CUHK
News Centre

The 14th Graduation Show ‘Lineage’ organized by the new School of Architecture of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will be held from Sunday to Thursday (16 – 20 May) at Park Court, L1 Pacific Place. The Honorable Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Secretary for Development of the HKSAR Government; Mr. Wong Kam-sing, Vice President of Hong Kong Institute of Architects; and Mr. Dominic Lam Kwong-ki, Vice Chairman of The Association of Architectural Practices will officiate at the opening ceremony next Monday (17 May). Mrs. Carrie Lam will also share her views on architecture with staff and students of the Department, as well as the general public.

The annual exhibition has been established since 1997, and is now the first since the inauguration of the School of Architecture last year. The show continues to be a place of inspiration, exchange of creative ideas and interactions among various parties from academia, profession and the general public. This year, 36 master of architecture theses offer a wide variety of topics that touch upon different current issues. They include new architectural formations and technologies, contemporary habitation and living styles, heritage conservation, urban transformations, social and sustainable architectures, etc. Some of these graduation projects are:

Circulation as a Design Generator for High Density Housing – A New Interpretation of Hong Kong Public Housing Towers

Hong Kongis one of the highly-densed cities in the world. With limited land supplies, public housing is designed to provide more housing units for a growing population. Nowadays, the dominant type is pen-tower. The variations of circulation and spatial experience are limited, with features such as congested and enclosed lobby, long and narrow corridor, etc. Kelly Leung Yee-ling studies the circulation system of different residential building estates in Hong Kong. She explores a new interpretation to the existing public housing prototype, allowing better articulation on circulation system, architectural expression, spatial quality and living quality.

Shopping Mall as Privately Owned Public Space – Regaining Publicness in POPS

The right to enjoy public spaces is a fundamental right of citizens. However, in high density cities like Hong Kong, privatization of public spaces seems to be the trend of urban development. In response to the failure of providing adequate public spaces, Steven Ho Chun-wang investigates the possibility of using privatized public spaces as a design strategy for shopping complexes by integrating civic functions and retail to create a new type of public realm, adding a new dimension of urban open spaces.

XRL Terminal as a Civic Urban Center – An Alternative Selfless Infrastructure Development Model For Architecture that Respects People and the City

With growing needs of mobility and travel, large transit nodes have become the centers of the city. As a city center, it caters to serve both travellers and non-travellers; it is also a place of interaction, a place of life. Eugene Leung Kar-ho suggests to fuse the XRL terminal with the city in order to make it a real urban center.

The exhibition is well-designed as a public space highlighted by various materials and installations with a combination of visual graphics and physical models that create new architectural experiences for everyone. Free guided tours will be provided during the exhibition period. The 14th CUHK Graduation Show is made possible with the generous support of the renowned architectural firm Ronald Lu & Partners. Details of the exhibition are as follows:

14th Graduation Show – Lineage by CUHK Masters of Architecture

Grand Opening Ceremony: 6:30 pm, 17 May 2010 (Monday)
Exhibition Period: 16 May 2010 – 20 May 2010 (Sunday to Thursday)
Time: 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Venue: Park Court L1, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Free Admission
Website: www.arch.cuhk.edu.hk/gradshow