by Taschen in 2000. Two of his latest projects, A Domestic Transformer and ECOLS have won the Design for Asia Award 2009 Grand Award and Bronze Award respectively. Chang was born in Hong Kong in 1962 and he was graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a degree in Architecture in 1987.

Chang has won many international awards for his architectural, interior and product designs including the International Design Competition at the XVII Triennial Exhibition of Architecture, Milan (1985), The HK Institute of Architect President’s Prize (1996), The HK Young Architect Award (1996), ar+d Awards in 2002 and 2003 in Copenhagen and London respectively, The 25th Central Glass International Architectural Design Competition in Tokyo (1990), The Dedalo-Minosse International Prize, Vicenza (2002), Architecture + Award 2004, Design for a New World in Dubai etc.

Barrie HoMH

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Barrie Ho, the Founder and Director of the Hong Kong based architects firm BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. (BHA), is one of the most influential architectural designers of his generation practicing today. Winner of the prestigious HKSAR Quality Building Awards 2010 and the “Nobel Prize” in the architecture profession Dubai Cityscape Awards for Architecture 2008. Ho has won over 90 international design awards from Dubai, USA, UK, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, the Asia Pacific and Hong Kong, such as HKSAR Quality Building Awards 2010, Dubai Cityscape Architectural Awards 2008, USA International Design Awards 2008 & 2010, Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards from 2003 to 2009, Hong Kong Designers’ Association Awards 2005, 2009 & 2011 and Perspective Design Recognition Awards in 2005, 2007, 2008 & 2010.

Ho was also awarded Outstanding Greater China Design Awards from 2006 to 2011, and he has won the China’s Most Successful Design Award from 2007 to 2011. Eleven Architectural Projects were also selected as Finalist in the Dubai Cityscape Awards for Architecture 2011, UK World Architecture News Award 2011, Japan Good Design Award 2011, Hong Kong Institute of Architects Annual Awards in 2008, 2009 & 2010, and Design for Asia Awards 2008.

Biographies

Personal accolades include receiving “The Order of the Medal of Honour” 2011 by the Hong Kong SAR Government, Taiwan Top Ten Designers Award 2011, Hantec Wealth Creation Award 2010, Outstanding Innovative Chinese Entrepreneur 2009, Vocational Training Council Honorary Fellow 2008, one of the recipients of the 40 Under 40 2007 selection by Perspective Magazine that recognises design talents in the Greater China region.

Ho is currently a Member of the Commercial Properties Committee of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, and appointed by the HKSAR Development Bureau the Member of the Old Wan Chai Revitalisation Initiatives Special Committee of the Urban Renewal Authority. Also, Ho is the Founder and Chairman of the Hong Kong Architectural Design Union, Member of the Hong Kong Design Institute Advisory Board of The Hong Kong Design Institute, Vocational Training Council, Chairman of The HKDI International Architectural Design Competition, Executive Committee Members of The Association of Architectural Practices 2010-2012., Founding Member of Hong Kong Professional and Senior Executive Association, Vice-Chairperson of Hong Kong Guangxi Association of Professional.

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Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

Mok Wei Wei is presently Managing Director of W Architects Pte Ltd. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) in 1982 from the National University of Singapore.

Mok’s numerous architectural projects have received critical acclaim both locally and internationally. His works have been featured in numerous regional and international publications. In 2006, he was invited to exhibit at the prestigious Aedes Gallery, Berlin.

Mok is an active participant of the arts scene in Singapore. He was a board member of The Substation, an alternative arts group, from 1995 to 2004. In 1996, he was awarded the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Singapore Foundation Arts Award and was a member of the Advisory Panel for the Singapore Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Art Biennale in 2007. In 2010, he was appointed

by Singapore’s Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) to be a member of the Arts & Culture Strategic Review Committee (ACSR). The committee is tasked with planning Singapore’s next phase of cultural development until 2025.

Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore since 1992 and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Temasek Polytechnic School of Design from 1999 to 2003. He is also a member of various scholarship committees.

Mok was a committee member of the Singapore Heritage Society from 1995–2001. Since 1996, he has been a Board Member of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore’s national land-use planning agency. In 1999, he was appointed as a member of Singapore’s Preservation of Monuments Board and is currently serving as its Deputy Chairman.

