Oyster Future: Archiving Diverse Perspectives on Oyster Heritage in the Pearl River Delta
Oyster shell wall of a ruined residential building in Daling Village (大嶺), Guangzhou (廣州). Photographed by Tian, 2024
Oyster shells alongside the creek before transporting them to the lime works.
Infrared Thermography of the Oyster shell, Shajing Village 沙井, Shenzhen 深圳. Photographed by TIAN, GUIDE PT850, 2024
The cultural understanding of oysters in the Pearl River Delta has long been narrowly confined to their culinary value as a delicacy, overlooking the multifunctional potential of oysters as a resource in architectural and ecological restoration domains, thereby placing oyster cultural heritage at risk of discontinuation. Current oyster practices remain siloed across disciplines with limited cross-sector dialogue. This study is one of the first to systematically explore the diverse use of oysters in sustainable design in the Pearl River Delta. By archiving oyster shell wall houses in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, documenting historical shell lime Kiln and processing industries, and exploring emerging design experiments addressing environmental challenges in Hong Kong, this research seeks to reframe oyster heritage through a material lens. The multi forms of digital archive will provide a platform for interdisciplinary exchange, fostering new approaches to managing regional oyster resources for a more sustainable future.
The cultural understanding of oysters in the Pearl River Delta has long been narrowly confined to their culinary value as a delicacy, overlooking the multifunctional potential of oysters as a resource in architectural and ecological restoration domains, thereby placing oyster cultural heritage at risk of discontinuation. Current oyster practices remain siloed across disciplines with limited cross-sector dialogue. This study is one of the first to systematically explore the diverse use of oysters in sustainable design in the Pearl River Delta. By archiving oyster shell wall houses in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, documenting historical shell lime Kiln and processing industries, and exploring emerging design experiments addressing environmental challenges in Hong Kong, this research seeks to reframe oyster heritage through a material lens. The multi forms of digital archive will provide a platform for interdisciplinary exchange, fostering new approaches to managing regional oyster resources for a more sustainable future.
- 2025
- Grantee: Ting WANG
Ting WANG is a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Architecture in Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on landscape anthropology, examining how human interventions interact with flora and fauna within ecological landscapes. The study challenges human-centered views by highlighting the material agency of nonhuman life forms. She received her Ph.D. from the Division of Landscape Architecture at the University of Hong Kong, with a dissertation that examined the politics and knowledge production involved in the design of contemporary wetland parks in China. She also practices as an emerging eco-artist. Through exhibitions and site-specific installations, she explores how the reuse of everyday materials can cultivate deeper forms of community engagement, ecological awareness, and sustainable practices.
TIAN Mengxiao holds a Ph.D. in Architectural History and Theory from the University of Hong Kong. Now, she is an assistant professor at the School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, where she teaches design studios and courses related to the theory and practice of heritage conservation. Her main research interests are Chinese architectural history and heritage conservation. She focuses on three aspects: traditional settlements and landscape; the interaction between settlements and the water network environment; conservation and renewal of settlement heritage and ecological environment.