Notebook III - School of Architecture - The Chinese University of ...

ARCHITECTURE
C U H K

ARCHITECTURE · CUHK 2003 – 2004

notebook
Notebook III
2 This is the third working notebook of the due general consideration to all. The thesis is of the studios. It is also conducted in a number
3
architecture programme. It describes the
programme in its present state as it has developed
since its inception in 2001.
During this development the fundamental
structure and ideas have remained much
the same and have continued to provide a
common ground in the department for teaching,
research, and discourse at all levels.
In design, teaching has continued in the four
primary studios: habitation, urbanization, technics,
and tectonics, with participation in all four
from all levels of students.
However, the experiences of the year have led
to two further developments.
1. Research on the position of each studio is
explicitly recognized as the basis for teaching,
leading to greater articulation of the historical,
theoretical, and critical foundations of the
studio. A series of seminars / presentations
based on this research accompanies the
design programme of each studio.
2. A greater distinction is made between
the undergraduate and graduate work. The
graduate student is expected to have fulfilled
the design requirements of all four primary
studios and be able to design from a focused
position – of any of the studios, but with
expected to present an articulate personal
position in design which can be presented
theoretically and practically in terms of “primary
positions” such as the four in the undergraduate
programme.
In humanities, the courses more clearly
present the relationship between history,
theory, and criticism. Each course in the
undergraduate programme engages all three
areas, while in the graduate programme elective
courses deal with these in a more specialized
manner.
In technology, the distinction between courses
in construction, structures, and environment
is addressed in the graduate programme in
specialized courses and separate subjects with
their distinct body of theory. In the undergraduate
programme, issues in these areas are
presented as aspects of one unified subject:
technology. This emphasizes the unity of technological
considerations in the real building
while recognizing that advanced study requires
specific theoretical knowledge of each one.
Research has gained a clearer position in the
programme as a whole. The programme of
teaching is supported by a parallel programme
of research. Both are based on the same ideas
and structure in architecture and education.
The research is not only integral to the work
of research units. These form a group which
supports the teaching programme particularly
at the graduate level, and conducts funded
research and development.

contents
4 Architecture 7
5
The house and the city 8
Education 10
School 12
Design 14
Theory 16
Programme 18
Primary studios 20
Habitation 22
Urbanization 23
Tectonics 24
Technics 25
Places of life 26
Teaching 31
Types of study 32
Modes of study 34
Courses 36
Research 42
Student work 2002 – 2003 45
Rooms 58
Dates 60
Teachers 62

architecture
6 7

house&city
8 Architecture is the formal extension of the
common human instinct for building shelter in
search of safety and permanence. It embodies
both the physical and the metaphysical;
the secular and the sacred. It is the result of
habitation in all its aspects and scales, and the
expression in built form of all human institutions,
from a primal hut to THE HOUSE, the
village, and THE CITY. It is the embodiment of
human intentions, myths, and traditions, past,
present, and future, all unified in the eternal
presence of each work of architecture.
9
The study of architecture is ultimately the study of
works of architecture.
A work of architecture is much like an object in
nature. It is unique and universal at the same time,
a complete and internally coherent form, and at the
same time a component of a larger form. Its study
requires formalized thought if it is not to be merely a
description of the form itself.

education
10 “The appreciation of the structure of ideas is
11
that side of a cultured mind which can only grow
under the influence of a special study. I mean
are of the same order as what anybody else does when … engaged in like activities – if he is to
that eye for the whole chessboard, for the bearing
of one set of ideas on another. Nothing but
achieve understanding. The difference is in degree, not in kind.”
a special study can give any appreciation for
the exact formulation of general ideas, for their
Jerome Bruner, The process of education
relation when formulated, for their service in
the comprehension of life. A mind so disciplined
should be both more abstract and more concrete.
It has been trained in the comprehension
of abstract thought and in the analysis of facts.”
Alfred North Whitehead
The aims of education
“What a scientist does at his desk or in his laboratory, what a literary critic does in reading a poem,

school
12 In architecture there is little to teach and much
A school is a way of thought, a position on
13
to learn.
how the past is seen and the future is formed,
a direction on how the past and the future are
united in action at the present.
The school aims to become an increasingly
active participant in the city and to embrace the
city increasingly in its routines of teaching and
research. It aims in a sense to be a Hong Kong
school of architecture.
It relates to the universal side of its discipline
– free from time and place. At the same time
it must relate specifically to its very particular
time and place. It must concern itself with the
universal and the particular, with the whole
and the detail as an entity in itself, and as a
context for cultivation of habits of mind, both
broad and focused.
A school is a community of students of
distinct intellectual identities sharing in the
common purpose of education through
discourse and discovery. The school draws
its identity from the common ground of this
process.
A school of architecture is a civic and cultural
institution as well as a place of professional
education.
The most effective part of “teaching” does not
take place in individual courses, but is cultivated
through a culture of search, attention
to detail, and patient search for the ways and
nature of things.

