Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection Introduction

Transcription

1 Teaching Pack 1

2 Specifically written to support teaching, especially in architecture, art and design, and environmental education, this teaching pack provides ideas that can be adopted into the teaching of varying ages, using materials about the exhibited collection in the show, Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection. There are a total of 6 chapters in this pack; each of them focuses on a particular topic that is explored in our exhibition. Every chapter consists of a brief introduction, suggested discussion points and simple activities, individual case studies based on the exhibited collections, and additional references that might be useful as interesting reads for further discussion. Ultimately, the aim of the pack is to enhance the appreciation of architectural design, and to encourage students to think about the built environment critically, through considering the role and the practice of an architect, and other social issues brought up in the process of urban design. With case studies drawn from the exhibited collection, the pack will also provide an additional layer to the understanding of the exhibition. Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection Introduction The fifth in the Mobile M+ exhibition series, Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection presents a preview of Hong Kong s new, multidisciplinary museum for visual culture, as seen through the lens of architecture. Offering a closer look at the future M+ building, scheduled for completion in late 2017, the exhibition tracks the ongoing development of the building s design by the renowned Swiss firm of Herzog & de Meuron, with TFP Farrells and Ove Arup & Partners HK, and for the first time, reveals the other shortlisted proposals from which it was selected in an international competition held last year. The exhibition also marks the debut of the museum's growing, and unprecedented, architecture collection, illustrating some of the many approaches that M+ will take in conceptualising, collecting and representing the built environment. We hope that in these ways, Building M+ will shed light on the important role of architecture at the museum, in Hong Kong, and within visual culture at large. Museum collections are perpetually evolving, and are never finished nor complete. However, they do have beginnings. In its first ten months of collecting architecture, M+ has acquired hundreds of architecture-related works and materials to form the first collection of its kind in Asia. Including drawings, photographs, and print and video documentation along with models, installations, digital animations and other archival materials many previously unseen the collection will help uncover, preserve, interpret and revisit the myriad narratives of the 20th- and 21stcentury built environment. It will do so from our vantage point in Hong Kong, China and Asia, while linking these diverse geographies, and their histories and futures, with each other and the rest of the world. By also including works from the museum s visual art holdings, this exhibition illustrates some of the museum s various approaches to conceptualising and collecting architecture. Along the way, we hope it offers insight into the richness of the discipline as an expression of, and vehicle for, cultural aspirations and intellectual pursuits; economic, political and historical forces; social relations and value systems; and the constraints, possibilities and, sometimes, unintended consequences that help define the world we inhabit. With an initial emphasis on works from post-world War II Hong Kong and contemporary China, as situated within broader global frameworks, we are pleased to present this first look at a collection that will continue to grow in scope and depth in the coming years. 2

3 Content Chapter 1 Overview: Architecture Collection, Documentation and Representation p.4 Chapter 2 Crossing Boundaries: Exchanges and Connections Case Study 1 Frank Lloyd Wright Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan Case Study 2 Paul Rudolph Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower), Jakarta, Indonesia Case Study 3 W. N. Chung Chartered Architect (Chung Wah Nan Architects Ltd) (Hong Kong) / Chung Wah Nan Peak Tower, The Upper Terminal of the Peak Tramway, Hong Kong Chapter 3 Designing for the City: Constraints and Creative Solutions Case Study 4 Tao Ho Design / Tao Ho Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong Case Study 5 Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)/ James H. Kinoshita Electric House(Kennedy Road Substation), Hong Kong Case Study 6 Rocco Design Architects / Rocco Yim Hollywood Terrace, Hong Kong Case Study 7 Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong) Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Hong Kong Case Study 8 Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong Chapter 4 Making Iconic Buildings: Conception and Representation Case Study 9 Iwan Baan Bird s Nest #3 and Guangzhou Opera House #1 Case Study 10 Andres Gursky Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank 1994 Case Study 11 Jiakun Architects / Liu Jiakun Rebirth Brick Chapter 5 Critical Futures: Imaginations and Suggestions Case Study 12 MAD Beijing 2050, Beijing, China Case Study 13 OPEN Architecture 2nd Ring Beijing 2049 Chapter 6 Digital Tools: Virtual and Reality Case Study 14 davidclovers with C.E.B Rea Immuring Case Study 15 MAD Absolute Towers, Mississauga, Canada Case Study 16 Cao Fei RMB City p.16 p.17 p.21 p.23 p.27 p.28 p.32 p.34 p.36 p.39 p.43 p.45 p.47 p.48 p.49 p.50 p.52 p.53 p.54 p.55 p.56 3

4 Chapter 1 Overview : Architecture Collection, Documentation and Representation What is architecture what does it mean to collect architecture? What is Architecture? Architecture is a broad discipline, one that is both intellectual and physical consisting of an amalgam of intention (ideas) with iteration (the process and results). It is about the built environment, and the making of places for people. The design of the spatial environment takes on many forms and operates at various magnitudes of scale. It affects our daily lives immensely in ways in which we are often unaware. Over many centuries, the architecture profession has expanded to cover a wide range of disciplines, from designing to engineering, economics, sociology, anthropology, and history. With such a broad nature, architecture inevitably exerts a strong influence on our lifestyle, customs and society at large. Why is it important to study architecture? While not everyone ends up becoming an architect, the study of architecture consists of important knowledge. From the more technical ends on how things are constructed, and how spaces are designed and organised, to architecture as a design and problem-solving process, architecture is a discipline that records historical development by illustrating social ideas, innovations and wider philosophical and conceptual considerations. Thus, stories of architecture should be documented and told to further our understanding of ourselves and the places we inhabit. INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION Consider these quotes: The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilisation. Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Architecture is the thoughtful making of space. Louis Kahn To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works. Ai Weiwei Architecture has recorded the great ideas of the human race. Not only every religious symbol, but every human thought has its page in that vast book. Victor Hugo Architecture is not merely national but clearly has local ties in that it is rooted in the earth. Alvar Aalto The problem with digital architecture is that an algorithm can produce endless variations, so an architect has many choices. Peter Eisenman Architecture is about public space held by buildings. Richard Rogers Architecture is invention. Oscar Niemeyer Architecture is to make us know and remember who we are. Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Architecture, under all of its constraints of engineering safety, function, climate responsibility and economy, sometimes transcends to inspire us with ideas in space and light qualities achieved in the abstract Steve Holl What does Architecture means to you? Come up with your own interpretation and definition. Discuss by considering these quotes and the different definitions, what do they tell you about architecture as a discipline? 4

5 ACTIVITY Have you ever considered how a space is designed to create a particular experience for visitors? The act of sketching is instrumental in the practice of architecture as it encourages critical observation of our surroundings. Developing a habit of sketching will help train your skills in visualising space and contexts while at the same time sharpening your observational skills. This exercise invites you to look at spaces differently, and to consider the frequently subtle elements that create particular impressions and atmospheres of a built environment. Look for any image of interior space (you can refer to the following suggestions). Allow yourself just three minutes to look at it, and then take a maximum of two minutes to sketch what you saw from memory. The work does not have to be picture perfect. You only have to draw the characteristics and general atmosphere of the space. Invite others to do this exercise with you, and compare your results. Paul Rudolph Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) ( ), Jakarta, Indonesia Image courtesy of Architectural Record Steven Holl Architects Linked Hybrid ( ) Photo Courtesy of Shu He \ Think of the adjectives that go through your mind when you are trying to remember and sketch the space. What features of the space lead to such associations? You can do a similar quick sketch exercise when you are travelling on the underground. The doors of the MTR open for about half a minute. Carry your sketching materials, and practice sketching the space you see when the doors open. Steven Holl Architects Linked Hybrid ( ) Photo Courtesy of Iwan Baan Steven Holl Architects Linked Hybrid ( ) Photo Courtesy of Iwan Baan Tao Ho Design / Tao Ho Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong Tao Ho Design / Tao Ho Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong Steven Holl Architects (United States) Linked Hybrid ( ) Photo Courtesy of Iwan Baan Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)(Hong Kong) /Remo Riva 42 Sassoon Road Houses ( ), Hong Kong Photo Courtesy of P&T Group 5

