IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

After researching the aesthetic quality of Singapore’s retrofuturistic architecture, I moved to Hong Kong and encountered certain comparable, but also quite different manifestations of that architectural era. I noticed the special affection for architectural detail there, and so I focused on the so-called urban furniture. The commonplace nature of street furniture precipitates its invisibility: bus stops, sunshades, footbridges, fountains, lanterns, sales booths, advertising pillars, fire alarms, switch boxes, advertising boards, litter bins, flower pots, benches and ventilation shafts, all fulfil important purposes in the fabric of the city, but disappear in the insignificance of their tasks. Completely unimpressed by the intricate Chinese renaissance style, in the historical architectural epoch of Brutalism – contemporaneous with ‘Tropicalismo’ and the Japanese Metabolist style – the urban equipment in Hong Kong was designed with lots of concrete and many edges, which is so distressing to urban planners today that they use paint or a wrecking ball only to get to grips with the inconspicuous functional elements. These seemingly insignificant features contribute to the overall character and functionality of the metropolis. They also illustrate the tension between preservation and progress in cities, as urban planners must balance the need to update and modernize with the desire to preserve the past. Although an impression of these structures may be preserved through photography, only methods to capture the spatial dimension can pay justice to these overlooked functional sculptures in public space. The research in progress evaluates a range of methods to record the spatial complexity and the possibilities of the photographic and synthographic image.