design
14 Design is widely and validly regarded as the core
Design pedagogy, if it is not be limited to There are no “general” ways of seeing,
15
of architectural education. However, it is not
demonstration and apprenticeship, must describing, or designing a form, just as there
limited to the work in studios. It applies to all
involve theory, an operational theory which are no “general” ways of studying a subject.
studies in the programme. It is a way of thinking.
provides the tools for conception, description, Any such action is particular to the terms of
It is a habit of mind towards every action as a
and discussion of design. Without a theoretical
its theoretical structure. All “seeing” is particu-
fusion of knowledge, reason, and esthetic intention.
structure, a basis of reference, the words lar within a culture of beliefs, a set of implicit
It is an approach to education.
we use have little more than personal and assumption, or an underlying theoretical structure
isolated meaning, limiting every statement to
which exists independently of any one
personal opinion, since it cannot exist independently
object being seen. In a sense, speaking of the
of a person.
process of design without reference to posi-
tion is too abstract.
In teaching, the personal passion of a teacher
about a viewpoint is important, but is no
replacement for the intellectual independence
afforded by a free-standing theoretical structure
for the subject.
The process of design, described simply in
terms of a cognitive activity, is too abstract to
be useful to a student of design. At an abstract
level, free of content, the process is the same
in any subject. Therefore the study of design
in a particular subject needs to be particularly
related to the content of works in that subject.

Process, product, and language
theory
Studio Courses Research
16 “Theory is important as the instrument of generalization.
The study of architecture is ultimately the Studios, like laboratories, are occasions of Courses begin with a body of theory as a Research is of course the very process
17
But in so far as it involves the descrip-
study of works of architecture. Such a study direct observation, formulation of thought, subject in a particular area such as history or involved in both studios and courses. Research
tion of a picture in a non-pictorial language it
requires two conditions:
discovery, and design. This process affords structures.
studies are intended to provide experience
causes loss of something (analogy with exchange
increasing skill in working with a sense of
of working with teachers on actual research
of energy). It is important but costly. So we
1. It requires formalized thought if it is not to intention and strategy combined with mental They are theoretical constructs of a process projects.
should use it where necessary and take advantage
be limited merely to a description of each agility in seeing alternative possibilities in arriv-
of sustained and rigorous observation and
of direct use of ‘pictures’ wherever possible.
work in isolation.
ing at conclusions: design.
should not be regarded as absolute informa-
This affords great economy besides guarding
tion. The important point about the courses is
against analytical fallacy in design. It safeguards
2. It must be rooted in the works of architecture,
not only the information they contain but the
‘intuition,’ i.e. the thing ‘tout ensemble.’”
the processes related to their creation.
process through which they arrive at a theo-
retical construct and its application.
Werner Heisenberg
Theory, as formalized thought, is an integral
part of all studies in the programme. In studios
it guides the process of design and helps to
articulate what is often experienced as “intuitive”
action. In courses it is the direct object of
study. In research it is the point of departure
for definition of the issue under research and
the research method. In all cases, the teaching
approach aims to offer the student the
opportunity to appreciate the structure of
thought and “arrive” at the theory rather than
simply receive it as absolute dogma, or pure
information.