6 Extra notes: About M+ and its architectural collection As a site of cultural discourse and preservation, M+ includes architecture within its visual culture mission. The emphasis on visual culture, points not only to the shared experience of seeing, but the many possible readings of what is being seen. Needless to say, there are many ways of looking at architecture. Through its growing collection architecture collection, M+ will take on different approaches in conceptualising, collecting and representing the built environment. So, what does it mean to collect architecture? To begin with, one must accept the impossibility of the task. Architecture does not exist as a thing, nor is it simply an assemblage of things. Rather, one way is to consider it as a delineation of sites: sites of ideas, of craft and making, of encounters, politics, tactics, capital flows, networks, systems and, even people, streets and buildings. Architecture exists as much in the physical, formal and social realms as it does in theory and the imagination. Not to mentioned the impracticality of collecting buildings, cities, landscapes and infrastructure, collecting architecture is a difficult task. View of M+ building from the Park M+ building is designed by the celebrated Swiss architecture firm of Herzog & de Meuron, working with Hong Kong-based TFP Farrells and Ove Arup & Partners HK. Collecting architecture is thus predicated on the notion of multiplicity. It relies not on acquiring a discrete, neatly-defined thing, but rather the many things that convey, represent and mediate the multitude of meanings and consequences (both intentional and not) of architecture. This might include drawings, models and digital files revealing an architect s design process and aims; or correspondence, media reports and other documents that unravel the external forces he or she must negotiate. It might also include photographs or videos examining how a space is used (or co-opted); or an artist s or filmmaker s deployment of spatial and urbanistic devices and techniques. It could be something as simple as a brick a brick that tells a good story. Architectural research and production come in many forms as texts, animations, installations, data visualisations, manifestos and there are just as many ways of collecting them, depending on their time and contexts. Sometimes, it s imperative to collect the original (as with a drawing that holds nuances and subtleties); in other cases, originals are entirely irrelevant (a digital file). Occasionally, new reproductions are called for and, increasingly, the things we collect will be virtual. The only blanket rule is that there are no blanket rules. To be sure, collecting architecture requires both humility and judgment. Humility in recognising that total comprehensiveness is unattainable, and judgment in making wellconsidered decisions about what to collect, and why. Underlying it all is a constant awareness that what and how a museum collects can have an impact on architectural practice itself. We hope M+ will have a positive effect on the study and future of the discipline in this most dynamic region. 6

7 How do we tell stories about a building? How do we document and represent buildings, whether still existing or lost, space, or even an entire city? A building or an architectural project can be represented by a multitude of documentation materials, which may include drawings, photographs, models and newspaper clippings. Each of these records tells a story about various aspects of the project. These materials, forming an archive or a collection, are often best kept in places where they can be accessed by the public, such as a library, museum or other research institution. Various types of materials reflect the different features and aspects of an architectural project. These include its background, its conception, design and construction process to the final outcome and reception by the public. Architects may use drawings and models to explore and visualise their ideas, or to put their ideas into reality. DISCUSSION How can architects express their ideas, for themselves, clients and builders? What different materials and media did you see in the exhibition? Make a list of all the materials you remember. Think of how each one presents information about the building project in different ways for different audience. Each type of medium has its specific function. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of the materials Which of the exhibits were the most memorable? Discuss the most memorable, arresting, unusual, or interesting exhibits you found in the show. What strikes you as so special about them? Refer to the following various types of materials that can be seen in the gallery, what do they reveal about the process of designing a building? What aspects of the project are illustrated through these materials? The tools an architect uses depend on the different stage of the design process, the budget, the needs and expectation of their clients, as well as the materials that are available to actualise their ideas. Can you think of more possible tools that help illustrate an architect s ideas? 7

8 Drawings There are different types of drawings that make up the architectural design process. First sketch ideas are quick drawings put down at the start of a project as a study or as the basis for possible ideas. Often, sketch books are used for collecting and researching ideas. Exhibit 9 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Germany and United States, ) Plan and Interior Perspective for Court House Studies ( ) 1933 ink on paper In the 1930s, the preeminent modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe undertook a series of court house studies investigating the relationship between interior and exterior space. Exhibit 39.4 Steven Holl Architects/Steven Holl (United States, b. 1947) Filmic loop study for Linked Hybrid ( ), Beijing, China 2003 watercolour on paper Architect Steven Holl s Linked Hybrid was one of the most significant architectural projects to rise in Beijing during the period around the city s 2008 Summer Olympics. It proposes a more urbanistic alternative to the private gated developments seen throughout the city, while also exemplifying Holl s interests in phenomenology, a mode of architectural thinking that emphasises the sensorial nature and ephemeral qualities of built space. The 220,000 square-metre complex includes a ring of towers linked by aerial bridges that form a filmic loop while accommodating a number of public and semipublic functions. Built around the towers were parks, a school, and a hotel, cinematheque and viewing platforms placed among reflecting pools. Over 600 geothermal wells were installed to help heat and cool the project. As an ideal, Linked Hybrid s mix of uses was aimed at creating a vibrant and porous urban space begun, like all Holl projects, as a series of watercolour studies, and translated in an interplay of light, colours, overhangs and floating volumes. Exhibit 16 Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)(Hong Kong) /Remo Riva (Hong Kong, born Switzerland, 1946) Axonometric drawing for 42 Sassoon Road Houses ( ), Hong Kong 1977 coloured pencil and ink on paper Gift of the architect An axonometric drawing is a scaled representation of a building or object, shown as a three-dimensional volume and usually at a 45-degree angle. It gives the impression that one is looking from above, revealing more than one side of the building or object in the same view. This colourful drawing shows how Riva s designs for the 42 Sassoon Road Housing were articulated and derived from a rigorous grid plan. 8

9 More detailed drawings or technical drawings are used to present more concrete designs. Whether it is the building s exterior form or the details of the interior design, technical drawings play a crucial role as communication tools that help transform ideas into reality in the design and construction process. Palmer & Turner (P&T Group)(Hong Kong) Back elevation for Electric House (Kennedy Road Substation) 1967 print on paper Image courtesy of P&T Group This back elevation drawing of Electric House delineates the details of its functional yet dramatic design. Exhibit 7.4 Frank Lloyd Wright (United States, ) Detail for ornamental block of the theatre balcony stone railing, Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan c graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper Exhibit 26.1 Wong Tung & Partners Architects and Planners (Hong Kong) Pedestrian movement plan for Taikoo Shing ( ), Hong Kong 1973 print on paper 9

10 Models Model making is one of the most direct tools in communicating ideas three dimensionally. Different types of models are produced in the various stages of the designing process for particular purposes. Model-making can be a process by which an architect examines various issues or specific features of the design such as its shape and form Exhibit 46 Sou Fujimoto Architects (Japan) / Sou Fujimoto (Japan, b. 1971) 15 concept study models for Nature/Architecture, Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, U.K various materials For Fujimoto, model-making is not so much about representing a final result as undertaking a process by which to examine various notions and concepts. 17 x 17 x 11cm 10 x 10 x 10cm 18 x 23 x7cm 5 x 5 x 5cm 10 x 10 x 9cm 13 x 13 x 8cm 13 x 12 x 8cm 13 x 13 x 10cm 11 x 12 x 8cm 9 x 9 x 6cm 15 x 18 x 8cm 12 x 11x 6cm 9 x 11 x 5cm 13 x 13 x 7cm 13 x 10 x 4cm 10

11 Presentation models show the architect s ideas in the most direct and representational way. These can be models of a building, or a site plan or even an entire city. Exhibit 14 W. N. Chung Chartered Architect (Chung Wah Nan Architects Ltd) (Hong Kong) / Chung Wah Nan (Hong Kong, b. 1931) Model of Peak Tower, The Upper Terminal of the Peak Tramway ( ), Hong Kong c.1969/2013 various materials This photograph shows one of the original models made during the conception of the tower in the 1960s that is now lost. The museum sought the permission of the architect to reproduce the model according to its original drawings and plans, under the supervision of the architect himself and the original model maker. Exhibit 28 Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936) Site model for Metroplan, West Kowloon Reclamation Concept, Hong Kong 1988/ 2013 acrylic and card stock A striking example of visionary architecture for Hong Kong, Metroplan, West Kowloon Reclamation Concept was developed in 1988 by architect Tao Ho with architecture and urban design students at the University of Hong Kong. It was undertaken in response to a request by the Hong Kong government for alternative ideas for a proposed land eclamation project in the area now roughly occupied by the West Kowloon Cultural District site. Instead of infill, Ho and his students called for building an extended deck over the harbour, supported by caissons and forming an arm linking Yau Ma Tei with Tsim Sha Tsui. While creating a central spine for transportation and other services, the deck would support flexible and modular commercial development alongside cultural and recreational amenities. The plan is reminiscent of Japanese Metabolism which in the 1960s had proposed transformable, floating megastructures as well as vernacular waterfront architecture. In seeking to create an iconic attraction while supporting area land values, Ho s proposal was responding to the commercial and market imperatives of Hong Kong at the time. Exhibit 37.2 MAD (China) Beijing 2050: Tian anmen Square 2006 wood, plastic and paint For its Beijing 2050 project, the Chinese architecture firm MAD proposed three hypothetical scenarios for Beijing in the year 2050, this model shows one of which that called for turning Tiananmen Square and Chang an Avenue into a park and green boulevard, respectively, 11

