As a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, AIA Hong Kong is required to hold an annual election for the following positions:
• Vice President / President-elect 2023
• Secretary
• Treasurer
In addition, we are seeking volunteers for the following standing committees:
• Programs Committee
• Membership Committee
• Communications Committee
• Honors and Awards Committee
• Nominating Committee
• Young Architects Group (YAG)
Additionally, next year marks the 25th Anniversary of our Chapter!
We are therefore also in search of members who would like to assist our 25th Anniversary Organizing Committee.
These voluntary positions are instrumental to the Chapter’s operation and present great opportunities for those of you who are looking to expand your network and engage with the community – as well as with other members.
As always, self-nominations for any of the above positions are welcome.
If you are ready for the challenge, please complete the Nomination Form (s) here and return to secretary@aiahk.org by Friday October 15, 2021. The Chapter Election will take place during our 2021 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, October 23, at 4:00pm at the Rosewood Hong Kong. More details to follow.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Chapter Office. We will be happy to discuss how you can contribute to our community.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Winston Yeo, AIA Florence Chan, AIA HKIA
2021 President Vice President / President-elect 2022
We would like to remind you that the 2021 AIA Hong Kong Honors and Awards Program submission deadline is next Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
The AIA Hong Kong Chapter’s annual Design Awards Program recognizes excellence in architecture, interior design, urban design and unbuilt projects undertaken by our members. The Program’s purpose is to increase awareness of outstanding design and to honor the AIA member architects, clients, and consultants who work together to improve the built environment.
For details about this year’s program, please follow the link below:
2021 AIA Hong Kong Honors and Awards Program – Entry Form
Submission deadline: Tuesday, August 31, 2021 | 17:00 (HKT)
Should you have any questions, please send your inquiry to: info@aiahk.org or call the Chapter Office at 2882 6011.
We look forward to seeing all your wonderful submissions!
Yours sincerely,
The AIA Hong Kong Chapter invites you to submit for the 2021 AIA Hong Kong Honors and Awards Program.
The AIA Hong Kong Chapter’s annual Design Awards Program recognizes excellence in architecture, interior design, urban design and unbuilt projects undertaken by our members. The Program’s purpose is to increase awareness of outstanding design and to honor the AIA member architects, clients, and consultants who work together to improve the built environment.
For details about this year’s program, please follow the link below:
2021 AIA Hong Kong Honors and Awards Program – Entry Form
Submission deadline: Tuesday, August 31, 2021 | 17:00 (HKT)
Should you have any questions, please send your inquiry to: info@aiahk.org or call the Chapter Office at 2882 6011.
We look forward to seeing all your wonderful submissions!
Sustainable design and the impact that buildings and the construction industry have on the environment and climate change are of increasing importance worldwide. As architects, we have a shared responsibility to develop our cities without negatively impacting the use of resources and energy, and by minimizing the production of waste.
How can BIM assist?
BIM ensures that architects have more control over every aspect of their projects, from the way that spaces are arranged and oriented to the selection of materials and the efficiency of construction systems. Once a Digital Twin, or Virtual Project, has been created it is easy to evaluate each project in the virtual environment before the actual construction takes place. We can thereby make a big difference on the impact of what we design by optimizing our projects in terms of reduced energy consumption, the use of recycled materials – where possible – proper access and orientation, and the minimization of waste by careful control of quantities.
You can use your smartphone, tablet or PC to join. Install the zoom.us application prior to the meeting.
1. Please use your real name for registration so that we can credit 1.0 LU to you.
2. All attendees should mute their audio during the presentation to avoid signal interference.
3. On this occasion, only the host and panellists will be allowed to speak.
4. You may, however, type questions in the Q&A box at the bottom of your zoom screen.
5. The panellists will review your questions and provide responses, time allowing.
6. The presentation will be recorded.
Eugenio Fontan
• Master in Architecture – UPM (Spain)
• ARB Registered Architect
• HKIBIM Member
Eugenio Fontan is currently based in Hong Kong and has more than 12 years of experience on different kinds of projects using BIM in combination with other technologies. He has practiced in Europe, the Middle East and South-East Asia and is a Co-Founder of Enzyme APD, an international architecture and technology implementation firm. Currently with GRAPHISOFT, Eugenio utilizes BIM software to increase architects’ productivity and efficiency on a consultancy basis.
AIA Hong Kong is pleased to host a tour to Yi Pei Square Playground park, recently launched by Design Trust Futures Studio and other collaborators and stakeholders in the community.
Yi Pei Square Playground is a testament to Design Trust’s continuous and dedicated efforts in bringing together the local communities and other stakeholders from both private and public sectors to transform the unique concepts by cross-disciplinary design experts into meaningful outcomes that impact society or public spaces in Hong Kong. The Park explores the idea of creating a “communal living room” within a densely populated residential area in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, that is surrounded by subdivided flats, suitable for residents of all ages. The design of the space incorporated the residents’ needs researched through a series of public engagement and workshops, facilitating multi-generational interactions for residents. The public space allows the public to enjoy the inclusive and custom-made play equipment, dedicated leisure and activities zones for different users as well as the specially designed graphics and floor patterns. More details on the park here: https://designtrust.hk/newsletter/yi-pei-square-playground-tsuen-wan/
In this tour, Marisa Yiu, AIA, co-founder and Executive Director of Design Trust will share and discuss the collaborative process involved and her devotion to the positive values of design in the role for shaping a better Hong Kong and the region we live in. Please RSVP (rsvp@aiahk.org) with your full name and membership number by 5:00pm on Thursday May 13, 2021 and, if you have any questions, contact the Chapter office at rsvp@aiahk.org / 2882-6011.
Tour Date May 15, 2021 – Saturday
Time 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Location Yi Pei Square Playground, Tsuen Wan (Sha Tsui Road / Chuen Lung Street)
Fee HK$100
About the Speaker
Marisa Yiu, AIA
Co-Founder, Executive Director | DESIGN TRUST | HK
Founding Partner | ESKYIU | HK
MARISA YIU is the Co-founder and Executive Director of DESIGN TRUST, an initiative of Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, which is a registered charity founded in 2007. DESIGN TRUST encourages and supports creative research initiatives related to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, within an international context. She has been instrumental in shaping the growth of this NGO since 2014, and spearheaded the Design Trust Futures Studio program in 2017. Yiu is also a practicing architect and Founding Partner of ESKYIU, an award winning, multi-disciplinary architectural design and research studio that actively integrates culture, community, art and technology into their projects, from their base in Hong Kong.
We often think about contemporary architecture in terms of its immediate impact, its hardware or software, plain or covert political objectives and so on. It is only when we have a bit of distance that we can then talk about its contribution to Architecture, vis-à-vis the works’ impact on the profession, on a city’s image, so on and so forth.
In Curating Architecture as Knowledge Production, Shirley Surya will discuss her work on curating Architecture as a geographically specific yet transnational design and historical project. We will be treated to her perspective on collecting architectural works as points for introspection, conjectures, and perhaps even validation – and just in time as Hong Kong gains new narratives through the M+ Design and Architecture collection.
You can use your smartphone, tablet or PC to join. Install the zoom.us application prior to the meeting.
1. Please use your real name for registration so that we can credit 2.0 LUs to you.
2. All attendees should mute their audio during the presentation to avoid signal interference.
3. On this occasion, only the host and panellists will be allowed to speak.
4. You may, however, type questions in the Q&A box at the bottom of your zoom screen.
5. The panellists will review your questions and provide responses, time allowing.
6. The presentation will be recorded.
The four exhibitions covered under this talk may be viewed via the links below:
[Yung Ho Chang + FCJZ: Material-ism (UCCA, Beijing, 2012)]
https://ucca.org.cn/en/exhibition/yung-ho-chang-fcjz-material-ism//
[Building M+ The museum and architecture collection (ArtisTree, Hong Kong, 2014)]
https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/whats-on/past-events/building-m-the-museum-and-architecture-collection/chapter/multimedia-199
[Incomplete urbanism: Attempts of Critical Spatial Practice (NTU CCA, Singapore, 2016)]
ntu.ccasingapore.org/exhibition/incomplete-urbanism-attempts-of-critical-spatial-practice
[In Search of Southeast Asia through M+ Collections (M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong, 2018)]
https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/insearchofsea/in-search-of-southeast-asia-through-the-m-collections
Speaker’s Profile
Shirley Surya is the Curator for Design and Architecture at M+, the new museum for visual culture in Hong Kong which will open at the end of 2021.