Design: theory – practice – process
programme
18 “Students … have a limited exposure to the
The programme deals with one subject:
19
materials they are to learn. How can this exposure
architecture.
be made to count in their thinking for the
rest of their lives? The dominant view among
The programme is not merely a collection of
men who have been engaged in preparing and
courses for covering information. It is itself a
teaching new curricula is that the answer to this
shaper of ideas about the subject. It is also a
question lies in giving students an understanding
structure allowing the study of architecture at
of the fundamental structure of whatever subjects
different levels of complexity and articulation,
we choose to teach.”
as a unified whole, or in different degrees of
detail and different aspects.
Jerome Bruner
The process of education
The structure is essentially a theoretical construct,
a “theory” relating form to our observations
about it, relating our observations to
our actions, relating our designs to our observations.
At present much of this connecting
thought is unstated or unarticulated. It appears
as opinion and anecdote and is not explicitly
stated in such a way that it can be refined
with experience, can act as a repository of
accumulated experience in the form of knowledge.
In a way, the studios and their conduct
afford the beginning of such a process.
It consists of two main parts: courses and
studios. In general studios focus on DESIGN; the
courses deal with THEORETICAL MATERIAL.
Professional programme
Postgraduate programmes
BSSc(AS)
Architectural studies
MArch
Architecture
PGDip
Sustainable and environmental design
MSc
Sustainable and environmental design
MPhil
PhD

Primary studios
studio
20 Studios are occasions for the exploration of
Design, a process of resolution of complex
factors and intentions, begins with a conception
of form, evolves in stages of development,
and ends as a form.
Any design, in fact, involves all four aspects,
21
ideas and the development of skills in their
application through design. They reflect several
positions in the school on education, process of
design, and relationship of theory to practice in
design.
They are based on themes or positions in architectural
design, not building types. Students from
all levels are engaged in each one of them; they
are not separated according to years. They are
not merely places of instruction. The studios are
occasions for study and research by teachers
and students and form the core and culture of
the school.
It operates within a domain – the house and
the city – with its particular basic concepts,
structures, and vocabularies.
Design proceeds from a designer’s sense of
direction or position. Four such positions are
the basis of the primary design studios:
Habitation
Urbanization
Tectonics
Technics
but usually with one as the leading aspect.
The four positions are studied explicitly in
the undergraduate programme and provide
the prerequisite for the graduate programme
in design. At the graduate level students are
expected to develop their own sense and
skills in terms of the primary positions.
Studios include students from all levels from
first to the final years. All years work on similar
projects but at different levels of complexity.
In a sense, the projects studied at different
years form a nested set of projects, beginning
at the simplest possible level and increasing in
complexity at each year.

habitation
22 “Today, … our architecture has
passed from the cave to the
garden, from the monument to
the dwelling house. But in throwing
open our buildings to the daylight
and the outdoors, we will forget, at
our peril, the co-ordinate need for
quiet, for darkness, for inner privacy,
for retreat. The cloister in both
its public and private form is a
constant element in the life of men
in cities. Without formal opportunities
for isolation and contemplation,
opportunities that require enclosed
space free from prying eyes and
extraneous stimuli and secular
interruptions, even the most externalised
and extroverted life must
eventually suffer. The home without
such cells is but a barracks: the
city that does not possess them is
but a camp. In the medieval city
the spirit had organised shelters
and accepted forms of escape
from worldly importunity. Today,
the degradation of the inner life
is symbolised by the fact that the
only place sacred from interruption
is the private toilet.”
Habitation begins as the routines of life take
place and develop significant form. The form
becomes significant as its ambiance, its conditions
of light, its geometry, its relationship to
other forms embody symbolic significance. It is
not merely a response to immediate functions
but also the embodiment of myths, customs,
and beliefs. The distance between two persons
in conversation, the seating arrangement
around a room or a table, the place of entry
into a room, the shape of gathering around
an event, a procession. These are captured in
art, folklore, literature, and customs in various
cultures, and have given timeless significance
to art, literature, and architecture. They enable
a work of architecture to capture the entire
history and culture of a community – the past,
present, and future – in a single act.
“Every great event has its geographical
epicenter – that of the
American Revolution was the few
city blocks around Carpenters’ and
Independence Halls in Philadelphia;
that of the great French Revolution
was the Place de la Bastille; that
of the Revolution of 1848 was the
Luxembourg Gardens.”
John Kenneth Galbraith
The age of uncertainty
The studio studies the shaping influence
of factors beyond the individual building.
Although architecture may seem traditionally
to have been concerned with individual
monuments – the ground cover which makes
the fabric of the city – the relationships, traditions,
and common needs that shape the
ground cover influence the city as a whole
and provide a formal context for the design
of each part. The context in turn evolves with
the building of each building. It in a way one
is designing the city with the design of each
building. Each building is a variation of the
timeless architectural duality of “the city and
the house.”
23
Lewis Mumford
Culture of cities
Routines of life
urbanization
Land form and urban fabric

tectonics
technics
Jun’ichiro Tanizaki
In praise of shadows
Material composition
The curvature in the entablature of the Parthenon,
the joints between stones at Machu
Picchu, the composition of windows in the
chapel at Ronchamp, are beyond functional
necessity.
24 “Paper, I understand, was invented Tectonics is a manifestation in architecture
“One of the most obvious prob-
The studio studies and practices the innova-
25
by the Chinese, but Western paper of the esthetic imperative as part of human
tive processes and skills to design buildings,
is to us no more than something nature. It attends to the potential of building
one might say from first principles, based on
to be used, while the texture of
for qualities inherent in the material,
specific technologies or needs.
Chinese paper and Japanese
economy in their use, potential for elegance in
paper gives us a certain feeling
resolution in their juxtaposition, and the total
Architecture owes much to buildings and
of warmth, of calm and repose.
compositional quality of form. It goes beyond
works designed outside the architectural
Even the same white could as well necessity and responds to a sensibility of a
tradition. New needs, new technologies, or
be one color for Western paper
higher order as mastery and skill.
new environments all have led to examples
and another for our own. Western
such as the Crystal Palace, the 19 th -century
paper turns away the light, while It relates to the sensibility that has characterized
railway arches, the viaducts and bridges. They
our paper seems to take it in,
all fine works of architecture. It has been
best illustrate the point of exploration in the
to envelop it gently, like the soft
the quality of all work of architecture.
technics studio.
surface of a first snowfall. It gives
off no sound when is crumpled or
folded, it is quiet and pliant to the
touch as the leaf of a tree. ”
lems in building the dome of
Santa Maria del Fiore was how to
transport heavy building materials
such as sandstone beams and
slabs of marble several hundred
feet above the ground and then
place them into position with
the accuracy demanded by Filippo’s
design. The sandstone beam
weighed some 1,700 pounds each,
and hundreds of them needed
to be raised on to the cupola.
To solve this problem Filippo
was compelled to imagine ‘some
unheard-of machine’ to move
and carry tremendous weights to
incredible heights. The hoist that he
created was to become one of the
most celebrated machines of the
Renaissance, a device that would
be studied and sketched by numerous
other architects and engineers,
including Leonardo da Vinci.”
Ross King
Brunelleschi’s dome
Materials and means
The bold and innovative approach to their
design is no doubt an integral part of any
work. But the power of such works is evident
in the ready place they find in many derivative
designs that seem to follow from them.

Places of life
places
26 “A building is a world within a world. Buildings
The infinite number of different buildings
All places of habitation are places for living.
27
personify places of worship, or of home, or other
and the complexity of their functions often
And a place of living must at a basic level
institutions of man.”
obscure the fundamental unity of origin and
provide for all essential routines of habitation.
simplicity of purpose from which they evolve
These can be seen in terms of three modes
Louis I Kahn
in the course of history. In a sense every
of daily life: gathering, work, and solitude. They
design is a re-enactment of that process.
are the necessary constituent parts of a dwelling
of any size, whether a one-room apartment
Buildings and the functions or institutions they
or an expansive house. The study and
Architecture: the shed and the cathedral? There
serve, though infinite in number and boundless
design of places of living involves the entire
is shed in every cathedral, a cathedral in every
in time and place, can be seen in terms
scope of architecture at the most fundamental
shed. (Apologies to Nikolaus Pevsner)
of the evolution or permutations rooted in a
level. It touches on narrowly defined functions
and embodies timeless and far-reaching
In the face of the infinite variety of particular limited number of primary human activities
situations it seems necessary to seek a deep and forms where they take place: Live
customs and beliefs. The house is perhaps
structure in terms of which to understand and
the most symbolically significant of any form
act on them. At the same time, it is necessary
Work
in architecture. It is the seminal idea in architecture,
as the family might be regarded as
to recognize the unique quality of every work.
Design becomes a fusion of the universal and
Learn
the seminal unit of human society. The hearth,
the particular.
the altar, the window, the doorway are in the
Worship
house, more distinctly than in any other work
In terms of physical form, architecture exists
of architecture, routines of life.
within a domain defined by two significant
Perform
forms: the house and the city. In several senses
this is the context of every work of architecture.
Travel
Each work, while unique to its time and
place, is also a variation between these two
Exchange
poles: in a sense every form is a house, and is
a city.
A house comprises three fundamental places:
a place of work, a place of gathering, and a
place of solitude. And so do all forms evolving
from it.
Live

