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Vertical living may not be the most environmentally friendly way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Colorado, Edinburgh Napier University, and the University of Cambridge. The study, published in the... View full entry
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron in partnership with TFP Farrells and Arup, the new M+ building has recently wrapped up construction and is set to open to the public later this year. This permanent home for the museum of contemporary visual culture is prominently located in Hong Kong’s West... View full entry
Snøhetta has designed a mixed-use building in Hong Kong, named Airside. Commissioned by Nan Fung group, the 176,000-square-meter structure is located in the center of the former Kai Tak airport. A 200-meter tall tower set atop a podium fit with roof gardens and urban space at ground level... View full entry
The city's complex drainage system protects Hong Kong from once-disastrous flooding caused by seasonal typhoons. But will it be strong enough to withstand the effects of climate crisis? — CNN
CNN's James Griffiths on the challenges of building a vast rain water-draining tunnel network in one of the world's densest cities and how well it is prepared for ever-intensifying climate and security threats. "At present, some rain is collected and reused for irrigation and flushing water, but... View full entry
The reconfiguration of these mundane sites into spaces of political expression show how Hong Kong’s public space “is clearly made by the people, not something simply given by the state, and certainly not to be taken for granted,” said Jeff Hou, a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Washington and the co-editor of City Unsilenced: Urban Resistance and Public Space in the Age of Shrinking Democracy. — Quartz
The Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture of Hong Kong and Shenzhen that opens this December is set to become "the first exhibition to use Facial Recognition and Artificial Intelligence on its own premises," according to biennale chief curator Carlo Ratti. The focus is created "in order... View full entry
The Rocco Design Architects-designed tower, which will hold the Wesleyan House Methodist International Church, sits on a teardrop-shaped site in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. With 800 square meters of plot and 11,000 square meters of program, the task proved challenging for the design team. The resulting... View full entry
[Finbarr Fallon's] photo series Dead Space explores how these monuments are designed, and how their history contrasts with Hong Kong’s more modern developments. “I have always been intrigued by how city-specific cemetery design can be,” Fallon says via email. “While death is universal, its memorialization practices are not. I found it fascinating that extreme density and verticality continue to be a defining characteristic of Hong Kong’s dwellings for both the living and the dead.” — Fast Company
Hong Kong's towering high-rise cemeteries can reach up to 60-stories in height. Regarding the photo project, Fallon writes, “The images juxtapose residences for two diametrically opposed groups—the high-rises for the living, and graves for the dead." View full entry
Widespread protests focused on countering China's quasi-colonial reign over Hong Kong continued over the weekend, as demonstrators began to take aim at the city's widespread surveillance infrastructure, The Guardian reports. Organizing in response to reports that Chinese... View full entry
Under the ambitious “Lantau Tomorrow” plan, Hong Kong will first build a roughly 2,500-acre island—roughly the size of 1,000 football fields—around the uninhabited Kau Yi Chau Island to the northeast of Lantau. This may be followed by an additional 1,700 additional acres of land reclamation around the island Hei Ling Chau, which is roughly two miles from Mui Wo and visible from its shoreline. — CityLab
CityLab reports that under a new aggressive urban growth plan, Hong Kong will create a pair of new islands totaling over 3,200 acres in area in order to create new high-density urban neighborhoods. Record-breaking affordability issues on the island have pushed wait times for public... View full entry
Which is the world's most vertical city?
You might think of Hong Kong, given its famous skyscraper skyline, but by different measures of verticality other cities come out on top
— The Guardian
"According to building data research company Emporis," writes Matthew Keegan for the Guardian Cities series, "Seoul in South Korea has more high-rise buildings, with 16,359. Emporis defines a high-rise as a building at least 35m, or 12 storeys tall. In second place is Moscow, Russia, with... View full entry
If there is any place in the world where the skyscraper reins supreme, it is Hong Kong. From a distance, these tall, towering structures fill Hong Kong's skyline with forms that touch the clouds. Hundreds of these towers reflect off of Victoria Harbor creating a sense of hyperrealism as people... View full entry
Archigram, the architectural studio known for its avant-garde theoretical projects, has sold their archive for £1.8 million to the soon-to-open M+ museum in Hong Kong. Set to open later this year, the museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron will focus on 20th and 21st century design and... View full entry
“With its wide array of sustainable measures, ranging from the choice of materials, to the many passive designs to economize energy and ensure great daylight, to the way the school is able to share spaces with the surrounding community, the new campus of FIS offers lessons in sustainable architecture for pupils and local builders. - Claude Godefroy, Design Director and partner at Henning Larson Hong Kong
Hong Kong's seven million residents and bustling urban city is filled with looming concrete buildings and dense streets. However, the new campus of the French International School shines amongst the congested cityscape. Image © Philippe RuaultFinding green space is difficult in such an urban... View full entry
[...] medium- and low-income residents can’t afford land, while the city’s wealth explodes and attracts economic activity that doesn’t keep its poor residents in the loop. This was the Hong Kong Greco wanted to show.
“Perhaps one should adopt a special lens in looking at Hong Kong, not only to see its superficial beauty, but also the social undercurrents that sustain its structures,” writes Dr. Ernest Chui in Greco’s book.
— CityLab
CityLab editorial fellow Karim Doumar presents the stunning black/white Polaroid shots from Swiss photographer and filmmaker Pascal Greco's new book, Hong Kong - Perspectives, Prospectives, Typologies, documenting the gritty housing environments of Hong Kong's population at the lower end of the... View full entry