Dear Members,
The Bishop Hill reservoir recently became “the talk of the town” when the underground structure was exposed during demolition and, with all the public attention, it’s very likely that the reservoir will now be conserved in one way or another. In our first webinar of 2021, we would like to explore how we might improve architectural conservation policies in Hong Kong by looking at other cities’ experience.
Shita Lam, who discovered the site in 2017 while doing research for her master’s thesis, will take us through the research she’s done with input from Architect Nicky Wong, founder of Hong Kong Heritage Exploration and Structural Engineer Marc Frost.
Fredo Cheung, Vice-President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists will explain Hong Kong’s current heritage building grading system. Jennifer Lang, current Director of the MSc (Conservation) program at HKU, will discuss the US heritage conservation system based on her 30 years of experience there.
Professor Puay-peng Ho, Mr. Lee Chi Ming and John Raphael Miminas will join the session to explore possible strategies for further architectural conservation in the territory.
This event is supported by The Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists (HKICON) and The Institution of Civil Engineers, Hong Kong Association (ICE HKA).
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.
Please register in advance, here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K1PIsOj4TbOgFeWJhG95pw
This webinar will also be available on FB live. If you use this platform instead of zoom, please be sure to leave your name and AIA number in the FB live comment box to ensure that you will be credited with the LUs.
https://www.facebook.com/aiahkchapter
Speakers’ Profiles
Shita Lam Ka Wai
M.Arch; M.A. (Phil); BSSc (Arch Studies)(Hons)
Shita Lam holds BSSc (Arch Studies), Master of Architecture and Master of Arts in Philosophy degrees from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and is a Graduate Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects.
Lam’s research interest is concentrated on sacral architecture. During her 2018 study of urban voids in Hong Kong, she discovered the disused Bishop Hill underground service reservoir / balancing tank for which she proposed an adaptive reuse meditation space as her thesis. The reservoir subsequently gained prominent media attention in late 2020 when it was uncovered during demolition – which has since been suspended. Conservation grading by the Antiquities and Monuments Office will now be carried out while Lam continues her architectural research on the site.
Fredo Cheung
BA (Architectural Studies) HKU; Master of Architecture HKU; MSc (Conservation) HKU; HKICON
Fredo Cheung is the Vice-President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists (HKICON). Before embarking on a career in heritage preservation, he worked at Leigh & Orange and, later, Ronald Lu & Partners, specializing in the design of institutional buildings in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the Middle East, and was involved in several award winning projects over the years. His encounter with heritage issues during his early career spurred his later interest in architectural conservation. Upon completion of his studies in the HKU Architectural Conservation Programme, he began to develop a portfolio of projects as a heritage consultant. Currently, he divides his time between teaching and pursuing his PhD.
Jennifer Lang
PhD HKU; MSc (Conservation) HKU; MS (Historic Preservation) Columbia University; BA (Art History) NYU
Jennifer Lang is an architectural historian and building conservationist with more than 30 years of combined professional and academic experience in built-heritage conservation. Currently, she is the Director of the MSc (Conservation) program and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong where she teaches graduate students in architectural conservation. She is the immediate past president of HKICON (Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists).
Jennifer has extensive experience documenting and evaluating industrial architecture and infrastructure. Notably, she has worked as a senior architectural historian for an environmental consulting firm in California documenting water conveyance systems, hydroelectric power stations and railroad features for the National Register Of Historic Places and for the California Register of Historical Resources.
Jennifer has a BA in Art History from NYU, an MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University, and both an MS in Conservation and a PhD in Architecture from Hong Kong University. Her dissertation focused on the industrial architecture and company town housing of the Taikoo Sugar Refinery built by the Swire Company in Hong Kong from the 1880s to the 1970s.
Ho Puay Peng
UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia
Professor and Head – Department of Architecture – National University of Singapore
Professor Ho holds the UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia and is currently Head of the Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore.
Having close to 30 years of experience in academia, Puay-Peng’s main research interests are in architectural history and conservation practices, and in how such knowledge can be translated into teaching and practice. Prior to joining NUS in 2017, Puay-Peng was Professor of Architecture and Director of the School of Architecture and University Dean of Students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sustaining his research is the quest to understand religious cultures and their architectural forms, while his main focus is the Buddhist architecture and rituals of medieval China.
Puay-Peng has been a conservation consultant, architect and adviser on some one hundred conservation projects in Hong Kong and Singapore since 2003, including the Police Married Quarters (PMQ), Haw Par Villa, Comix Homebase, Oil Street Art Space, the Court of Final Appeal, and the New Campus for Chicago University Booth School – all of which are in Hong Kong. He has also been appointed to many public and private boards and committees including Chairman of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust; member of the Town Planning Board, the Antiquities Advisory Board, and, currently, the Senior Advisory Board of Global Heritage Fund; and as a Patron of the International Dunhuang Project of The British Library.
John Raphael Miminas
B.Arch; MSc UD; MSc CHB; SAR MSA MRAIC
John Miminas is an architectural designer with more than 18 years of combined architecture, urban design and heritage conservation experience. He recently joined Roger Mears Architects, London, where he is realising his dream of repairing historic church buildings and other places of worship.
Prior to this he helped establish the Queen Street West Conservation Area in Toronto, Canada. He is now involved with the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage which seeks to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on church buildings by helping manage, quantify and accelerate urgent repairs and sensitive maintenance.John has led the conservation and refurbishment of Grade II, Grade II* and Grade I listed buildings throughout London, including 18th century Georgian terrace houses, government buildings and the Royal Albert Hall.
John is a graduate of the Carleton University School of Architecture, Ottawa, Canada where he received his BArch; The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) for his MSc in Urban Design; and the University of Bath where he obtained his MSc in Conservation of Historic Buildings. He is a registered architect in Sweden.
Ir LEE Chi Ming
FICE, MHKIE, CEng, BSc (Eng) (Civil), MSc (Urban Planning), MSc (IDM)
Ir LEE Chi Ming is the Board Chairman of CarbonCare InnoLab, an NGO dedicated to exploring opportunities for action, innovation and awareness on climate change and carbon reduction for the people of Hong Kong. He is also the vice-chairman of the local think tank Land Watch, which specializes in the study of local land use policy. He is a director of Beeinventor, a company focusing on IoT (Internet of Things) technology to create smart products for improving both the health and safety of workers and the management of construction sites.
Ir LEE was the chairman of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Hong Kong Association (2013-2015) and the Hong Kong Representative to the ICE Council (2013-2017). Before his retirement from the Water Supplies Department after 32 years of service, he was the head of the Design Division, overseeing the design and construction of projects worth more than HK$4 billion. He has extensive experience in project planning, finance and management as well as in EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) and other sustainability studies.