AIA Hong Kong

AIA Hong Kong – Dec President’s Message

Dear Members and Friends,

Greetings from AIA Hong Kong! Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

In December we had our Holiday Party at PMQ and, more recently, the AHEC sponsored seminar on American Hardwoods. Both events were successful and well attended by members and friends.

Our Holiday Party was held at PMQ in early December to kick off the festive season. Thanks to Event Sponsor, Orientop, it was a fun event with a great turnout showcasing the Chapter’s office at PMQ. Our special guest was Bertrand Coldefy, President of the Continental Europe Chapter of the AIA International Region. Beyond that, it was good to see more young members joining the fun, including students from CUHK and SCAD from the US. There was a charity raffle, with some gifts donated by our Corporate Affiliates and AIA Hong Kong. We collected HK$5,000 and the Chapter will double that amount and donate it towards two charities – the Society for Community Organizations – catering to the housing needs of the urban poor here in Hong Kong – and the Spandana Society, an NGO offering a home for street children in Hyderabad, India. Thanks again to our members, friends and CAs, as well as Catherine and Vivian who worked hard to make this a meaningful and a memorable event. Members mentioned that it was good to see younger members and friends and wanted to see more events at PMQ showcasing our Chapter Office.

The AHEC sponsored event featuring American Hardwood Expert Criswell Davis, who gave an informative and insightful presentation on “Design with Sustainable American Hardwoods” was very engaging and interesting as well.

I would also like to thank our Annual Gold Sponsor, Big Ass Fans, and our Annual Silver Sponsor, Colour Living, for stepping forward to take the lead on the new Annual Sponsorship we started this year. My sincere thanks to our event sponsors, AHEC, North Glass, JEB, LKF Group, Techoy and PMQ – for without their support it would not be possible to offer two to three events a month; totalling more than 25 events this year. These included a variety of seminars, quarterlies, building tours, brown bags and cocktails, culminating with the H&A Ceremony and our Inaugural Annual Dinner.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you as the President of AIA Hong Kong in 2015, exploring the theme of Architecture and Cities and also starting the Young Architects Group, Co-Chaired by Vikki Lew, AIA, and Caroline Chou. We had several opportunities to discuss the role of architects in shaping better cities and it was great to see young and emerging professionals join and get more involved with the Chapter.

I would like to personally thank you all for making it such a successful year. It was a great learning experience for me, as well as for Ken Hau, our 2016 President Elect. I was not able to get the India Tour off the ground this year, but perhaps this can happen in 2016. I know there are a lot of other exciting events already lined up for next year and it is encouraging to see AIA Hong Kong growing, with more members, CAs and sponsors stepping forward and getting involved with the Chapter.

Once again thank you for all your support throughout the year. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and  I wish you all A Very Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Sujata S. Govada, PhD
2015 President, AIA Hong Kong

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *