Design Trust Seed Grant project “HONG KONG MODERN Architecture of the 1950s-1970s”
The book publication “HONG KONG MODERN Architecture of the 1950s-1970s” by Walter Koditek supported by Design Trust Seed Grant gives a comprehensive overview on the modernist architecture in combining photography, detailed background information and academic essays. In the post-war decades, Hong Kong architects, many of them emigrated from Mainland China, embraced the modernist principles when forced to face the problems of housing shortage, mass construction and limited budgets. Although economic efficiencies often prevailed over design, their buildings were rooted in time and place, reflecting the local climate, social values, materials, technique and use in an often unique and pragmatic fashion. With more than 300 buildings and ensembles documented, this book aims to serve as a reference and enhance knowledge on modernist architecture of the post-war era in Hong Kong, and will contribute to the discussion of its architectural merit, historic and cultural values.
Exhibition Opening and Book Launch in the presence of Walter Koditek and Charles Lai will be held on January 21st 2022 at Goethe Gallery, in conjunction with a guided tour and online panel discussion. The exhibition is unique in combining photography and carefully researched background information. For the first time, based on their research, urban planner and photographer Walter Koditek and architect and researcher Charles Lai, will co-exhibit their work focusing on the architecture of the post-war period. More than 200 photographs of modernist building facades taken by Walter Koditek over the last five years are arranged for the exhibition in seven thematic grids grouped by building typology. These photographs are complemented by Charles Lai’s drawings, photographs, and models of fifteen iconic modern buildings, among them the Hong Kong Arts Center by Tao Ho, thus showcasing the wide spectrum of architectural vocabularies and local characteristics of Hong Kong’s post-war modern architecture, as well as the colourful life stories of the Chinese architects behind these buildings. Stay tuned for Design Trust social media and website for their latest exhibition information.