Since 2012, Shirley has contributed to building the M+ Collections through her research on design and architectural production in greater China and Southeast Asia. She co-curated Building M+: The Museum & Architecture Collection (2014), NEONSIGNS.HK (2014), In Search of Southeast Asiathrough the M+ Collections (2018) and the museum’s opening displays that will focus on Hong Kong and key narratives from the Design and Architecture collection.
Shirley received her BA in Media Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MA in History of Design from the Royal College of Art in London.
AIA Hong Kong 1st Quarterly Meeting – 2021
+ Urban Spectre – Memories and Spatial History in Hong Kong Cinema
Date
May 6th 2021 –Thursday
Time
1st Quarterly Meeting 7:00 – 7:30pm
Urban Spectre 7:30 – 9:00pm
Credit
1.5 LUs/HSW
Format
Zoom Webinar
Gratis
About the Event: Urban Spectre – Memories and Spatial History in Hong Kong Cinema
After the 1st Quarterly Meeting, this webinar will consider how the spatial history of our city is like a ghost that still lingers within Hong Kong films.
We will revisit different kinds of living spaces – both the physical spaces themselves and via topophilia, or “the sense of place”, as seen through the lens of Hong Kong cinema and with reference to a new book by Dr. Esther MK Cheung.
Featured Movies
1. Made in Hong Kong 香港制造 (1997)
2. The Longest Summer 去年煙花特別多 (1998)
3. Little Cheung 細路祥 (1999)
4. Young and Dangerous film series 古惑仔系列 (1995-2000)
5. Port of Call 踏血尋梅 (2015)
6. Weeds on Fire 點五步 (2016)
7. A Mad World 一念無明 (2016)
8. Beyond the Dream 幻愛 (2019)
9. Still Human 淪落人 (2018)
10. One Second Champion 一秒拳王 (2020)
You can use your smartphone, tablet or PC to join. Install the zoom.us application prior to the meeting.
1. Please use your real name for registration so that we can credit 1.5 LUs/HSW to you.
2. All attendees should mute their audio during the presentation to avoid signal interference.
3. On this occasion, only the host and panellists will be allowed to speak.
4. You may, however, type questions in the Q&A box at the bottom of your zoom screen.
5. The panellists will review your questions and provide responses, time allowing.
6. The presentation will be recorded.
Siu Heng is a veteran arts administrator and communications professional. He has worked for various educational and cultural institutions, organizing and promoting arts, cultural programmes and film festivals. Having started his own company in 2014, he has continued to serve Hong Kong’s creative sectors as an experienced editor and translator, and has recently translated a book on Hong Kong cinema study.
Siu Heng holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Translation, and an M.A. in Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Hong Kong, and has been a member of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society since 2006.
Alfred S. H. Ho
Alfred Ho is a Hong Kong architect and urban researcher who graduated from the University of Hong Kong and subsequently obtained his Master’s Degree in Architecture from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He has written on topics as varied as Hong Kong consumer culture and consumption, housing, conservation, and urban development. Alfred set up Urban Studies Institute Limited as a charitable institution in late 2017 for urban research, conservation initiatives, architecture and community design in Hong Kong.
He is currently establishing the Hong Kong Property Brochure Archive as an online historical and research database for private housing in Hong Kong from the 1960s to 2010 and onwards.
Moderators
Fei Mui, AIA
Chang Su, AIA
This webinar will be moderated by 2021 AIA Hong Kong Programs Co-chairs Fei Mui, AIA, and Chang Su, AIA.