Work
Learn
Worship
Perform
Travel
Exchange
28 Much of human life is spent in working. Much Learning as one of the main human activities Worship is a fundamental aspect of human Performance is an integral part of human Movement – physically moving from one place Exchange is the predominant mode of
29
of human thought is preoccupied with work. has been the focus of a major part of human life. The places of worship, when not limited gathering, communication, and social action. to another – is an abstract human activity social contact in the human community.
Much of human history is the record of working
civilization, has led to the development of a to the individual, have had much in common Seen this way, a place of performance is a pervasive through many functions. Often it The market place and the basilica share
conditions. Much of architecture deals with distinct line of social institutions, and has occu-
to other places of gathering and performance. place of gathering with more or less specific is difficult to distinguish from the content of much in the early social activities and
places of work. Projects for places for working
pied a distinct section of architectural history. Despite many forms and doctrines, the archi-
requirements. But, like social activity, the form movement and it seems to be the life force of endure to our time in the shape of many
serve two aims. In one way, they serve as Despite the extensive development of their tecture of worship in all cultures has several of the place and of the building giving place public places relating in an intricate way with public places. The hawkers, the street
occasions for the study of this major aspect of many forms, the place of the individual student common underlying characteristics, even to the performance seems to come as much the particular function they seem to perform, vendors, the shopkeepers, and the shopping
human life: its history, its influence in human remains central to all such institutions. while it responds to important symbolic and from the gathering and its symbolic implications
such as places of arrival and departure, and
centers have long been the hub of
attitudes, its impact on other aspects of culture,
doctrinal differences. The history of the archi-
as from its functional requirements. It promenades.
social activity and represent more than the
etc. In another way they serve to bring
tecture of worship responds also to ceremony is expected that the design of places of per-
material they offer for sale. In subtle ways
all such study into focus as occasions for the
and ritual. In some way it celebrates universal formance would offer an occasion for studies
they act as training posts, as playgrounds,
study and practice of design.
existence by placing the human being in the at a fundamental level of performance as a
as places of social gathering, and as various
presence of timeless and constant natural elements:
part of human civilizing act as well as an exer-
parts of a collective forum accommodating
light, earth, water, and air. Yet the essencise
in design with functional requirements.
and embodying urban life. They accommo-
tial condition of worship remains solitude.
date a way of conducting public life.

teaching
30 31

studymode
Year 1: foundation Years 2, 3, and 4 Year 5: thesis Independent studies
32 Design teaching, research, and practice are inseparable.
To learn to see what exists is the key to creative
Architectural design – research, study, and The culmination of the programme is an A student enrolled at the department may
33
They are conducted in four primary studios, each focused
engagement in the study and design of practice – is studied in four studios, each
on one position or theme.
architecture.
focused on one of four themes.
The first year deals with the fundamental
structure of the programme, its concepts and
requisite methods and skills. It provides the
ground for more advanced, more focused
studies.
The work of the year consists of studies of
existing communities and basic concepts in
architecture. These studies are informed by
three courses of lectures: architectural theory
and history, technology, and communication.
These courses are closely related to the work
in the studio while growing more independent
and specialized as they advance.
Each studio comprises students from all three
levels, although the groups are organized in
different ways according to the approach in
the studio. The internal organization of the
studios varies in response to the particular
circumstances of each studio.
extended period of self-directed study giving
the student the opportunity for focused
reflection, consolidation of various studies
in earlier years, and expression of his or her
position through investigation of selected
architectural issues through research and
design: the thesis.
In a sense, the thesis is a collective manifestation
of the work of the school. It provides the
grounds for examination of the programme
and informs discussion about all levels and
aspects.
carry out studies, based on an approved proposal,
independently or in any other institution.
This applies to students who may take part
in exchanges or carry out special studies and
field research.
A year out of the formal studies in the school
separates the undergraduate from the graduate
part of the programme.
This year is intended as a period of practical
experience or other forms of essentially independent
studies.
The experience in practice seems to help synthesize
the studies up to this point and ground
them in more direct understanding through
practical application.
It is possible for students also to spend all or
any part of this year in individually proposed
studies or work based on research, working
with community groups in developing countries,
or other architecturally related activities.

