Dear Members and Friends of AIA Hong Kong:
It’s already July and we’re deep into the dog days of summer. While the heat came early this year, with unusually warm and humid weather in June, that hasn’t slowed us down at AIA Hong Kong. We enjoyed an active second quarter headlined by a successful joint symposium with the folks from AIA International Region and the US Green Building Council – The International Green Building Symposium – and sold-out Building Tours of landmark conservation projects right here at home – The Mills, Little Tai Hang and The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex.
In another highlight, our Young Architects Group completed its inaugural 10-week, peer-to-peer ARE Bootcamp. On the back of this success, plans are already in the works for a second Bootcamp later this year.
Sadly, the second quarter also brought news that Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, FAIA, RIBA, Hon. AIA (HK) had passed away in May, at the age of 102. The Guangdong-born architect was the mastermind behind the bold Louvre pyramid in Paris, the East Wing of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., Japan’s Miho Museum near Kyoto, the striking Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and the landmark 70-storey Bank of China Tower here in Hong Kong. We all mourn the loss of this visionary architect and gracious gentleman.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, we have calls out for entries to our preeminent AIA Hong Kong Honors & Awards Program and to our Smart City Series: Design Competition, which we are jointly organizing with the HKIA and RIBA (HK). We also have Building Tours planned of the West Kowloon Freespace – Hong Kong’s new contemporary art performance center in the heart of the West Kowloon Art Park, the West Kowloon Competition Pavilion (“Growing Up”) – the winning design of AIA Hong Kong members Evelyn Ting and Paul Tse in the first Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition, and Victoria Dockside.
We look forward to your competition entries and to seeing you at the building tours!
The Executive Committee of 2019 AIA Hong Kong Chapter
Collaboration / AIA Hong Kong + USGBC / The International Green Building Symposium 2019 Hong Kong
AIA Hong Kong, together with the US Green Building Council and AIA International Region, successfully held the inaugural International Green Building Symposium 2019 Hong Kong on June 12.
Award-winning architects – including AIA Hong Kong members Christine Bruckner, FAIA and Vicky Chan, AIA – and green building professionals shared examples of how they are making sustainable buildings into successful businesses and why tenants are demanding such designs. Nearly 200 developers, architects, and academics engaged in a timely exchange on the environmental and economic value of green buildings, and discussion of the efforts needed for a healthier, more sustainable built environment in Hong Kong and around the world.
Building Tour / The Mills
The brainchild of Vanessa Cheung, The Mills is a landmark revitalization and exemplary adaptive reuse project that bridges the gap between Hong Kong’s heritage in the textile industry and the future of emerging tech-fashion. Developed by Nan Fung Group, who was at the heart of the textile manufacturing industry in Hong Kong in the 1950s and operated one of the leading cotton-spinning factories, The Mills pays homage to the history of industrial innovation by converting the firm’s now-dormant factories into a hub for technological and cultural innovation. The three former mills have now been combined into a single, cohesive complex covering roughly 260,000 square feet, housing the Center for Heritage Arts & Textile (CHAT), Fabrica (an incubator, fund, and space/lab/store), and Shopfloor.
Ray Zee, the Chief designer at Nan Fung, introduced tour participants to the many innovative startups and technological innovations in this incubator community. In addition to hi-tech facilities like the highly automated garment recycling machines, Ray also drew attention to the many low-tech but equally powerful considerations, such as the decision to preserve in-situ objects and found textures. There is real chemistry between ‘new’ and ‘old’ in the project’s somewhat nostalgic yet forward-looking flair.
Chapter Q2 Meeting + Building Tour / Little Tai Heng
Developer and new Associate AIA member, Tommy Pao, and his team walked tour participants through the journey of transforming what used to be three separate alleyways into one of the most active neighborhoods in Tai Hang today. Overseen from inception to operation by a single team, Little Tai Hang is an example of urban revitalization that takes the long view to community building. This included starting with questions like “How do you build a successful and sustainable business community?” and “What is the right scale and type of retail mix?”
Special thanks to Tommy for sharing his experience on Little Tai Hang from the unusual position of Architect and Developer. In addition to showcasing the technical challenges of creating a meaningful linkage across three pencil lots, the tour highlighted the unique opportunities and challenges for aspiring architect/developers operating in Hong Kong. Of particular interest was the emphasis on building symbiotic tenancy relationships in order to successfully foster a community.
Honors & Awards / Call-for entries
It is time for our annual AIA Hong Kong Honors & Awards Program.
We encourage all members to submit their work for this prestigious event, which has become increasingly well known to other professionals and to the public.
Please note that this year we have revised our submission criteria to allow Associate Members to submit projects for the Interior Architecture category.
The deadline for submissions this year is August 30 at 5 PM.
For any enquiries, please contact info@aiahk.org.
Collaboration / AIA Hong Kong + HKIA + RIBA (HK) Joint Design Competition Call-for-entries
For our Emerging Young Architects, don’t miss our first joint competition with HKIA and RIBA (HK): Smart City Series Design Competition. Showcase your ideas for smart street furniture for the digital age using innovative design, sustainable materials and a new approach to urban thinking. To read more about how to enter, please refer to the design brief here.
The two-phase competition is supported by Development Bureau EKEO and the winning design will be made into a full scale prototype.
The submission deadline is August 12, 2019 (Monday) and we ask that you contact AIA Hong Kong (info@aiahk.org – Subject Header: Design Competition Registration) with your Institute Membership number (AIA, HKIA, RIBA) to be assigned a registration number for your project submission.
For any enquiries, you may also contact info@aiahk.org.
Emerging Architects / ARE boot-camp
In addition to AIA Hong Kong’s monthly ARE study groups at the Chapter Office, our Young Architects Group successfully completed its inaugural ARE peer-to-peer Bootcamp in the second quarter. The Bootcamp is designed to offer motivation and support through weekly meetings and greater interaction among peers, to foster learning from each other and encourage maintaining a study schedule.
Please sign up at emergingprofessionals@aiahk.org to be kept informed of future Bootcamps. Be sure to include your full name, affiliation and email address.
Members in the news / Perspective 40 under 40 Awards 2019
Congratulations to our Emerging Architects, Paul Tse, AIA & Evelyn Ting, Assoc. AIA for receiving the “40 under 40” award from Perspective. In addition to being founders of New Office Works, Paul is an adjunct assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Evelyn is a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. Keep an eye out in August, for our tour of their award winning design for the inaugural West Kowloon Young Architects and Designers Competition Pavilion!