12 Plans Presentation models show the architect s ideas in the most direct and representational way. These can be models of a building, or a site plan or even an entire city. Showing a series of horizontal layers of the layout of a building from above, floor plans are one of the most common types of drawings an architect uses for working out how rooms and spaces relate to each other. A site plan is a topdown view of a building in its surrounding context, including other buildings, streets, plants, and driveways. They are often used to show the relationship of the building with other buildings and facilities in the neighbourhood. Exhibit 22.2 Wong Ng Ouyang & Associates (Hong Kong) Typical floor plan of Hong Kong Adventist Sanitarium- Hospital ( ), Hong Kong 1968 print on paper Gift of the Architects The first hospital design by Hong Kong firm Wong & Ouyang, the Hong Kong Adventist Sanitarium-Hospital conformed to its hilltop site with a novel circular tower. The building s radial, panoptic plan reflects a humanist medical planning approach that was gaining currency at the time; perimeter wards ring the central nurses stations, minimising the need for support spaces while allowing direct sightlines between caretakers and patients. Exhibit 26.1 Wong Tung and Threadgill Architects and Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong) Comprehensive plan for Taikoo Shing ( ), Hong Kong 1973 print on paper Exhibit 22 Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong) 4th-19th floor plan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen ( ), Hong Kong 1966 print on paper Gift of the Architects Upon its completion in 1978, the Mei Foo housing estate was the world's largest housing estate and Hong Kong's first self-contained residential community. One of the innovative were its doublecruciform-shaped towers, accessed from the three-storey podium, which employed scissor stairs that provided the multiple means of egress required by building codes while using the minimal amount of space. Wong & Tung & Associates (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd) Masterplan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen 1973 documentation print on paper Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd Mei Foo housing estate comprised 99 blocks of 20-storey apartment buildings for over 80,000 residents, and was pioneering in terms of its scale, scope, and planning concepts. It was then the world s largest private high-density housing development and Hong Kong s first self-contained residential community, in which accommodation, transport, retail and recreational facilities were stitched together via an elevated continuous podium, making it a city within a city. 12

13 Presentation materials and publication Other presentation materials include publications and notes produced by the architects where they explain a design to an audience such as a client. Exhibit 15.1 Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936) Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong photographic prints on cardboard Documents Other documents such as correspondence and paperwork reveal unknown aspects of the design and construction process that perhaps other materials would not ordinarily address. Exhibit 25 Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936) Five letters between Tao Ho and the Building and Lands Department on the Container Office ( ) print on paper Gift of the architect 13

14 Newspaper Cuttings Newspaper clippings about the project provide a different angle in which the project is represented and perceived. Chinese and English media coverage of the Peak Tower in Photographs Photographs are used to document and present the architectural project. They can be used as a reference on the site condition, or to present the completed building. Photograph of the site during construction of Peak Tower Photographs of Chung Wah Nan s Peak Tower Exhibit 47 Iwan Baan Bird s Nest # C-print Exhibit 29 Ian Lambot (England, b. 1953) Aerial view from south-west of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong 1989/ 2013 bubble jet print on Moab gloss art paper and Perspex 14

15 Video documentation Video recordings are another way to document the physical space as one explores it, and are often used for research and documentation purposes Exhibit 30 Suenn Ho (United States, born Hong Kong, 1961) Research Footage of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong 1991 video Duration: Loaned from Cole Roskam A fourteen hours of video footage taken while Suenn Ho meandered through the densely-packed community in Kowloon Walled City as part of a video mapping exercise for her research project. Ho s route offers voyeuristic glimpses, interspersed with snippets of conversation with various shopkeepers, at a time when Kowloon Walled City s occupants were beginning to relocate prior to its demolition. Digital renderings Computer-generated renderings are often used to present a virtual rendition envisioned by the architect, or to reconfigure a lost structure in digital format. Exhibit 41.2 OPEN Architecture (China) 2nd Ring Beijing 2049 ( ) 2011 Dual-screen video Duration: 9 58 OPEN architecture presents their Beijing 2049: 2nd Ring proposal with the digital representation where the city s congested Second Ring Road is transformed into a green lung Exhibit 36 Cao Fei (China) The Birth of RMB City video simulation 2007 Gift of Sigg Collection 15

16 Chapter 2 Crossing Boundaries: Exchanges and Connections As architecture transcends geographic and cultural border, what does it mean to be local and global? Architecture transcends geographic and cultural borders, morphing and evolving as it shifts among them. By looking at the discipline s complex flows of ideas and influences for example, the impact of European and American modernism on Hong Kong and Asia; its localised adaptations, as seen in Chung Wah Nan s Peak Tower and Tao Ho s Hong Kong Arts Centre; and the appropriation, in turn, of vernacular typologies by designers from abroad, as exemplified by Paul Rudolph s Wisma Dharmala Sakti one can begin to understand how a multiplicity of architectural narratives has shaped our interconnected global condition INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION Make a list of architectural works that were designed by architects not native to Hong Kong. Are there any such examples in the part of the city you live in? Do you think the nationality of an architect matters? Does it imply anything when the nationality of an architect is or is not emphasised? Consider Case Studies 1-4 as examples of cultural exchange. Think in terms of the context where these architectural projects took place, and the education and professional background of the architects. Connections and contacts between different cultures are natural occurrences in architectural practice. Reconsider the concepts of local and global in the field of architecture. What does it mean to be local vs. international? Do you think it is necessary to make a distinction between the two? Do these case studies change your views on the nature of influence in architectural practice between West and East? Do they disrupt the common hierarchy of international over local, or is such a distinction irrelevant? FURTHER REFERENCE Does the quest to participate in the emerging global, imported context have to be at the expense of local knowledge? Mark Hoisted, A Global Context for Local Architecture, Reports on AIA Committee Visit, Places/Design History Foundation and American Institute of Architects, October 2001, < Localization [is] the other face of globalisation Localisation is closely associated with the politics of identity Robert Adam, Architecture and Globalisation (June 2007), Architects Review, February 2008, Globalisation.pdf 16

17 Case Study 1 / Exhibit 7 Frank Lloyd Wright Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan About Frank Lloyd Wright (United States, ) Best known for his projects including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Fallingwater residence in Pennsylvania, Wright s Prairie Style architecture was influential to American modernism and urbanism on numerous levels. Wright was particularly known to be an admirer and avid collector of Japanese art, especially Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, helping the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other American institutions develop their collections. When Wright made his first trip outside the United States in 1905, it was not, as one might expect, to Europe, but instead to Japan. Image courtesy of Imperial Hotel About Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan In 1913, the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright began work on one of the largest, most complex and significant projects of his career: a new building for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Designing everything from the building and its ornaments to the interiors, furniture and dinner sets, Wright, who is considered a quintessentially American modern architect, showed his inventive originality, but also his capacity for absorbing outside influences; while not directly attributable, traces of Japanese and other traditions can be seen in Wright s work. With the Imperial Hotel, Wright left an imprint on Japan. But it can also be said that Japan and other cultures left an imprint on Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright and staff in front of Imperial Hotel,

18 Exhibit 7.5 Detail of ornamental stone carving for stairwell, Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan c.1920 graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper DISCUSSION What does the drawing reveal about the cultural ties and relationship between the American architect and the Japanese team? Wright is just one of countless examples of how trans-cultural influences have long shaped architecture, a discipline that has only become more global ever since. What makes architecture local or global, and what does that distinction mean? Are the terms local and global really contradictory in meaning as they might appear? Are these terms relevant to a time when architectural practice is increasingly collaborative and trans-bordered? In this drawing appear some handwritten lines of a Chinese poem at at the corner, scribbled in non-native Chinese, probably by one of Wright s Japanese workmen or colleagues. Drawings reveal different aspect of the design process as one look closer to the details. ACTIVTIY Go out and sketch buildings in Hong Kong, whether modern or historic. Are there elements in the buildings you have chosen that reflect influences from other cultures? Who are the architects behind these designs? FURTHER REFERENCE Frank Lloyd Wright Wright in Japan, The Westcott House Foundation, < Kathryn Smith, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Imperial Hotel: A Postscript, The Art Bulletin, < 18

19 Exhibit 7.1 Drawing for stonework, underside of eaves, Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan c graphite and ink on vellum Main entrance with frontal pond Exhibit 7.2 Diagram of soffit, Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan c graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper Photo of the Theater 19

20 Exhibit 7.3 Drawing for ornamental block of the foyer fireplace, Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan c graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper View of the promanade Exhibit 7.4 Detail for ornamental block of the theatre balcony stone railing, Imperial Hotel ( ), Tokyo, Japan c graphite and coloured pencil on tracing paper View of the Banquet Halls Garden View 20