In recognition of his contributions to Singapore’s architectural scene, he was conferred the President’s Design Award in 2007, the nation’s highest honour for design.

1 Gary Chang EDGE Design Institute Ltd.

3 Mok Wei Wei, W Architects Pte Ltd.

Concept: Gary Chang Team: Leaf Lam, Ricky Lam, Jennifer Sin, Ivan Cheung

VICTORIA THEATRE/ VICTORIA CONCERT HALL Design Director: Mok Wei Wei Project Director: Ng Weng Pan Team members: Wong Shu Jun, Phuket Kun, Stacy Cheang

Soundtrack: Mahjong Playing at Ivan’s Home Photos and videos: Gary Chang and Edge Design Institute Ltd. A EDGE Design Institute Ltd Production © 2012 HONG KONG

2 Barrie HOMH BARRIE HO Architecture Interiors Ltd. WORK TEAM CURATORIAL BOARD Chief Curator: Barrie HoMH Co-Curator: Cherry Ching, Ricky Kwok, Candy Ng TECHNICAL SUPPORT Graphics & Printing Supervisor: Ricky Kwok Model-Making Supervisor: Cherry Ching, Candy Ng Graphic Design & Printing: Ricky Kwok, Cherry Ching Model-Maker: RJ Models, Model-Tech (H.K.) Ltd. Graphic Production Workshop: Artical Computer Output Company Ltd

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Design Director: Mok Wei Wei Project Director: Ng Weng Pan Team members: Foo Yong kai, Peter Marcel, Stacy Cheang, Micki Chua EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE CENTRE Design Director: Mok Wei Wei Project Director: Ng Weng Pan Team members: Foo Yong Kai, Wong Shu Jun, Bank Ekkachan, Darren Tee, Darren Tan 33 ROBIN Director: Mok Wei Wei Team members: Joan Loo, Carl Lim

SPECIAL THANKS TO Spazio FMG G.e.t. Casa

Mok is committed to the education of Singapore’s young minds. He has been a part-time tutor at the

Biographies

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Credits

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Credits

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SPAZIO FMG PER L’ARCHITETTURA

FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti

SPAZIOFMGPERL' ARCHITETTURA is the gallery Iris Ceramica and FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti dedicate to architecture and interior design. A place dedicated to "displaying and freely communicating architecture” by Luca Molinari, conceived as meeting and engagement point for architects, students and enthusiasts. A space that combines the expressive power of a gallery with the discrete dynamics of a workshop of ideas and materials, projects and works, testimony to the deep bond and authentic passion of the Iris Ceramica Group for their surroundings. www.spaziofmg.com

FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti is the division of Iris Ceramica created to communicate with the world of architecture through products designed to unleash the creativity of designers and architects, offering a wide range of Natural Stone of Factory more suited to a range of uses, from large to small living spaces works.

FMG is able to offer the international market a unique material, the result of a unique technology, allowing the most beautiful, rare and valuable marbles, granite and stones to take shape in very high performance slabs for toughness, durability and hygiene, thanks to raw materials (clay, sand and minerals) selected at source by FMG, exceptionally high compacting pressure (480 Kg / cm2) and the a firing heat higher than that of volcanoes (over 1,300°C).

FMG’s product range consists of more than 70 varieties of slabs in different finishes (aged, cleft, cleft B, flamed, tumbled, honed, smooth, pre-polished, shine, slate and structured) and sizes (120x60, 90x45, 60x60, 60x30, 45x45, 40x40 and 30x30). www.irisfmg.it

Iris Ceramica Iris Ceramica is the leader company of a multinational, world leader in the production of glazed ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles for floor and wall coverings for projects in residential, commercial and industrial settings.

With a range of more than 50 collections for more than 2500 articles, since 1961 Iris Ceramica spreads the prestige of Made in Italy and daily affirms its commitment to realize ceramic creations by the high value technical and aesthetic, characterized by excellence in design evolved as witnessed by international awards. Creations that are the result of research and development within the company, a wealth of knowledge that allows them to make materials that are themselves unique. Creations that are born by combining technological innovation with knowledge of traditional craft techniques, in full compliance with the stricter standards in sustainability, for both processes and production. www.irisceramica.it

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