Hong Kong Modern: Architecture of the 1950s-1970s

In the post-war decades, Hong Kong architects embraced modern principles to address housing shortage, mass construction, and limited budgets. The new publication "Hong Kong Modern Architecture of the 1950s-1970s" by Walter Koditek provides a comprehensive overview of this transformative period, featuring full-page photographs, detailed background information, and academic essays. The book showcases famous architectural masterpieces and mundane structures under seven building categories, highlighting the intrinsic relationships between these built forms and their adaptations to the local context. The publication aims to serve as a reference and enhance knowledge on modernist architecture in Hong Kong and contribute to the discussion of its architectural merit, historic, and cultural values.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2022
Publisher: DOM Publishers

In the post-war decades, Hong Kong architects, many of whom had migrated from Mainland China or studied overseas, embraced modern principles when faced with the challenges of housing shortage, mass construction, and limited budgets. Although economic efficiencies often prevailed over design, their buildings were rooted in their time and place, reflecting the local climate, social values, materials, techniques, and use in often unique and pragmatic fashion. With more than 300 buildings and ensembles documented, the new publication "Hong Kong Modern Architecture of the 1950s-1970s" by Walter Koditek provides a comprehensive overview of the architecture of that transformative period, combining full-page photographs with detailed background information and further black-and-white images explaining and illustrating the design and history of these buildings. Information about the architects behind the projects and a series of academic essays penned by renowned scholars Cecilia L. Chu, Eunice Seng, Ying Zhou, and Charles Lai complement the publication. While the book does not seek to provide a complete inventory, its unique documentary format, which deliberately mixes well-known architectural masterpieces with more mundane structures under seven specific building categories, invites viewers to comprehend the intrinsic relationships between these built forms and how their designs have been simultaneously shaped by the advent of the international Modern Movement and adaptations to the local context. Crucially, the uniform framing and composition of these compelling facade images directs attention not only to often overlooked architectural details but also to the varied informal appropriations that transformed their modernist characters over time. The book aims to serve as a reference and enhance appreciation for the diverse and influential architectural heritage of Hong Kong during this pivotal period.

Dimension: 245 x 245 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783869227986