21 towards the forest of paired structural columns supporting the podiumlevel atrium, making the building a vertical garden within Jakarta s Case Study 2 / Exhibit 12 Paul Rudolph central business district. Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower), Jakarta, Indonesia About the Paul Rudolph (United States, ) Paul Rudolph was one of the most prominent architects of the 1950s and 1960s whose complex interior spaces and brutal use of concrete helped define the modernism of that period. Having gained renown for his home designs early on while living in Florida, his best-known work is perhaps the building for the Yale School of Art and Architecture (1964), where he served as dean from 1958 to Among his students at Yale happened to be Norman Foster. By the late 1970s, however, he turned his attention to Southeast Asia, where his brand of modernism, and its suitability for tropical climates, was embraced while his work had fallen out of favour in the US. Significant projects in this region include the Wimsa Dharmala Tower (1988), Jakarta, the Bond Centre (now Lippo Centre) in Hong Kong (1988), and the Colonnade (1987) and Concourse (1994), in Singapore. With their intricate, interlocking spaces and atria, these buildings have influenced numerous other designs throughout the region. About Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) ( ), Jakarta, Indonesia The Wisma Dharmala Sakti tower in Jakarta is an important example of the American architect Paul Rudolph s significant body of work in Southeast Asia in the 1980s. It was during this period, when he was facing professional difficulties in the United States, that the innovative modernist also designed the Bond Centre (now Lippo Centre) in Hong Kong and the Colonnade and Concourse in Singapore. The building exemplifies the virtuosic forms, urbanistic concerns and climatic sensitivities for which Rudolph was known. Its rotated floor plates and deep, canted overhangs, borrowed from indigenous Indonesian dwellings, shield offices from direct sunlight and provide terraces on all floors while giving the tower its striking silhouette. Planters cascade 21

22 Exhibit 12.1 Exterior perspective of Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) ( ), Jakarta, Indonesia 1984 ink on vellum DISCUSSION Paul Rudolph looks to local and vernacular architecture for inspiration for his designs. Why do you think it is important to study traditional architecture as a reference? What can we learn from buildings derived from a long history of design and metamorphosis? Do you think an ^Indonesian landed tropical villages architecture that reveal the culture, history, or the identity of the place offer a deeper bonding with the people? Can you think of other modern buildings that reference traditional building design and features? Gather such examples and discuss whether the merging of the traditional with modern design works. Think of the intention of such approach, the function and aesthetic of the result. < Perspective Drawing of Bond Centre (Lippo Centre) Exhibit 12.2 Exterior perspective of atrium of Wisma Dharmala Sakti (Intiland Tower) ( ), Jakarta, Indonesia c coloured pencil on tracing paper Paul Rudolph s buildings in Hong Kong have a direct impact on the subsequent work of Wong and Ouyang group, which was Rudolph s local design partner on the Bond Centre. Compare the design of these two buildings. In what ways do the designs reference Rudolph s style? Discuss your views on the cultural exchange between foreign architects and those at local firms. As architectural practice is increasingly cross-boundary in nature, what does it mean to be labelled local or international? Are these terms relevant nowadays? Select an ancient building form that interests you most and study its features. Think of new ways these features could be incorporated into a new building in our contemporary era. Come up with your own design, and present it with drawings, models or other materials. Explain how you could learn from previous designs. 22

23 Case Study 3 / Exhibit 14 W. N. Chung Chartered Architect (Chung Wah Nan Architects Ltd) (Hong Kong) / Chung Wah Nan Peak Tower, The Upper Terminal of the Peak Tramway, Hong Kong, China About Peak Tower, The Upper Terminal of the Peak Tramway ( ), Hong Kong The now-demolished Peak Tower designed by Chung Wah Nan was a key landmark of Hong Kong, and one of the city's most daring and highly engineered structures at the time of its completion. While clearly in the modern idiom, it was also designed to evoke the watchtower of an ancient Chinese wall, firmly anchored at its base but seemingly floating at the top. The news of its commissioned came about in 1967, providing a much needed boost and discussion point for the city at a time when it was politically and economically strained by the Cultural Revolution occurring in China. When it officially opened on 29 August 1972, the Tower s restaurants-in-the-clouds and indoor-outdoor observation decks immediately made it not just a major tourist lure but also a dramatic part of the Hong Kong skyline. Reported to symbolise the city's 'sky-high confidence in the future', the Tower was celebrated by having its image printed on the 500 HKD note. About Chung Wah Nan (Hong Kong, b. 1931) After graduating from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London in 1959, Chung started private practice in 1964 and later teamed up with British architect Alan Fitch, one of the designers of City Hall, to form Fitch & Chung. The partnership lasted until While working in the modernist vein, Chung, who is also known for his writings on traditional Chinese architecture and landscape design, has been influential in attempting to infuse modernism with historical Chinese concepts. DISCUSSION What do you think of the design? Did you know the Peak Tower looked like this? What are the similar elements between the Peak Tower and a Chinese watchtower? Discuss how the architect has modernise the ancient building type by adopt the features to its design of a viewing tower. Why do you think he decide to reference and adopt such design features? Also refer to Hong Kong Arts Centre in Case Study 4 as another comparative case study on this topic What sort of impact does a high-profile building project have on a city? Can you think of other buildings or architectural projects of similar impact? What effects will they have on the city? What messages do these projects, whether they are in the stage of merely being announced, in construction or completed. Refer to media coverage of such architectural projects, how are they described and represented? Refer to p. 24 to 26 for newspaper cuttings of the announcement of the building of Peak Tower in 1969 for the discussion. 23

24 24

25 25

26 26

27 Chapter 3 Designing for the City: Constraints and Creative Solutions What are the urban strategies how do we respond to environmental and spatial constraints? The city acts as a laboratory: social, economic and political forces converge with land pressures and other variables to test the built environment and its effect on how people and communities function, interact and transform. Urban strategies can manifest in any number of ways, whether highlyplanned, as with Wong Tung s comprehensively-designed Mei Foo Housing Estate; surgical, as with Urbanus speculative Urban Village studies; or informal and extra-legal, as with the Kowloon Walled City. They can also produce inventive approaches to infrastructure and spatial efficiency, at scales ranging from Andrew Lee s space-saving Scissor Staircase to DLN s stacked ATL Logistics Centre. On the other hand, Tao Ho s unauthorised Container Office helps illustrate the frictions that sometimes arise between design and bureaucracy in a highly regulated environment. INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION Restrictions and constraints at times invite people to push boundaries and think outside the box to come up with great design solutions. Discuss your views on the notion of freedom and control in relation to creativity. Would you prefer to respond to certain parameters as a way to stimulate ideas, or would you rather have complete freedom in creating? Think in terms of a number of creative fields including art, writing, and performance. When considering Hong Kong as a site for construction, what sort of restraints do the unique features of the city impose? Refer to Case Studies 3-6. How do architects respond to our cityscape through their projects? How do these finished designs reflect the living conditions of Hong Kong? Consider elements of density, verticality and efficiency that are distinctive of Hong Kong s built environment as a response to regulations, lack of space and resources. While natural or man-made, can some of these restrictions be avoided through planning and consideration of land allocation policy? What is the architect s role facing such restraints? How do they shape the city in this regard? How can restrictions and challenges be transformed into assets? FURTHER REFERENCE Town Planning, Planning Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, June 2013, < Urban Design Guide for Hong Kong, Planning Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, November 2002, < Becoming a Planner: What Planners Do?, American Planning association, < 27

28 Case Study 4 / Exhibit 15 Tao Ho Design (Hong Kong) / Tao Ho Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong About Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong Having been given only a small piece of reclaimed land measuring 30 m 2, Tao Ho managed to realise a vision of the centre for contemporary arts in the city. The reclaimed land was too soft for construction, and the reinforced-concrete building was finally constructed atop of a 2-metre thick concrete raft supported by more than 300 piles. Ho managed to pack and stack a 200- seat recital hall, a 100-seat studio theatre, a rehearsal room, a 463-seat theatre, a sizable exhibition gallery with sculpture terrace, spaces for restaurants, a member s club, artists studios, musical practice rooms, and offices functioning as rentable spaces to support the arts centre. About Tao Ho (Hong Kong, born China, 1936) Dr. Tao Ho attended Williams College, majoring in art history. He went on to pursue a master degree in architecture at Harvard University and was once a personal assistant to Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius. After a decade of architecture practice in the US, he returned to Hong Kong and became a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, bringing the design infrastructure and sophistication he found in the States to Hong Kong. He also played a key role in the development of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA). In 1968, he founded Taoho Design, Hong Kong s first native multidisciplinary design studio. Moved among various disciplines and thrived in combining an active public life with wideranging personal interests, he is one of the world s most renowned architects as well has having been a prolific contemporary artist while in Hong Kong. Sandwiched between two large buildings, there is no access from two sides. In response, Ho created a plan with an L-shaped service core that runs on two sides to accommodate staircases, lifts, lavatories, mechanical equipment, and storerooms. With this plan, an impressive vertical and asymmetrical foyer was also created. In this promotional book published by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, one can find some of the elements that contributed to the design, along with still shots of the building and its interior when it opened in the late 1970s. 28

29 Exhibit 15.1 Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong 1981 Selected from 31 photographic prints on cardboard ACTIVITY Faced with the difficulties of a site with limited space and asked to design a complex containing shops, galleries, theatres, studios rooms, and office space, Tao Ho realised his innovative and ingenious design solution for the Arts Centre that stacked up various spaces in this small corner footprint. Select a three-dimensional object and trace its form, viewing it from the sides, on a piece of paper. Now consider the shape as the elevation of a complex building. Decide what the building s function will be: a residential complex, university, hospital, shopping mall or other. Use the sketch to create a cross-section of the building. Plan the use of space within the building. Think of what spaces will be needed, how people will use them and the relation between different spaces and the circulation of people. 29