Design: product, form, and content
studytype
Studio project
School project
34 Design is not merely problem-solving. The scope
Studio projects are occasions for study and
School projects are formulated independently
35
exercise based on the studio as “positions,”
not as dogma.
of a solution to a problem is confined to its
description. Design is an act of creating a new
and concrete “fact.” It is related to needs, limits,
potentials, and intentions. But it is not reducible
to any such abstraction or produceable in direct
response to them.
The scope of the projects varies to suit the
particular approach and pedagogical strategy
of the studio. They provide the possibility
of exercises which are particularly suited to
the issues in the studio. Beyond the daily and
immediate educational objectives, the studies
and their results make a cumulative contribution
to an implicit discourse between different
positions in architecture.
However, in all studios the exercises remain
as design exercises within the scope of architecture.
of the studio positions and are occasions for
the application of particular design positions
to general designs. As in other parts of the
programme they are not only statements of
“design projects,” but are themselves a way of
seeing and interpreting building types.
At the simplest level, three kinds of places
seem to define the human world: place of
work, place of gathering, and place of solitude.
They are the necessary elements of any
complete human environment: the house, the
school, the factory, the temple.

Design: language of discourse
It appears that we use the common language. In
fact, we adopt the common language in developing
a special one the terms of which embody
specialized meaning and knowledge of architecture
and can serve for advancement of architecture
through its refinement. What are the terms
of this specialized language?
courses
36 In what terms do we discuss design and works
The courses are studied at three levels in each The minimum number of courses possible A selection of courses as further development A series of research-based electives offered by
37
of architecture?
of the following four areas:
of the mandatory courses. There is no linear every member of the faculty.
or chronological order between the mandatories
and the electives.
Design
Humanities
Technology
Professional practice
The three levels are:
Mandatory courses Elective courses Research studies
dealing with fundamentals, principles, and
premises underlying the area of those
courses. These apply to humanities as well as
technology.
The studies draw continuity from the first
level – fundamentals – depth from the second,
and vitality from the third. All three levels
inform one another and evolve within the balanced
form of the programme.

design
humanities
38 “In the immediate world, everything
is to be discerned, for him
forms, exists through tradition.”
REQUIRED
“The whole cultural world, in all its
REQUIRED
39
who can discern it, and centrally
Design studios
Introduction to architecture
and simply, without either dissection
into science, or digestion into Graphics and visual studies
Edmund Husserl
Architectural history and theory
art, but with the whole of consciousness,
seeking to perceive it as Computer-aided architectural design
I General survey
II Postrenaissance
it stands.”
“All history is modern history.”
III Modern and contemporary
James Agee, Walker Evans
Let us now praise famous men
ELECTIVE
Studies in selected topics
Visual design
Digital design media
Research studies
Wallace Stevens
Land and city
Urban design and planning
Architectural theory and criticism
ELECTIVE
Studies in selected topics
Issues in architectural theory and
design
Periods or works of architecture
Aspects of Asian architecture
Research studies

technology
Advanced building services
ELECTIVE
Studies in selected dopics
Structural design and building structures
Materials and methods of construction
Environmental systems and design
Building performance simulation
Research studies
practice
40 “The aim of the architect is … to REQUIRED
“In ancient Greece the term
REQUIRED
41
infuse into his works something of
this order and method which is to Introduction to building technology
Professional practice
found in nature. Ancient architects
rightly maintained that nature, the Building technology
Professional practice and management
greatest of all artists in the invention
I Materials and construction
of forms, was always their
II Building structure
model. Therefore, they collected
III Environmental technology
the laws according to which she
works in her production as far as Building systems integration
humanly possible … the principle:
such qualities as harmony, proportion,
Advanced construction
symmetry.”
Leon Battista Alberti
Ten books on architecture
architekton originally meant a
‘master carpenter’; building arisans,
shipwrights, and temple designers,
all of whom worked in wood, were
architects. Certain Greek artists
also became known as architects
– for example, Theodoros of
Samos, renowned as a sculptor,
metalsmith, and architect in the
sixth century B.C. Roman architects,
too, came from a variety of
backgrounds: private training and
apprenticeship; military engineering;
and the civil service. Although
the Emperor Hadrian dabbled
in architecture, it was not really,
Cicero has written, an appropriate
calling for Roman aristocrats.
Former slaves, released from imperial
service, became architects. Yet
Vitruvius, a self-made man with
experience in military engineering,
tried to dignify architecture,
describing it as a learned career
in his treatise. The architect alone,
he wrote, combined firmness and
utility with beauty.”
Mary N. Wods
From craft to profession
ELECTIVE
Studies in selected topics of professional
practice
Research studies