With Spring well underway, we have made some headway on several initiatives this year. This newsletter is a brief update ahead of our First Quarterly Meeting next month, date to be announced in an upcoming EDM.
for young members and aspiring architects
PATH TO LICENSURE
We kicked off the year with our Becoming an Architect webinar, when our Young Architect’s Group (YAG) chair, Hinki Kwong, spoke to 57 students from The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chu Hai College of Higher Education and City University of Hong Kong on becoming US licensed architects. The presentation was followed by a discussion with Su Chang, Dennis Cheung and Josely Lam on their experiences of M. Arch programs in the US. The Q&A session was particularly lively as the three speakers had graduated from local undergraduate programs themselves and could relate well to our audience.
Many students showed keen interest in pursuing professional development and registration in the US and this has even sparked interest in renewals in our student membership category.
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
From this group of students, we were able to launch the YAG mentorship program with an inaugural batch of 70 mentees and 15 mentors. Hinki Kwong led the hour-long icebreaker where mentors and mentees got to ‘mingle’ in a virtual landscape. Many thanks to our mentors for heeding our call to serve, and we look forward to hearing more as the program progresses this year.
The 2-hour long webinar attracted 2,000 viewers across various social platforms and is currently the most-watched video in AIA Hong Kong’s history. The webinar gave a detailed breakdown of the architectural and structural quality of Bishop Hill. Heritage leaders shared their insights on how old buildings are being evaluated, in Hong Kong and overseas, on both their cultural and architectural merit. The presentation also addressed many questions about the complicated process of heritage assessment and showed a potential future for the protection of Bishop Hill as part of the water supply infrastructure in Kowloon.
As part of our technical workshop series, Eugenio Fontan from Graphisoft shared insights on the latest BIM trends and best practices. For those who missed this primer, the recording will be made available on our YouTube channel. Eugenio was back on March 23rd and 25th with two deep-dive workshops on “sustainable project development” and “BIM in 100 clicks,” respectively, for anyone who was interested in energy modeling and learning more about Archicad – and two more sessions are scheduled for May. Hopefully, at least one of these can take place at our PMQ Chapter Office. Again, we are using a Doodle survey after the March sessions where you can tell us what you’d like to learn by casting your vote on a topic of interest – so make sure you stay until the end and let us know!
Separately, we are excited to advise that Autodesk has joined our Corporate Affiliate program. We are working with their team for BIM training sessions and webinars on several URA heritage case studies (Central Market and the Shanghai Street Project), artificial intelligence and generative design.
Paul and Evelyn from New Office Works (NOW) kicked off the First Projects series with a candid account of their journey from school to practice. If you have visited the Growing Up pavilion, the office’s winning entry in the Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition, you will have appreciated this talk as the duo retraced the development of their ideas and design vocabularies through a balance of research, competition and commissioned work.
We found the “Middle Man Hong Kong” video essays a particularly inspiring example of self-initiated projects that are just as important to forming a practice as paid commissions. Supported by Design Trust, the video essays take a fresh look at Hong Kong’s urbanity through the lens of architecture, offering key takeaways that underline the studio’s approach to their later work.
A warm thank you to Jeff Tung and Winnie Yeung of New World Development for giving us a stellar tour of the State Theatre on King’s Road. Winnie and Jeff reanimated the building and the neighborhood’s transformation over the last 70 years, virtually peeling off layers of the facade in the internal arcade as we went back in time from the retail outlets and billiards halls of the 1990s to its glorious origins as a premier theatre destination in the late ’50s. The project is scheduled to reopen in 2026, and we will arrange several more tours between now and then, so do stay tuned.
Due to the recurring spike/s in COVID numbers, however, EXCO has decided to take precautionary measures and postpone physical gatherings in the month of April during which time the Programs Committee will review the touring capacity of our proposed venue list. Conditions permitting, our goal is to begin reintroducing building tours in small groups of 4, starting in May.