30 Exhibit 15.1 Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong 1981 Selected from 31 photographic prints on cardboard 30

31 Exhibit 15.1 Publication portfolio for Hong Kong Arts Centre ( ), Hong Kong 1981 Selected from 31 photographic prints on cardboard ACTIVTIY Tao Ho s design references a Chinese pagoda in its stacking design. Shown in his publication porfolio are references that inspired his design for the Arts Centre. Look for magazine spread with elements that interest you, and write down what strikes you about the images. Take an element and convert it into an idea for a structure. Keep a scrapbook of ideas whenever you are designing and creating. Ideas and inspiration often comes from the most unexpected places. Refer to the Peak Tower in Case Study 2 for a comparison on how architects look to traditional buildings as reference and inspiration. FURTHER REFERENCE Tao Ho Design Website, < Milestone, History of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, < 31

32 Case Study 5 / Exhibit 18 Palmer & Turner (P&T Group) (Hong Kong) / James H. Kinoshita Electric House (Kennedy Road Substation), Hong Kong About Electric House ( Kennedy Road Substation) ( ), Hong Kong Conceived by architect James Kinoshita and structural engineer Heinz Rust of Palmer & Turner (now P&T Group), Electric House was an electrical substation consisting of two piers supporting a horizontal building that elegantly bridged a valley, with a stream running beneath. On top, two parabolic hoods received and protected high tension cables coming from the surrounding hills. Palmer & Turner (P&T Group) (Hong Kong) During the building s early stages of construction, directors of Hong Kong Electric, the client, decided to move the company's headquarters to Electric House, turning what was meant to be a purely pragmatic switching station into a point of company pride. About James H. Kinoshita (Canada) James H. Kinoshita is a Japanese Canadian architect and traveller, born in Vancouver, Canada. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Manitoba, and Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked for three years in America before setting off for Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, he got a job with Palmer and Turner, an established international architectural engineering firm with a practice widely respected in the South East Asia. He has been involved in projects in Indonesia, Singapore, Hawaii, and Sydney. When China started to open its doors in 1978, he became involved in China, recalling the firm's past glory of the many buildings they designed along the Bund in Shanghai. His significant projects in Hong Kong include the Hong Kong Hilton, America International Assurance, Jardine House, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the Landmark. He is now retired and lives in Hong Kong. Image courtesy of P&T Group Image courtesy of P&T Group 32

33 DISCUSSION What is the relationship between the form and function of a building? Can you think of buildings that are remarkable for overcoming structural and technical challenges while also being striking in their form? ACTIVITY Using two different cards, each person comes up with a building design and a location. Imagine the type of building, as well. Will it be located in a valley, in the middle of the ocean? Will it be a hospital, a school, a residence? The sky is the limit. Behind each respective card, jot down qualities of the location and the building including site limitations, and specific building features. Collect the two sets of cards and shuffle them. Each person draws a card from each pile. Design a building according to the location and the building type, responding to the limitations set out on the back of the selected card. FURTHER REFERENCE P&T Group Website, < Image courtesy of P&T Group 33

34 Case Study 6 / Exhibit 24 Rocco Design Architects / Rocco Yim Hollywood Terrace, Hong Kong About Hollywood Terrace ( ), Hong Kong The dense and textured fabric of Hong Kong s Central-Western District calls for a careful response to the urban environment, and an intricate appropriation between private and public realms. A system of public spaces is developed in the form of a series of landscaped gardens and terraces that, together with the punctuating stairs and lifts, form an elaborate twenty-four-hour pedestrian access connecting Queen s Road Central with Hollywood Road through and within the site. As the public thoroughfare interweaves spatially with private pathways, movement remains physically independent, connected only through an interesting play of visual empathies. About Rocco Yim (Hong Kong, b. 1952) Rocco Yim is one of Hong Kong s most prominent architects, known for buildings that respond sensitively and inventively to the topographical, urbanistic, and infrastructural conditions of their context, especially in Hong Kong. Graduated from the University of Hong Kong, Yim initially joined the firm of Spence Robinson before starting his own practice in Soon thereafter, in 1983, he earned international attention as one of three first-prize winners in the competition to design the new Bastille opera house in Paris. Yim s buildings are studies in geometry and spatial relationships, evolving through addition and subtraction in response to programmatic, aesthetic-compositional and urbanistic requirements. Strong volumetric solids shift alongside voids; spaces become multi-layered, linked from both within and without. Yim has also investigated the reconciliation of his modern design vocabulary with historical Chinese practices and references. His Bamboo pavilion of 2000, in Berlin, created a decidedly contemporary expression of traditional bamboo construction. More recently, he has explored courtyard typologies, as is the case with his Distorted Courtyard House (2002) in Beijing, and metaphorical devices, as seen in his Guangdong Museum (2010). Gift of the architects 34

35 Documentaiton prints of the site plan of Hollywood Terrace DISCUSSION What does public space really mean? Discuss this term from the government, developers, and citizen s perspectives. How could we strike a balance between their views? ACTIVITY As a group, select a district in Hong Kong. Visit the district and sketch an overview map. Consider choosing a landmark as a starting point for exploration, and a central point for the map. As you wander the city, think of how public and private places are connected and defined by the spatial and architectural designs. How are different spaces created in a dense district? Notice human activities as you visit, such as the circulation and movement of people, and their interactions with the many spaces in the area. What effects does spatial design have on human activities? Evaluate and examine the planning of the district, is there room for improvement? 35

36 Case Study 7 / Exhibit 22 Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong) Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Hong Kong About Mei Foo Sun Chuen ( ), Hong Kong When it was largely completed in 1978, the Mei Foo housing estate comprised 99 blocks of 20-storey apartment buildings for over 80,000 residents, and was pioneering in terms of its scale, scope, and planning concepts. It was then the world s largest private high-density housing development and Hong Kong s first self-contained residential community, in which accommodation, transport, retail and recreational facilities were stitched together via an elevated continuous podium, making it a city within a city. Also innovative were its double-cruciform-shaped towers, accessed from the three-storey podium, which employed scissor stairs that provided the multiple means of egress required by building codes while using the minimal amount of space. Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd About Wong and Threadgill Architects & Engineers (Wong Tung & Partners Ltd, Hong Kong) Wong Tung & Partners was founded in Hong Kong in 1963 by Shanghaiborn Americans, Bill Wong and Albert Tung. It has affiliated practices around the globe. The company made its mark internationally in the late 1960s when it was commissioned to create a master plan and design for the Mei Foo Sun Chuen housing estate ( ). Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd 36

37 Masterplan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen 1973 documentation print on paper Image courtesy of Wong Tung & Partners Ltd DISCUSSION Why it is important to consider the context in which a building will be built? How does urban planning affect people s daily lives? ACTIVITY A building is not an island, but should be considered in terms of its context and surrounding community. How does your home or estate relate to what's around it? Draw a map of your neighbourhood to understand these relationships. Start by visually tracking your daily routines on the map. Look at what makes up this particular neighbourhood and evaluate your neighbourhood from the point of view of urban planning by making notes of how the roads, shops, houses and other facilities are planned. What makes an environment comfortable and what annoys you? What is ingenious and what leaves you unimpressed? Is there room for improvement? What suggestions can you make? 37

38 Exhibit 22 4th-19th floor plan of Mei Foo Sun Chuen ( ), Hong Kong 1966 print on paper Gift of the Architects DISCUSSION The double-cruciform-shaped floor plan design allows each residential unit to have at least two or three sides that open out, allowing circulation and access to daylight. It also places service facilities including stairs, elevators, and garbage collection at the centre of each cross, eliminating the need for wasteful narrow corridors that were common in previous residential building designs. This design solution is a direct respond to the dense living condition of Hong Kong by creating a more effective use of space. Such examples of creative solutions are all around us. Look for any kind of such gestures, small or large, that improve our way of life. Refer to the Kowloon Walled City in Case Study 6 for comparison on such urban strategies. Think about intention and unintentional design solutions, and the planned and unplanned organisation of communities. 38

39 Case Study 8 / Exhibit Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong \ About Kowloon Walled City Due to a historical anomaly, the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City existed under the full jurisdiction of neither the Chinese nor British colonial governments. This made it an extraordinary enclave, known for its lawlessness and unregulated development but also for its vitality as a community of migrants, refugees and others inhabiting what was thought to be the most crowded piece of land in the world. The Kowloon Walled City was one of the most remarkable architectural and urbanistic developments, informal or otherwise, to have been part of Hong Kong s built environment. ACTIVITY Interview members of your family s older generation regarding their impressions of the Kowloon Walled City. Ask them about the reputation of the place, and what the place was like. Draw your impression of the Walled City according to what you have heard and seen. What is your impression of the famous Kowloon Walled City? Refer to the photograph by Ian Lambot (Exhibit 29) and video by Suenn Ho (Exhibit 30) and compare how you imagined the place with the documentation materials. What is the importance of these documentation materials? If these materials did not exist, how else could we perceive the demolished city? Is it important to keep records of places like the Kowloon Walled City? While there is a need to develop and regenerate the city, whether for regulatory or economic reasons, what factors must be considered when deciding to tear down buildings and structures that might have historical and cultural value? 39

