Alleys in Wonderland

  • Ng Fuk Lane. Image Courtesy of Nikolas Ettel.
  • Image Courtesy of Nikolas Ettel.
  • Second Street. Image Courtesy of Nikolas Ettel.

“Alleys in Wonderland” is a survey documenting the characteristics of Asia’s back alleys in terms of the relationships between space and activity. Cataloguing, mapping, and digital visualisations were used to examine the oddities of alleyways in today’s Hong Kong and Macau. Seeking the traces of metropolitan life in these celebrated architectural spaces raises questions on the role of back alleys as essential connective spaces for everyday life.

“Alleys in Wonderland” is a survey documenting the characteristics of Asia’s back alleys in terms of the relationships between space and activity. Cataloguing, mapping, and digital visualisations were used to examine the oddities of alleyways in today’s Hong Kong and Macau. Seeking the traces of metropolitan life in these celebrated architectural spaces raises questions on the role of back alleys as essential connective spaces for everyday life.

Milestone

2018.Q4
Project awarded Design Trust Seed Grant

2019.09
Pop-up Exhibition is presented at PMQ, Hong Kong

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2018
Grantee: Nikolas Ettel

Nikolas Ettel is a lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. Born in Vienna, he holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. After several years of professional practice in planning offices in Vienna and Munich, he studied Architecture and Art at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul, and The University of Hong Kong. In London he received The Bartlett Master’s Scholarship to complete his Master of Arts (Architectural History) at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Nikolas has taught design and theory courses at The University of Hong Kong, The Shanghai Study Center, Meiji University Nakano Campus Tokyo, and was a Visiting Lecturer at University of Saint Joseph Macau.

Project Result: AIW@PMQ

Time: 6th – 27th September 2019

Venue: S503, PMQ, Central, Hong Kong

Alleys in Wonderland was exhibited at PMQ in Central Hong Kong from the 6th of September 2019 till the 27th of September 2019. In this exhibition, we see through the eyes of various invited artists, such as Donn Holohan’s and Ben Hayes’s Residual Space Project, that back alleys are essential for a functioning urban neighbourhood.

The Venue. Image Courtesy of Nikolas Ettel.

VR experience. Image Courtesy of Nikolas Ettel.

VR experience to the alleys. Image Courtesy of Nikolas Ettel.