“Impossible Bricks” Exhibition @ PMQ

Waste management is a pressing worldwide issue that occurs in both developed and underdeveloped countries. Like many big cities, food waste is one of the largest sources of solid waste in Hong Kong. In the same way that we have developed “impossible food” to satisfy consumption, in order to be more careful towards our environment, animals and our own bodies, the next step is to create impossible architecture. What if the act of consumption becomes the act of construction?

Throughout history, architecture and nature have been inseparable, and technology has been the medium for bridging the two. While the general construction industry uses state-of-the-art technology such as 3D printers, Robotic Arms, and Mini Robots, at the HKU Robotic Fabrication Laboratory, we are researching ways to seamlessly integrate natural materials with building technology. Using natural materials that we are currently wasting, we can create a new face for the rapid urbanization of cities we inhabit.

“Impossible Bricks” proposes the sustainable use of food waste to maximize reuse of local resources. The project uses digital technology to transform biological matter into bricks, tiles, modules, or other architectural prototypes, suggesting a provocative alternative to wasteful consumption by revaluing food waste for “impossible” construction.

Weekend Workshops

Image recycling – Haotian Zhang, Tianying Li
March 14, 2 pm – 4 pm

Intimate Plastic – Tianying Li, Lidia Ratoi, Su Chang
March 21, 10 am – 6 pm

Wear a Waste – Lidia Ratoi, Chiara Oggioni, Yi Sun
March 28, 10 am – 6 pm

Details of the workshops are to be announced on the Instagram account impossible.bricks

Leading researcher: Lidia Ratoi

Curatorial work and workshops: Lidia Ratoi, Li Tianying, Chiara Oggioni, Su Chang, Sun Yi, Zhang Haotian

Acknowledgments: Hong Sum Ho Angus (photography and material research); Chan Chun Hei Jason and Fan Ka Mak Moses (digital design); Chan Osten, Cheung Wing See Kyo, Chick Kar Yi Priscilla, Zhu Yalan Julia (material research)

For further enquiries, please contact Ms. Isabel Wong at isabel.wong@hku.hk.