40 Exhibit 29 Ian Lambot (England, b. 1953) Aerial view from south-west of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong 1989/ 2013 bubble jet print on Moab gloss art paper and Perspex About Ian Lambot, (England, b,1953) Ian Lambot is a British-born architecture photographer who originally trained as an architect. He moved to Hong Kong in 1979 and remained in the city for 20 years. During his time here, he worked for Norman Foster and Partners on the early stages of that firm s design of the HSBC building, and set up an architectural model-making studio before becoming a freelance architecture photographer. In his latter role, he documented the construction of the HSBC building extensively. Collaborating with Greg Girard, he spent four years exploring the Kowloon Walled City before its demolition, and published the book City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City, which features 320 photographs, 32 extended interviews, and an essay on the City s history and character. About Aerial view from south west of Kowloon Walled City ( 1989), Hong Kong Beginning in 1988, the photographer Ian Lambot spent four years documenting Kowloon Walled City, an enclave in Hong Kong that was claimed by both the British colonial and Chinese governments and consequently existed under the actual jurisdiction of neither. Accordingly, it became known for its lawlessness and unregulated development but also for its vitality as a community of migrants, refugees and others inhabiting what was thought to be the most crowded piece of land in the world. Lambot s aerial view captures Kowloon Walled City s dense, informal development before its demolition began in DISCUSSION The vertical village structure of the Kowloon Walled City manifested organically as the tenants and landlords altered and shaped their living environment as a natural response to the high level of living density that the place was famous for. Think of growth in terms of a city: cities grow and adapt to changes to suit various needs of the community and society. Straddling a position between chaos and order, what can an architect learn from an exceptional case of organic growth that is the Kowloon Walled City? 40

41 Exhibit 30 Suenn Ho (United States, 1961) Research Footage of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong 1991 video Duration: Loaned from Cole Roskam About Research Footage of Kowloon Walled City ( 1991), Hong Kong While as a Fulbright Scholar in , the architect Suenn Ho undertook a 10-month research project studying Kowloon Walled City. Included was over fourteen hours of video footage taken while Ho meandered through the densely-packed community as part of a video mapping exercise. Ho s route offers voyeuristic glimpses, interspersed with snippets of conversation with various shopkeepers, at a time when Kowloon Walled City s occupants were beginning to relocate prior to its demolition. About Suenn Ho (United States, 1961) Suenn Ho, an American architect and urban designer, received her Bachelor of Arts from Williams College and her Master of Architecture from Columbia University. Ho was the designer and public outreach coordinator who helped redo Old Town/Chinatown along 3 rd and 4 th Avenues in Portland. In 1995, Ho received a research grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to investigate the distinct physical and visual patterns of historic urban Chinatowns in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. As one of the founding members of Northgate Group LLC, she was actively involved in the first Asian-friendly senior housing project in Portland's Chinatown Pacific Tower. She has also served on the board of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden and was a board member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance as well as Transition Project Inc. In 2004, she joined MulvannyG2 Architecture as a Senior Architect. Besides her roles as an architectural and urban designer, Ho has also taught architecture at Columbia College, and the University of Hong Kong, University of Oregon, and Portland State University. DISCUSSION In the preface to her research publication, An architectural study on the Kowloon Walled City: Preliminary findings, Ho notes her interests in studying the interrelationship between the Walled City s architecture and its inhabitants 1, a reminder of the people who live there that gave vitality to the place, and who shaped the environment. What stories have you heard about the Kowloon Walled City? What are your impressions of it as a non-designed place? In what ways do you shape your own environment? Please write down and share examples of other spaces that are used in ways that are perhaps unintentional. 1 Suenn Ho, An Architectural Study on The Kowloon Walled City Preliminary Findings, Hong Kong,

42 Extra notes: Twenty years after its demolition, the Kowloon Walled City has been, and still remains, a fascinating architectural and urban phenomenon that continues to captivate architects, designers and others around the world. During the early 90s, different people have tried to document and study the intriguing structure and spatial development, as well as its community. Recently, there have been various attempts to represent and recreate the city (The South China Morning Post published a feature on the Kowloon Walled City in 2013, 20 th anniversary of its demolition 2 ; while an arcade in Japan was created modelled on the Walled City 3 ). Can you look for more of such re-creations and adaptations? What do you think of these re-presentations of a lost space? Consider the intention and accuracy of such representations FURTHER REFERENCE 3D 九龍城砦 kowloon walled city, We are making 3D model of Kowloon Walled City, 5 th Oct 2013, < "MulvannyG2 Architecture Welcomes Suenn Ho as Senior Designer", MulvannyG2 Architecture website, < Suenn Ho Champions Old Town Chinatown, Old Town Chinatown Crier: The Crier, Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association, Fall Edition, 2005, < Barbara Basler, Hong Kong Journal; The Walled City, Home to Huddled Masses, Falls, The New York Times, 16 th Jun 1992, < EDW Lynch, Photos of the Final Years of Hong Kong s Notoriously Overcrowded Kowloon Walled City, Laughing Squid, 24 th Sept 2013, < Rebekah Rhoden, Kowloon Walled City Photographed by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot, Lost At E Minor, 27 th Sept 2013, < Julian Ryall, "Arcade brings Kowloon Walled City back from the dead in JapanKowloon's infamous slum is recreated in an amusement park in Kawasaki - from its eerie, narrow corridors right down to the rubbish", South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd., 1 st Oct 2013, < 2 Kowloon Walled City: Life in the City of Darkness, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 16 March, Arcade brings Kowloon Walled City back from the dead in Japan, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 1 October, 2013, < 42

43 Chapter 4 Making Iconic Buildings: Conception and Representation How is an image of a building created, and used? Architecture and locality exist in a state of tension, with each defining the other through a range of complex mechanisms. In its iconic, highly-mediated form, architecture plays a central role in the image-making of a city, as contemplated in Andreas Gursky s photograph of the HSBC building and Iwan Baan s image of Beijing s Bird s Nest stadium. Architecture also draws, and sometimes improvises, on indigenous materials, typologies and techniques for example, Rocco Yim s Bamboo Pavilion, Urbanus Urban Tulou, and Ai Weiwei s Caochangdi Home and Studio while providing responses to the immediacy of a localised situation; Jiakun Architects Rebirth Brick project was a rapid reaction, using the materials at hand, to the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province. INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION How is an image of a building created through photographic representation? How are elements emphasised and for what purpose? How does architecture represent and shape the identity of a city? Consider the qualities that various iconic buildings are designed to embody and represent of their place. Why are some buildings more iconic than others? What are other reasons for creating an impact with architectural projects? Are there different ways of telling the stories of architecture? Are there other purposes that the making of architectural images can serve? Refer to the Rebirth Brick Project in Case Study 11. ACTIVTIY Pick a well-known building. Present the building to others with a selection of five images. Focus on why you have selected these particular five images to represent the building. How do you think they best represent the building? How does a photograph present an architectural building as an object, as part of a city, on its own, and in terms of utility? Focus on the viewing distance, the presence or absence of human activity, how the photograph is framed etc. FURTHER REFERENCE Dear Deyan, Can we still believe in iconic buildings?, Prospect Publishing, 26 th Mar 2005, < mr9iw18e> Rich Heap, "Iconic Buildings: Only We Can Decide", The Global Community for 21st Century City Decision Makers, 14 th Jun 2013, < Dessen Hillman, "How To Make Architecture, Not Art", ArchDaily, 1 st Mar 2013, < Fred Kent, "Toward an Architecture of Place: Moving Beyond Iconic to Extraordinary", Project for Public Spaces, < 43

44 Extra notes: Can you name these iconic buildings and the cities they belong to: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Taj Mahal, Agra Sydney Opera House, Sydney Louvre Museum, Paris, The Coliseum, Rome CCTV Headquarters, Beijing Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao Empire State Building, New York Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur Eiffel Tower, Paris Palace of Westminster, London Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong 44

45 Case Study 9 / Exhibit Iwan Baan Bird s Nest #3 and Guangzhou #1 Iwan Baan s architectural photographs approach even the most iconic building as not isolated and detached objects, but as sites of human activity. Baan s images of two of the most famous examples of contemporary architecture in China Herzog & de Meuron s Bird s Nest stadium in Beijing and Zaha Hadid Architects Guangzhou Opera House attest to Baan s observational acuity, capturing the sometimes disjunctive relationship between architectural ambition and reality. Exhibit 48 Guangzhou Opera House # C-Print About Iwan Baan (Netherlands, b. 1975) Iwan Baan is perhaps the most prominent and sought-after architectural photographer of his generation. Instead of approaching buildings as isolated and detached objects, he established a technique that positions even the most iconic examples of architecture in their human and spatial contexts. Working frequently for architects from Wang Shu and Ma Yansong to OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, and Steven Holl, Baan has, perhaps more than any of his peers, documented the astonishing development of architecture in China, and in other parts of the world, at the turn of the 21 st century. DICUSSION Baan has also taken photographs of the same building without the audience. Search for the image and compare the two. Discuss the differences in styles and messages presented. Take a photo of the same building at varying distances with and without people, and then compare the differences. How do scale and the relation between the human and the building affect the feel of the photograph? Have you ever considered why photographs of buildings are often devoid of people and human activity? What difference does it make? Do you prefer the grandeur of the architectural object glorified by the photographic medium, or the real life stories that are associated with the building revealed through the mediated lens of the photographer? What different purposes do these two approaches serve? ACTIVITY Study the people in the image. What do you suppose these people are thinking? Think of how they might react to the design of the space. Write a script of their thoughts and act it out. 45

