Across the post-colonial chronology, the cityscape of Hong Kong is homogeneous to another generic metropolis. Abbas suggested an identity crises within ourselves, which we’ve struggled from properly, then selectively, preserve our past; the city is overexposed and oversaturated beyond the scope of vernacular and communal memory.  The culture of Hong Kong, whose appearance is accompanied by a sense of the imminence of its disappearance, and the cause of its emergence, 1997, may also be the cause of its demise. In fact, Hong Kong is hyper dependent to what others define it to be, as much as the beyond inclusivity of

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE] Abbas, M.A.

There exists a tight relationship between the people and the city. Most people spend their lives in the city. City, constructed by people, as a container, holds different spaces where people stay or pass by. For the concept of a city, Certeau (1984) explained it as a whole whose contents are unified and multiple. On the birth of it, all kinds of regulations and systems were established to make sure its order, which we can quickly get to know from its appearances, such as buildings, infrastructure and roads. We can also know about it when we reflect ourselves’ life routines.

Continue readingReading Response: Michel de Certeau

Space is one of the parts that is an important part of everyday life. Also, Those spaces of each people are based on the lifestyle. People get used to those places that they start to feel comfortable in those places. Also, the size of those spaces could be different base on the transportation they use. Many films include those architecture and spaces that the majority of people used to have their daily life. For example, the film ‘rare window’ shows the building that full of many people’s homes. I have learned the Impact of architecture created for the people who

Continue reading[Reading Response: Michel de Certeau]

EVERYDAY SPACES AS NARRATIVE (I tried to connect these two materials together as I think the ideas conducted by these two writers could interrelated in some degree.) How do we connect the place and space? As mentioned in the tutorial, when central, the physical existing place being full around by those domestic helpers from The Philippine, the flowing people seem to mobilize it and thus form and reshape a new space, to echo the concept introduced by Michel- to walk is to lack a place. The active form of walking people making the place passive and no longer stable and

Continue readingReading Response: Ackbar Abbas & Michel de Certeau

In the passage, the author criticized that preservation projects actually contribute to the demolish of history. He stated that the preservation situation in Hong Kong is solely ‘visual consumption’. Yet, conserving visually does not means that it does not have any significance in it. We mainly experienced our city visually, therefore visual is the most important element in creating collative memory. This ‘images’ can act as a monument to reminds the public about the history of the space. He also points out that conservation projects in Hong Kong are unrelated to its history, which historical significance is undeniably negatively affected.

Continue reading[Reading Response: Ackbar Abbas]

Through the tutorial discussion we explored Ackbar Abbas’ report on “Building on Disappearance: Hong Kong” and how it introduces to readers the concept of a disappearance of history through Hong Kong’s efforts of preservation of its built environment and how it interplays with the one of the three categories of Hong Kong architecture “Merely Local”. Abbas’ direct perspective on how preservation does not directly correlate to memories was an idea that I found personally interesting. Preservation is selective in Hong Kong because the structure being preserved is usually repurposed or has an imposed new intention behind it which is usually

Continue reading[Reading Response: Ackbar Abbas] Oscar Wong