A new exhibition showcasing Hong Kong’s achievements in urban design, orchestrating a matrix of ‘past meets future’ and ‘east meets west’, opened Tuesday at Beijing’s Choi Center.
As part of the celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the Beyond Territories – Done, done, done Hosted by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the exhibition aims to give mainlanders more opportunities to learn more about Hong Kongers and how they have created a city with a uniquely dense and diverse aesthetic.
The “significant exhibition telling the great story of Hong Kong architects” will let mainlanders “celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong SAR together” through a series of inspiring architectural designs exploring and enjoying populated and diverse Hong Kong stubborn spirit and the city’s unique landscape, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in a pre-recorded video during the opening.
He believes that the “living environment for Hong Kong residents can be improved with the support of the mother country and the central government.”
According to the curators of the exhibition, considering the city’s diverse culture and rich traditions, Hong Kong architects have always strived to create a sustainable city and strived to bridge the gap between the past and the future by utilizing their expertise and practices pay great attention to heritage preservation, also taking into account technological innovations.
Each of the three sections – Made, Make and Making – allow visitors to learn about Hong Kong’s rich history, essence and heritage, the local creativity and imagination that has emerged from ‘every street and alley’, and how Modern cities focus on opportunities that lead to innovation and startups.
Exhibits include Street Scene Dream, which is designed as a showcase of radically different shapes and layers over time.
Like the rings in a tree, miles of skylines radiate the energy of different eras in Hong Kong’s history as they take viewers into fast-forward to an immersive world, turning a sleepwalking dream into a sweet dream.
An innovative and creative design is the music faucet, which features a linear array of 13 spouts.
The artwork may remind some visitors of the traditional Chinese stringed musical instrument known as the guzheng, or Chinese plucked zither.
The faucet is therefore assembled into an architectural guzheng through the use of different materials and fittings.
“This is the first time that the Hong Kong architecture industry has held such a large-scale exhibition in Beijing,” Secretary of Culture, Sports and Tourism of HKSAR Yeung Yun-hung said in a video, adding that he has more and more exchanges hope events will take place in the future.
“It allows us to see the wonderful works created by the many talented architects, designers and artists who have really encouraged us.
They have succeeded in showing the unique beauty of Hong Kong in the past, present and future.
Through the exhibition, we hope to stimulate everyone’s imagination, care about the well-being of the local and global environment, and further demonstrate the diverse contributions of architects to our daily lives,” said architect Lim Wan-fung, one of the curators, on Tuesday in Beijing.
The exhibition in Beijing lasts until October 5th.