46 Exhibit 47 Birds Nest # C-print DISCUSSION Search for other representations of the Bird s Nest and compare it with this image. What are the similarities and differences? What different stories does each image tell of the same building? Through his lens, the photographer invites you to look at buildings differently. What are the stories of these construction workers? Who are the other behind-the-scenes people who make buildings like the Bird s Nest possible? Imagine what they think of the building that they are constructing. Does considering their roles make you think about buildings differently? Putting the focus on different types of audiences, to whom do you think the image of these iconic buildings are made for? Focus on a number of high-profile building projects. Discuss the nature of image-making, and the impact it has on architural practice, nowasdays. Iwan Baan is known for revealing the multiple and layered stories of architecture in his images of buildings and cities. This photograph of the Bird s Nest stadium, taken while it was still under construction for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, shifts attention from that famous structure to the workers who are building it. In this way, Baan gives pause for reflection: largely anonymous, invisible and forgotten, the labourers can be seen watching television, taking a break from erecting an iconic building that is itself being built, in large part, for media consumption. What do you think of the nickname Bird s Nest? What other buildings have nicknames? Can you think of any? How do they help create an image of the building? For example, The Absolute Tower in Case Study 15 was nicknamed "Marilyn Monroe" tower due to its curvaceous, hourglass figure. Think of other buildings with which you can associate with something else. FURTHER REFERENCE Iwan Baan Website, Preview of the construction of the National Stadium - The Main Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, < n.php> Karen Burshten, Top 13 Nicnames for Iconic Buildings, The Daily Traveller, 18 May, 2012, < 46

47 Case Study 10 / Exhibit 50 Andres Gursky Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank 1994 Exhibit 50 Andreas Gursky Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank C-print About Andreas Gursky (Germany, b.1955) Andrea Gursky is a visual artist who currently lives and works in Dusseldorf, Germany. Gurksy studied photography in Folkwangschule in Essen under Otto Steinert between 1978 and 1981, then at the Kunstakademine Dusseldorf in Germany from 1981 to 1987 under Hilla and Bernd Becher. Andreas Gursky has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions at major cultural institutions including Andreas Gursky at the Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast (Dusseldorf, 2012), 50 Artists, 50 Years at the MOMA (New York, 2012), The Inverted Mirror at the Guggenheim (Bilbao, 2012), Postmoderism: Style and Subersion, 1970 to 1990 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2012), Venice Biennale in 1990 and in 2004, the Biennale of Sydney in 1996 and He is exhibiting two solo shows at the National Art Center in Tokyo (2013) and at the National Museum of Art in Osaka (2014). DISCUSSION What new perspectives and impressions does this photograph of one of Hong Kong s iconic buildings provide you? About Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (1994), Hong Kong The renowned photographer Andreas Gursky s image of the HSBC building in Hong Kong inverts that architectural icon by capturing it at night. The innovative structural system that makes the building instantly recognisable becomes lost in the shadows, supplanted by its grid of windows, which are lit from behind to reveal the activities inside. Taken in the large format for which the artist is known, the photograph points to Gursky s rigorous approach and interests in sites of globalisation. With his play of light and darkness, the photographer distils the building, which is often represented it its iconic skeletal form, to an abstraction that highlights its interior activities. Take photographs of other iconic buildings in your part of the city from unexpected angles or with unusual composition to produce images that differ from the usual representation of the building. Think of what you are emphasising beside the architecture. Are there stories and messages you want to tell others with this image? 47

48 Case Study 11 / Exhibit 58 Jiakun Architects / Liu Jiakun Rebirth Brick About Rebirth Brick (2008 ) The Rebirth Bricks project started as a response to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province. Developed to assist the rebuilding effort, especially in rural areas, the project allowed for the onsite making of new bricks by mixing debris from collapsed buildings which had often been of substandard construction with wheat branches and concrete. In attempting to decentralise the means of production, the project invokes multiple suggestions of renewal that extended beyond its recycling of materials. Since the earthquake, Rebirth Bricks has continued, though using rubble from demolition sites. About Liu Jiakun (China, b. 1956) Liu Jiakun is the Founder and Chief Architect at Jiakun Architects. His projects have been selected in world-wide exhibitions including Chinese Young Architects Work Exhibition in Germany, Chinese Contemporary Architecture Exhibition in France, NAI China Contemporary Architecture, International Architecture Exhibition in Russia, and International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. He won the Honor Prize of the 7 th ARCASIA, Chinese Architecture & Art Prize 2003, Architectural Record Magazine China Awards, Far East Award in Architecture and Architectural Design Award from Architectural Society of China, Audi Arts Design Award. His projects have been published by architectural magazines such as A+U, AV, Area, MADE IN CHINA, and AR. He has lectured at MIT, the Royal Academy of Arts, Palais de Chaillot in Paris and many universities in China. DISCUSSION How do we pick up the pieces from ruins resulting from natural disasters? When do homes become ruins? Can we find elements that can help form homes from ruins? How can architects re-evaluate their roles under unfortunate circumstances such as natural disasters? Think of other examples of architectural responses to natural or man-made disasters. FURTHER REFERENCE Jiakun Architects Website, Rebirth Brick Proposal, May 2008, < OFFICINA ALESSI Website, < Andrea Chin, "venice architecture biennale 08: 'rebirth brick' in the chinese pavilion", designboom, 15 th Sept 2008, < Richelle db, liu jiakun: rebirth brick project, designboom, 12 th Dec 2011, < 48

49 Chapter 5 Critical Futures: Imaginations and Suggestions What are the purpose of putting forward imaginary architectural proposals for the future? The future has a long history in architecture as an attempted reality, in the imagination, and as a utopia and its dystopian opposite. Fluctuating between fictive and real, and progressive and subversive, many architectural propositions reflect on the present by projecting into the future. MAD s Beijing 2050 and OPEN Architecture s 2nd Ring Beijing 2049 envision radical changes to China s capital at a time of mounting social, environmental and other problems. Steven Holl s Linked Hybrid complex and Turenscape s Shenyang Architectural University Rice Campus offer their own, differing visions of idealised scenarios though enacted in the present. Meanwhile, critical observations like MAP Office s Homes for China and Homescapes and anothermountainman s Lanwei photographs show how architecture can emblematise both aspiration and overreach. INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION What was housing like in various time periods in history? Research typical shelters and building types from as early as the Stone Age. What types of housing is built today? What will tomorrow s dwellings look like? Why do you think styles and trends changes through time? Technological advances might be a reason for such change in style. Refer to Chapter 6 for more on this topic. Architects do not just design and build cities; they also re-imagine them. In doing so, they expand the limits of what is possible while offering visionary ideas and, sometimes, critiques and provocations. Consider Beijing 2050 and the 2nd Ring Road in Case Studies 12 and 13. How and why do you think the architects decided to come up with such proposals and urban solutions for China in 2050? What aspects of the current situation do you think the architects are commenting? ACTIVITY How has the future imaged by others besides architects? Look for other representation of the future in other fields and discipline such as movies, art or writings. Which one is the most convincing to you? Share with others these examples and why they are convincing scenarios. FURTHER REFERENCE Rachel Nuwer, Will we ever... live in underwater cities?, BBC, 30 th Sept 2013, < Life in 2050: How much space will you have to live in?, BBC, 29 th May 2013, < Postcards From The Future Website, < 49