Research, teaching, and learning
research
Architectural projects unit
Architectural history unit
Computation and simulation unit
Community participation unit
42 “Education is not about information.”
The unit is a design office working on projects Members of the unit are engaged in a computational
The unit works on selected community
43
Alfred North Whitehead
in architecture, interior architecture, landscape
study of the Yingzao fashi (Song projects not only with professionals from
architecture, urban design, and strategic planning.
dynasty building manual); the architecture and other disciplines, such as social workers and
Research, teaching, and learning are in action
Its mission is to do design and research urban development of 19th–20th century educators, but also with community rep-
inseparable. Everyone’s work in the department
of the highest professional and theoretical China, in particular the foreign architects resentatives and end users. These last two
comprises all three – to varying degrees. More
standard and to contribute to intellectual working in China; the urban development of groups provide feedback on the planning and
particularly, no one’s work is purely “teaching,”
activity within and beyond architecture. Major Song dynasty towns and cities; the Pearl River design of the projects and, by participating in
if that excludes the process of critical examination
projects include master plans for the Chinese Delta’s architectural and urban histories; Hong shaping the outcomes, learn about the proc-
and discovery – research – and if it implies
University of Hong Kong and Shantou Uni-
Kong’s architectural history; Chinese vernacuess.
Projects so far include design guidelines
passing of information.
versity, regional studies for the Kowloon and lar architecture and villages; Tibetan temples, for school buildings and, post-occupancy
Canton Railway Corporation, and a private houses, and cities; and Chinese religious architecture.
evaluation of elderly housing.
The programme of the department serves as
house in Huangshan, China.
the basis for teaching as well as research, and
provides a sub-structure for mutual support
between the two. The following funded research
projects operate collectively as a research centre
and individually as research units.
Members of the unit work on both the
theoretical and the applied aspects of design
computation. On the theoretical side, they
work on shape grammar and its uses in design
process and historical analysis. Towards the
applied end, they work on computational fluid
dynamics, urban visual sustainability, daylighting,
and urban noise.
Environmental and sustainable design unit
The unit investigates environmental and sustainable
design of buildings and urban spaces,
focusing on Hong Kong’s issues of high-density
tropical living. Research findings are formulated
into design tools and good practice
guidelines for the benefit of professionals.
It promotes environmental and sustainable
design awareness in Hong Kong and mainland
China through education and activities.

work
44 Here is a sample of the design work in the
course of the year 2002-2003. It is intended
to provide neither a comprehensive document
on the work nor a precise illustration of the
programme. But it is clearly related to the programme.
It is presented here with no implicit
intention of suggesting a strict linear relationship
between the theory and the practice in the
studios. The relationship between the word and
the work is subtle in all instances. It offers rich
ground for further refinement of both as they
develop in a reciprocal manner.
45

foundation
The house is the seminal form in architecture. It
is the significant form in terms of whose transformations
and evolution all other forms can be
understood. Historically it has been to architecture
as the family to society.
46 Year 1
47

habitation
People – The expression of the human spirit
revealed through the study of the human body,
its surface, and its resonance in space. How
people activate architecture, from the collective
to the private action or event.
Place – What is the spirit of the place? Its cultural
implication of design within specific territories
of human habitation.
48 Years 2·3·4
49

Years 2·3·4
urbanization
In a sense the entire history of architecture is a
story of urbanization, from the early adaptation
of caves to the modification of land in search
of shelter and the creation of entirely artificial
worlds.
50 51

Years 2·3·4
tectonics
What is the relationship between space, surface,
and mass? How is the material arranged in a
building? Can we distinguish elements, components,
and systems? What is the mutual influence
between structure, material, and space?
Can we differentiate structural and spatial types,
and are they related? How can space be formed,
structured, and defined? How does the built
order express a conceived order?
52 53

