Public Lecture Series
Filter
June, 2024
April, 2024
March, 2024
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 Paolo Tombesi (Switzerland), Bas Smets (Brussels), Mark Lee (United States), Christopher Roth (Germany), Anna Gasco (Amsterdam), Sumayya Vally (South Africa), J. Meejin Yoon (United States), Doryun Chong (Hong Kong) and Mandana Bafghinia (Canada).
The series has been conceived and organized by Alessandra Cianchetta, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, HKU.
↳ Tuesday, 23 January 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Sails, octopuses, beds and needles: The Sydney Opera House turns 50’ by Paolo Tombesi
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Tuesday, 27 February 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Cooling Cities, a Microclimate Approach’ by Bas Smets
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Thursday, 29 February 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
Mark Lee, Professor in Practice of Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Thursday, 14 March 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
Christopher Roth, Film Director, Artist and TV Producer
KB730, 7/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Tuesday, 19 March 19 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Cities as Sites of a Degrowth Transition’ by Anna Gasco
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Tuesday, 26 March 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Finding architecture in the cracks – Sumayya Vally in conversation with Alessandra Cianchetta’
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Thursday, 28 March 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Skyscraper’s Summit, an anthology between Shanghai and New York’ by Mandana Bafghinia
KB730, 7/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Tuesday, 9 April 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
‘Going Public’ by J. Meejin Yoon
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
↳ Thursday, 11 April 2024, 6:30–8:00pm
Doryun Chong, Deputy Director, Curatorial, and Chief Curator, M+
KB419, 4/F, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong
Enquiry: architecture@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
