Fall 2023 Public Lecture Series

HKU Department of Architecture
Fall 2023 Public Lecture Series
The Good Life

We live at a pivotal time. Geopolitical shifts, global volatility, unprecedented migrations, diasporas, climate crises, health crises, and looming recessions are colliding.

Increasingly scarce resources – from the biosphere to the economy – and extreme unbalances in their distribution, call for action. The global model as we knew it requires some reconsideration if we are to prevent continuous meltdowns. If crises are opportunities to discern, and, examine, what is The Good Life? Under the current fast-changing conditions, one question is how architecture and territorial strategies may be able to evolve and gain relevance in a global arena to provide better housing and more livable and inclusive cities.

We consider Future Cities and Tech. Throughout recent history, cities have always been the places where the action is. They are relentless engines of innovation and zones for radical experimentation. Half of the world’s population is living in increasingly dense cities and close to two-thirds of it is projected to live in urbanized areas by 2050. Over the last decades, cities across continents have been strategizing how to make the best use of new communication and information technologies: every new planning and policy document envision “smart” systems, blueprints for future cities. Such systems incorporate elements of technological innovation as a key infrastructure to alleviate urban complexities and to resolve a crucial problem: if cities are a laboratory to test future lifestyles, they are also, to a great extent, unsustainable places.

The provocative question is, as “smart cities” are being conceived and designed, how can they be designed as the places where people are “happier”, healthier and more creative?

Can technologies smoother inequalities when it comes to access to housing, better access to nature and healthier, and more sustainable and desirable lifestyles?

These issues will be discussed and teased out from our speakers which include Wang Shu (China), David Neustein (Australia), Rafi Segal (the United States), Sofia Pia Belenky (Italy) and Nahyun Hwang (the United States) and Philip Ursprung (Denmark).

The series has been conceived and organized by Alessandra Cianchetta, Associate Professor.

Lecture Schedule

↳ Monday, September 4, 2023, 6:30–8:00pm
2023 Andrew K F Lee Lectureship in Architecture Design | Restoring Nature: a “natural” way of making architecture by Wang Shu | Rayson Huang Theatre, the University of Hong Kong

↳ Tuesday, October 3, 2023, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Less is Less’ by David Neustein | KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

↳ Friday, October 27, 2023, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Architecture as Collective Form’ by Rafi Segal | KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

↳ Friday, November 3, 2023, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Non-Extractive Architecture’ by Sofia Pia Belenky | KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

↳ Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Migrating Commons’ by Nahyun Hwang | KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

↳ Thursday, November 16, 2023, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Neighbours: The Swiss Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale’ by Philip Ursprung | KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

↳ Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 6:30-8:00pm
‘Curating Architecture – Beyond the Discipline, Beyond the Canon’ by Martino Stierli | KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

Enquiry: jojohl@hku.hk

All lectures are open to the general public.

No prior registration is needed. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

CPD Credit Hours and AIA CES Learning Unit Hours are offered to members of the HKIA and the AIA.

An attendance record sheet will be provided at the venue entrances for members to register their attendance.

If you wish to add the Lecture Series to your Google calendar, please select the following link: https://bit.ly/3Hd9QIg

Remark: By default, shared calendars won’t show up on smartphones. In order to change these settings, you must click on the following link and turn on the ‘HKU Lecture Series’ calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/syncselect