50 Case Study 12 / Exhibit 37 MAD Beijing 2050, Beijing, China About Beijing 2050 (2006), Beijing, China Beijing 2050 proposes three hypothetical scenarios for China s capital in the year 2050: a network of cloud-like structures hovering above the Central Business District; the transformation of Tiananmen Square and Chang an Avenue into, respectively, a park and green boulevard; and the insertion of bubbles, housing public facilities and amenities, throughout the city s historic hutong alleyway districts. Evolving from a project that MAD co-founder Ma Yansong began as a graduate student at Yale, Beijing 2050 is a speculative take on the future based on a critical awareness of both historical and contemporary social, structural and ideological developments in Beijing. In 2009, a fully functioning, full-scale bubble was constructed in a traditional courtyard house in the city. Exhibit 37.1 Beijing 2050: Floating Island over the Central Business District 2006 wood, plastic and paint About MAD (China) Beijing-based MAD is one of China s most widely recognised, leadingedge contemporary architectural practices. It was founded in 2004 by Ma Yansong, a graduate of the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture who later received his Masters in Architecture from Yale University. Having worked for Zaha Hadid, Ma is known for employing daring and wildly futuristic forms in exploring contemporary interpretations of Eastern notions of nature. His firm often employs conceptual methodologies that can be critical of its current-day Chinese context. In 2006, MAD became the first Chinese firm of its generation to notably win an international design competition when it was commissioned to build the Absolute Tower, in Mississauga, Ontario, the success of which prompted the addition of a second tower. The firm has been published and exhibited extensively, including at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale. In addition to the Absolute World Towers, its built projects include a museum in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and the Hutong Bubble 32 in Beijing. ACTIVITY What will your home look like in the future? Re-imagine your home and think about how you will live in the future. Will houses float in the air, be unusual in shape or require rooms for alien visitors and hover-cars? Draw or make models of houses, buildings or cities that fit with your vision of the future. Picture yourself in the future you envisaged. What is your daily life like in this future and how is the built environment differ accordingly? Why do you think the future will look like this? 50

51 Exhibit 37.2 Beijing 2050: Tian anmen Square 2006 wood, plastic and paint DISCUSSION While it s unlikely such proposals will be realised though one of MAD s hutong bubbles was, in fact, constructed in 2009 what is the value in putting them forward? Exhibit 37.3 Model for Beijing 2050: Hutong Bubble 2006 wood, plastic and paint FURTHER REFERENCE MAD Architects Website, < < Hutong Bubble 32, Beijing leeji choi, MAD architects: 'hutong bubble 32', Beijing, desingboom, 23 rd Aug 2009, < Sarah Housley, "Hutong Bubble 32 by MAD", Dezeen, 14 th Sept 2009, < Brendan McGetrick, "Hutong Bubble", ICON, November 2009, < Nicole Saieh, Beijing Hutong Bubble / MAD, ArchDaily, 24 th Feb 2014, < 51

52 Case Study 13 / Exhibit 41 OPEN Architecture 2 nd Ring Beijing 2049 About 2nd Ring Beijing 2049 ( ) Beijing 2049: 2nd Ring calls for the transformation of the city s congested Second Ring Road into a green lung by the year 2049, the prospective centennial of the People s Republic of China. Traffic would be diverted underground, replaced by a linear network of parks and cultural, recreational and athletic facilities. The Second Ring Road follows the former path of Beijing s historic city walls, which were razed soon after the 1949 establishment of the PRC. Though not explicitly, OPEN's proposal evokes the Chinese architect Liang Sicheng's wellknown, but unsuccessful, effort at that time to preserve the walls as a park. Exhibit nd Ring Beijing 2049 ( ) 2011 digital print on paper About the OPEN Architecture (China) OPEN Architecture is a Beijing-based firm founded in 2006 by Li Hu and his wife, Huang Wenjing. A graduate of Tsinghua and Rice universities, Li was previously in charge of the New York architect Steven Holl s Beijing office, overseeing high-profile projects including the Linked Hybrid (Grand MOMA) in Beijing, the Vanke headquarters in Shenzhen, the Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, and Raffles City in Chengdu. At the forefront of its generation of contemporary Chinese practices, OPEN is known for its experimental typologies that promote progressive urbanism and the social and sustainable potential of architecture. Widely published, the firm s notable projects include the Gehua Youth and Cultural Center in Qinghuangdao, a planned ocean research centre for Tsinghua University, and a forthcoming high school outside Beijing. Exhibit nd Ring Beijing 2049 ( ) 2011 Dual-screen video Duration:

53 Chapter 6 Digital Tools: Virtual and Reality How have technological advances impact the design, representation and construction of buildings? The digital age has transformed architecture, not only in practice, but also in how it s conceived, consumed, produced and conceptualised. Computer-aided design has made possible forms that previously weren t achievable, such as the undulating curves of MAD s Absolute Towers, while generating new architectural meanings, as with the barcode- and circuit board-evoking Digital Beijing by Studio Pei-Zhu and Urbanus. Elsewhere, digital fabrication techniques have combined with online platforms to redistribute architectural expertise and production, as can be seen with davidclovers s Immuring. The digital construction of space has also produced entirely virtual cities, whether they be analytical tools as with Hong Kong s 3D Spatial Data or fictional, simulated realities like Cao Fei s RMB City. INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION How does digital technology affect the design, representation and construction of buildings nowadays? Why do you think it is important to continue exploring new boundaries? How do you think the role of architects, their craftsmanship and professional skills shifts according to these changes in technology? Computer-generated visualisation is one of the commonest means of presenting designs to clients, planning committees and the media. While initially developed by the military, computer-aided design (CAD) was soon extended to replace drawing boards in most architectural offices as they enable better organisation and updates of the thousands of documents in large projects. While model-making and hand-sketching are still important, CAD has almost completely taken over the production of the working drawings phase of architectural design. Some would lament the loss of hand-drawing skills in light of such changes. What are your views? At the same time, why do you think sketching and model-making are still taught in architectural schools? ACTIVITY Technological advances constantly break through ideas which were once considered impossible. What do you think architectural practice will look like in the future? How can an architectural design that may be impossible nowadays be designed, presented and constructed in the future? Share with other your version of what it will be like to be an architect in the future. FURTHER REFERENCE Matthew Allen, Archeology of the Digital, Domus, 15 th May 2013, < Timothy Carter, "Smart cities: The future of urban infrastructure", BBC, 22 nd Nov 2013, < Emilie Chalcraft, "In the future we might print not only buildings, but entire urban sections", Dezeen, 21 st May 2013, < Archaeology of the Digital, 7 May to 27 October 2013, The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) website, 2013, < 53

54 Case Study 14 / Exhibit 38 davidclovers with C.E.B Reas Immuring About Immuring( ) Immuring is an explorative prototype for the cladding system of Lunar House, a 2,300 square-foot speculative house sold through Hometta.com. Users can purchase plans, as well as other aids for building the home, online. Embedded with dense networks of LED-lit, computer-generated lines, Immuring's three full-scale Corian panels for Lunar House reflect the architects interest in examining the threshold between twodimensional and three-dimensional forms via digital design and fabrication. Exhibit. 38 Immuring three full scale façade prototypes for Lunar House; etched and embossed Corian, LED lighting About davidclovers (Hong Kong) davidclovers was founded by David Erdman and Clover Lee in 2007 in the United States. They have collaborated in designing and completing residential homes, interiors and exhibitions. As both academics and practitioners, their projects emphasise architectural massing and its material effects. The way they work and develop projects reflects both the thoughtful research of their academic backgrounds and their fastidious innovative capabilities as a practice. Combining digital modelling, prototyping and fabrication with standard construction methods each project integrates basic elements including ceilings, windows, lighting and structure in unique ways affecting space and inhabitation. In 2009, davidclovers relocated to Hong Kong where they have since completed a number of projects. David and Clover have lectured widely and have been published in numerous architectural journals, newspapers and books throughout Asia, Europe, and the US. Their work has won several international awards, and has been exhibited at leading arts institutions and in significant group exhibitions including the Venice, Beijing, and Korean Biennales. FURTHER REFERENCE David Clovers Website, < Project credits: Immuring was developed and created with support from: DuPont China Ltd and SpeedTop Ltd (Hong Kong). Collaborators include: E-Grow (Shanghai), William Koh and Associates (Los Angeles), Inhabit (Hong Kong), AHL Lighting and Media Facades (Shenzhen) and Tortoise Industries (Los Angeles) 54

55 Case Study 15 / Exhibit 40 MAD Absolute Towers, Mississauga, Canada About Absolute Tower ( ), Mississauga, Canada Led by Ma Yansong (China, b. 1975), Beijing-based MAD first earned widespread attention in 2006 when it won an international competition to design a condominium tower in Mississauga, near Toronto. Eventually consisting of two highrises, the Absolute Towers exhibit the organic, curvaceous forms that have continued to make MAD one of the most prominent experimental architecture firms in China. About MAD (China) Beijing-based MAD is one of China s most widely recognised, leadingedge contemporary architectural practices. It was founded in 2004 by Ma Yansong, a graduate of the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture who later received his Masters in Architecture from Yale University. Having worked for Zaha Hadid, Ma is known for employing daring and wildly futuristic forms in exploring contemporary interpretations of Eastern notions of nature. His firm often employs conceptual methodologies that can be critical of its current-day Chinese context. In 2006, MAD became the first Chinese firm of its generation to notably win an international design competition when it was commissioned to build the Absolute Tower, in Mississauga, Ontario, the success of which prompted the addition of a second tower. The firm has been published and exhibited extensively, including at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale. In addition to the Absolute World Towers, its built projects include a museum in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and the Hutong Bubble 32 in Beijing. FURTHER REFERENCE MAD architects: absolute towers completed, designboom, 12 th Dec, 2012, < Image by Iwan Baan, courtesy of MAD 55