“Building on disappearance Hong Kong architecture and colonial space” is mainly about the issue of the identity of Hong Kong as a city being disappeared and the writer argues the issue through economic, cultural and political aspects. The highly dense population and the housing problem makes all the building type should only be functional so, consequently, all the buildings are drab and tall. It has become the main reason for killing the potential of designing various building styles and the other characteristics of the city have been disappeared. It shows “market erodes place” that the building type is controlled from the

Continue readingHong Kong as a boring city

When people talk about a place, what comes up to mind at that instant is always a certain piece of architecture or the so-called landmark of a place. But Abbas brought up the critique of architecture being barely a piece of visual evidence does not take a role in representing a city’s identity (Abbas, Building on Disappearance, p.64). Which this leads to the discussion of what can represent the city or specifically, what can represent Hong Kong? Architecture as an object changes through time, due to the accentuation of the economy, old types of buildings cannot reach the standard of

Continue readingPreservation of Hong Kong’s Identity

Do the preserved old buildings represent the cultural memory of a city? Is it totally accidental that so many examples of preservation of architecture give people a sense of nostalgia? The essay Building on Disappearance: Hong Kong Architecture and Colonial Space written by Ackar Abbas (1997) argues that architecture preservation is not equal to the memory of Hong Kong, but the painless déjà vu after selection. The argument can be proved through the study of the Merely Local constructions, which indicates the buildings belong to a specific historical period and have been preserved until now. They have deeply rooted in Hong Kong’s

Continue readingThe Remains and Disappearance: The Selectiveness of Architecture Preservation in Hong Kong under the Post-Colonial Context

Building on Disappearance In his essay “Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance”, Ackbar Abbas examines the disappearance of colonial buildings and colonial history. The writer highlights the importance of the preservation process by depicting the importance of architecture as visual evidence of the city’s identity. He then links to three examples of preservation cases, which are misled, in Hong Kong to emphasize how true values of colonial identity have crumbled down. One notable example is the Repulse Bay hotel. First built in 1920 and remodeled in early 1982, the Repulse Bay has transformed from grand colonial style building

Continue readingPreservation Through the Combination of Film, History, and Architecture

In his writing, ‘Building on Disappearance,’ Abba describes the colonial space and disappearance of history. Among those variable topics in his reading, he explains why preservation of old buildings are important. Abba states that “preservation of old buildings gives us history in site, but it also means keeping history in sight.” (Abba, Building on Disappearance, p. 66). As Abba mentioned, preservation of old buildings are critical since it represents the history of one’s country. However, the word ‘preservation’ does not fit well to Hong Kong. Compared to other countries like South Korea or Japan, Hong Kong does not contain many

Continue readingPreservation in Hong Kong