COMMUNICATIONS
Welcome Ivan Mak, who has joined our Communications Committee and will be managing the Chapter’s LinkedIn Account. Together with Catherine Kao on Instagram, Scott Brooks, our Communications Committee Chair, and Peter Basmajian as our copy-editor, I think we are in good hands to tell the stories we have to share this year!
CHAPTER OFFICE UPGRADES
Last but not least, to better serve our membership and to enable greater participation in the broader community and, possibly, from other regions in the near future, we have embarked on three important IT upgrades, including a centralized, searchable communication channel for all committees, cloud accounting, and modernization of our website infrastructure. Many thanks to Chapter secretary Sung Won Lee for leading these efforts on Microsoft Teams for committee work, our Treasurer, Caroline Chou, for working with Fresh Accounting on Xero, and our office manager, Clare Huang, for implementing these updates!
AIA Hong Kong Chapter is going to launch a mentorship program for students, and we are now seeking both young and seasoned members to volunteer as mentors!
What you will need to do as a mentor:
Together with another mentor, you will be assigned with 2-3 mentees.
Join our online kick-off party on March 18, 2021;
Meet your mentees as a group twice this year – either online or in-person.
Who will be your mentees:
Students from accredited architectural programs from HKU, CUHK, City University and Chu Hai University.
Mentors who successfully complete our program will be given 3 LUs.
If you are interested to participate as a mentor, please fill in the questionnaire here.
AIA Hong Kong is excited to announce First Projects, a series of conversations about “the construction of a practice” with talented young individuals who have initiated and maintained a career in architecture and design.
Architects from Hong Kong, the US and the Asia-Pacific region will reflect upon how their firm started – be it a first house, a lost competition, an unsolicited proposal, or a work on paper – and how that became the catalyst for the architectural adventures they are in now.
We will kick off this series with Paul Tse AIA and Evelyn Ting AIA, co-founders and directors of New Office Works (NOW).
You can use your smartphone, tablet or PC to join. Install the zoom.us application prior to the meeting.
Please use your real name for registration so that we can credit 2 LUs to you.
All attendees should mute their audio during the presentation to avoid signal interference.
On this occasion, only the host and panellists will be allowed to speak.
You may, however, type questions in the Q&A box at the bottom of your zoom screen.
The panellists will review your questions and provide responses, time allowing.
The presentation will be recorded.
Speakers’ Profiles
Paul Tse, AIA
Paul is Co-founder and Design Director of New Office Works (NOW), and a registered architect in the State of New York. With over ten years of professional experience in London, Shanghai, New York and Beijing, Paul leads design and project management on architecture and interior projects. He received his Master of Architecture from RMIT University in Melbourne, and his Master in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University GSAPP, where he was awarded the Honor Award for Excellence in Design. He is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and winner of the 2019 DFA Young Talent Design Award.
Evelyn Ting, AIA
Evelyn is Co-founder and Managing Director of New Office Works (NOW), and a registered architect in the State of Massachusetts. With experience in architecture and editorial work environments, Evelyn oversees both architecture projects and research initiatives and publications. She received her Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University. She was a teaching assistant for MIT’s Graduate Core Design Studio and was part of the curatorial team for the U.S pavilion at the 14th Venice Biennale. She is currently a Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong.
New Office Works (NOW)
New Office Works (NOW) is an architecture and design studio devoted to the production of inventive spaces and objects. Based in Hong Kong, the office creates projects that build upon the vocabulary accumulated “then” while satisfying the needs and desires of “now.” From buildings and interiors to art installations and furniture, each project encompasses an exploration of detail and material. The design process is a rigorous search for surprising results through hands-on crafting and making of models and prototypes, and careful studies of textures and finishes. NOW was named by Archdaily one of the Best Young Practices of 2020, and has won numerous competitions such as 1st prize in the inaugural Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition. The office is also recognized by various international awards such as Perspective Magazine’s 40 Under 40 and the Architecture MasterPrize. Recently completed projects include the West Kowloon Pavilion, Hong Kong Design Centre, and a retail pavilion for DFS Group in Vietnam.
