Design Trust Grant Spotlight

23. 12. 2021

Design Trust is pleased to share and spotlight recent publications on the Castle Peak Dragon Kiln, whilst another focus on Hong Kong modernist architecture, as well as physical-digital system for small business programmes,  exhibited at the 2021 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.

Design Trust Feature Grant project “Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Revitalization”

New publication “Objects of the Dragon Kiln” supported by Design Trust Feature Grant involved 18 months effort from research team, volunteers and community, recently launched on 21st October 2021. This historical research and conservation project sheds light on the only intact kiln of its kind to remain in Hong Kong - The Castle Peak Dragon Kiln located in Tuen Mun. The Kiln was constructed in 1940s owing to many quarries in the area, which nurtured the local pottery and ceramics factories. From the 1940s to early 1980s, the kiln produced numerous household items — from penny banks and clay pots to drainage pipes and wine jars. Entitled “Objects of the Dragon Kiln” the book retells the site’s story through an examination of nine cherished objects that were produced at the kiln. Authored by Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group, gathering professionals from conservation, education, arts and cultural sectors, as well as the ceramic field including potters, ceramic artists, and art educators together is this probing and inspiring documentation.

Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group
Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group
Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group
Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group

Research team Dragon Kiln Concern Group brought us back to the time when the kiln produced popular everyday objects for Hong Kong community, opening a window for us to know more about products’ design, craftsmanship, and production processes. Many of the objects are filled with memories for many Hongkongers, like a ceramic penny bank that its owner had to break in order to retrieve their money.

Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group
Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group

“The majority of people used to buy their pottery from neighbourhood ceramic shops. Besides the kitchen-cupboard staples of bowls and plates, these shops were also purveyors of intricately decorated penny banks, large soy sauce basins, and cricket-fighting bowls, much of it “Made in Hong Kong. In the 1950s and ’60s, before they were styled as pigs, most penny banks looked like miniature rice barrels with a narrow slit on top where coins were deposited. There was no other opening, so to retrieve the money required smashing the bank.” Published by MCCM Creations and illustrations by Hong Kong illustrator Maoshan Connie.

Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group
Image courtesy of Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group

Research team Dragon Kiln Concern Group brought us back to the time when the kiln produced popular everyday objects for Hong Kong community, opening a window for us to know more about products’ design, craftsmanship, and production processes. Many of the objects are filled with memories for many Hongkongers, like a ceramic penny bank that its owner had to break in order to retrieve their money. “The Shiwan ceramic rooftop is distinctive and almost synonymous with traditional Chinese architecture. While the Dragon Kiln fired a wide range of products, it was Leung Sum’s architectural ceramic pieces — from ridge tiles to bamboo window grilles, from reliefs of peonies to garden elephant sculptures — that showcased his skill as a master craftsman.”

 

“Dragon kilns have a single tubular chamber, and are built on a slope. They are lit at the low end, and with the help of a chimney creating a strong draught, the fire is pulled to the other end of the kiln, allowing firings exceeding 1,300 degrees Celsius in under 24 hours. Nowadays, wood-fired kilns have largely been replaced by electric kilns, which are more efficient and predictable. However, wood-fired kilns still hold a special allure for many ceramic enthusiasts due to their long history, and its unique and unpredictable firing effects.”

Video by Hong Kong Dragon Kiln Concern Group brought us back to the time when the kiln produced popular everyday objects for Hong Kong community, opening a window for us to know more about products’ design, craftsmanship, and production processes by demonstration in a functional miniature on the kiln’s structure showing how this traditional craftsmanship works. More fascinating stories and research process are presented in their recent publication “Objects of the Dragon Kiln”.

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.

Image courtesy of Walter Koditek
Image courtesy of Walter Koditek
Image courtesy of Walter Koditek
Image courtesy of Walter Koditek

Design Trust Seed Grant project “Secret Societies”

Another speculative and Seed Grant research project entitled “Secret Societies” by Chun Lam and Yi Ran Weng was on view at the 2021 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism from September 30th - October 31st 2021. Small businesses contribute significantly to the socio-economic diversity of the community. In view of the urgent need of small business entities in Hong Kong to project new models in a highly competitive market, the research team’s solution is a platform called “Secret Societies”. The concept showcases a physical-digital system of vending carts to provide opportunities for small businesses, utilising parking spaces in Hong Kong in novel ways, adding to the global dialogue on resource management and flexibility of urban development tactics. The 2021 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism reflects on the future of urban environments and the architectural and planning strategies that foster resilience. Titled “CROSSROADS, Building the Resilient City”, the third edition of SBAU curated by architect Dominique Perrault attempts to assert the importance of interactions and “cross-fertilization of expertise and approaches” to respond to the complexities that shape the built environment in resilient ways.

Image courtesy of Chun Lam and Yi Ran Weng
Image courtesy of Chun Lam and Yi Ran Weng