Years 2·3·4
technics
Technics has been defined as “the doctrine of
arts in general; such branches of learning as
respect the arts”; “the method of performance
in any art; technical skill; artistic execution”;
“technical terms or objects; things pertaining to
the practice of an art or science”; “the theory,
principles, or study of an art or a process”; and
“the science or study of the mechanical and
industrial arts.”
54 55

thesis
Year 5
Transformable space
The thesis marks the intersection between two important states in
students’s work and, in a way, in his or her professional life. It begins as
a synthesis of previous studies, a sum total of many questions unanswered,
much information assimilated and much more set aside, skills
gained and ideas received and developed. As its completion it represents
a fact in its own right embodying ideas, interests, aspirations, and
the student’s sense of direction. It marks a new beginning for the cycle
of search beyond the formal studies in the school, with much broader
scope and much greater freedom.
56 57

A school of architecture
rooms
Design technology lab
58 A school of architecture is not a building; it is a
59
school of thought. The school building is like a village
of rooms and routes, all leading to a central
Information technology lab
public place: the market place, the agora, the
exhibition room. It provides places for gathering,
work, and play; public display and solitary reflection.
It is a collection of rooms and places with
Architecture library
6 6
Exhibitions
different qualities but all with the same purpose:
Architectural projects unit
to support study, discourse, and learning. These
rooms are equipped differently, but no room has
Studio
5 5
General office
a limited function. The limitations in how we use
a room are related less to the room and more to
the limitations of our imagination.
Studio
7
4

dates
Term 1 Term 2
60 Week
Day Week
Day Week
Day Week
Day
61
1 Studio selection 01.09.2003 9 27.10.2003 1 Studio selection 05.01.2004 9 01.03.2004
Start studio project 03.09.2003
04.09.2003
29.10.2003
30.10.2003
Start studio project 07.01.2004
08.01.2004
03.03.2004
04.03.2004
2 08.09.2003
10.09.2003
11.09.2003
10 03.11.2003
05.11.2003
06.11.2003
2 12.01.2004
14.01.2004
15.01.2004
10 08.03.2004
10.03.2004
11.03.2004
3 15.09.2003
17.09.2003
18.09.2003
11 Course evaluation week 10.11.2003
12.11.2003
13.11.2003
3 19.01.2004
21.01.2004
22.01.2004
11 15.03.2004
17.03.2004
18.03.2004
4 22.09.2003
24.09.2003
25.09.2003
12 17.11.2003
19.11.2003
20.11.2003
4 26.01.2004
28.01.2004
29.01.2004
12 22.03.2004
24.03.2004
25.03.2004
5 Review studio project 29.09.2003 13 Final review week 24.11.2003 5 02.02.2004 13 Course evaluation week 29.03.2004
Public holiday 01.10.2003
02.10.2003
26.11.2003
27.11.2003
04.02.2004
05.02.2004
31.03.2004
01.04.2004
6 Start school project 06.10.2003
08.10.2003
09.10.2003
14 01.12.2003
03.12.2003
04.12.2003
6 Review studio project 09.02.2004
11.02.2004
12.02.2004
14 Public holiday 05.04.2004
07.04.2004
08.04.2004
7 Public holiday 13.10.2003 15 08.12.2003 7 Start school project 16.02.2004 15 Public holiday 12.04.2004
15.10.2003
16.10.2003
10.12.2003
11.12.2003
18.02.2004
19.02.2004
Final review week 14.04.2004
15.04.2004
8 20.10.2003
22.10.2003
23.10.2003
16 15.12.2003
17.12.2003
18.12.2003
8 23.02.2004
25.02.2004
26.02.2004
16 19.04.2004
21.04.2004
22.04.2004

Text: Essy Baniassad
Images: Students and staff
Design: Vito Bertin
Department of Architecture
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
23 August 2003
teachers
Full-time Part-time Visiting
62 Essy Baniassad
Ulrich Blum
Nelson Chen
63
Vito Bertin
Daniel Chan
Baruch Givoni
Wallace Chang (on leave)
Hector Cheung
Dean Hawkes
Kelly Chow
Frank Chiu
Herbert Kramel
Jeffrey Cody
Paul Collins
Anthony Ng
Gu Daqing
Ronan Collins
Alfred Yeung
Ho Puay-peng
Bernard Hui
Eymen Homsi (term 2)
Vincent Kwok
Jeff Kan (on leave)
Sada Lam
Andrew Li
Leung Man-kit
Bernard Lim
Gladys Martinez
Liu Yuyang
Timothy Nutt
Edward Ng
Kenneth Tam
Shin Hae-won
Johnny Wong
Jin-Yeu Tsou
Wong Kam-sing
Leng Woo
David Yau
Zhu Jingxiang (term 2)
Yuet Tsang-chi