From landmark architecture to everyday space

Our understanding of “cultural infrastructure” is usually the landmark architecture like the museum or the opera house, such as this case of the Lincoln Centre in New York City. Built in the 1960s, it is a grand structure sitting on the high plinth as a “cultural palace”, which is isolated from the urban context and…

Culture as Shared Experience (Performance in Public Space)

Lecture for cuhk SoA elective 5731A - Architecture and Cultural Practice Before we begin this week's discussion on performance in urban space, it would be helpful to revisit the two types of cultural participation based on the distinctive role of cultural producer (performer) and cultural consumer (audience). Typical participatory art invite the audience "to join"…

Cultural Participation and its Agency

Lecture for cuhk SoA elective 5731A - Architecture and Cultural Practice Cultural architecture is a container of public and cultural activities. The previous discussion on the idea of place in urban planning demonstrated a return of cultural institutions to focus on public engagement in recent decades. As civil awareness arise and state cultural budget decline,…

The Idea of Place in Urban Planning

Lecture for cuhk SoA elective 5731A - Architecture and Cultural Practice The previous session laid out an overview of our investigation that positions Cultural Architecture as not just an object. An important concept embedded in it is the idea of Place - besides the physical environment, it is the intangible memory for individuals or collective…

Cultural architecture is not a building

Lecture 1+2 for cuhk SoA elective 5731A - Architecture and Cultural Practice This image reminds us of period drama set in 19th century Europe, where many scenes of courting and socialization were happening in the theatre while the performance was a mere backdrop. At that time cultural activities were the few public occasion for people…

Untapped resources at cultural venue

Project Brief for the current research: Experience Cultural Public Space | Key issues and problems Most cultural buildings in Hong Kong are publicly funded, where the cultural institution carries a public mission and its space is by essence public space. However, this is a type of urban space that is often bypassed in the public…

The study of public life

Research Background for the current project: Experience Cultural Public Space | There was a paradigm change around mid-20th century in urban design and planning, from the Modernist top-down planning manifesto to a concern in human-scale urban experience. Urbanist such as Jane Jacobs advocated an observational approach to learning about how the city works (1961). This…

From static to dynamic experience

Research Methodology for the current project: Experience Cultural Public Space | The proposed research will consist of three stages in response to the project aims. Stage 1 is a spatial analysis of existing conditions, followed by a fieldwork stage to investigate public space user experience, and a final stage to analyze data collected and to…

The decade-long making of Cultural Centre

In February 1974, a Cultural Complex sub-committee under the Standing Committee of the Whole Council of Urban Council was setup to coordinate the overall project that was originally under three separate Select Committee (Museum and Art Gallery Selection Committee, Recreation and Amenity Select Committee, City Hall Select Committee). As the master plan was drafted by…

Key players on cultural infrastructure

Cultural architecture is often celebrated for its distinction in design to the credit of the architect. However, as we unpack the idea of architectural landmark as a public institution, we would find many more factors in its making beyond the architect's drawing board. This brief review of public offices involved in cultural infrastructure development serves…