Frank Lloyd Wright was never unsure of the importance of culture. Lack of it, he said, 'means what it has always meant: ignoble civilisation and therefore imminent downfall'. So one wonders what the architect, interior designer and writer would have thought about the sometimes stunning - but more often pedestrian - architecture that collectively fills Hong Kong's skyline. While they serve the gods of finance and markets well, do they serve to nourish our noble inner self? Two prominent international architects - Germany's Ascan Mergenthaler and Japan's Kengo Kuma - will be in Hong Kong next week, along with museum curator Corinna Roesner, to discuss Culture and the City during Business of Design Week (BODW), which runs from Monday to Saturday. With the West Kowloon Cultural District project and the redevelopment of the Central Police Station imminent, the artistic merit of our city landscape has become a hotly debated issue and will be discussed at the event. Now in its ninth year, BODW, whose partner country in 2010 is Japan, has assembled designers, architects, fashion personalities, creative visionaries and executives from top international brands to share their ideas, thoughts and insights. The aim is to encourage businesses to focus on the relationship between design and business, something that permeates debate about West Kowloon and the Central Police Station. Mergenthaler, senior partner of Herzog & de Meuron, whose works include Beijing's National Stadium, says that although Hong Kong's eclectic mixture of high-rise buildings, rural villages and country parks make for an exciting cityscape, the cultural element is somewhat missing. 'But I think what is missing is culture, or the visibility of culture through architecture,' he says. 'Culture and architecture are important to make a city complete.' When Mergenthaler refers to culture, he means everything from art galleries and design to performing arts and, in Hong Kong's case, even food and shopping. While Hong Kong's vibrancy is a direct result of the city's commercial focus, cultural life is 'not very visible as the commerce somehow overshadows it'. 'Hong Kong is ready to give culture a face,' Mergenthaler argues, adding that architecture can help do that by building iconic structures and making culture an attraction. But should Hong Kong be striving to create its own Cantonese version of the Sydney Opera House or the Louvre? Mergenthaler says no. Every city must develop its own kind of architecture, he says, pointing out that Hong Kong's plans for the West Kowloon cultural precinct is an opportunity that should be embraced, unique as such a large-scale project is. Kuma agrees that there is no need for Hong Kong to learn from other cities in terms of architectural styles. 'It should study how it is distinctive from other cities and what makes it so special,' says Kuma, who is known for the Great Bamboo Wall in Beijing, among other works. He says architecture can come into its own by 'digging up the town's cultural assets and refining them'. The West Kowloon project has been billed as a cultural hub. But is that the best model or should culture be scattered throughout the city? 'Both models are viable. For example, if you take Berlin in the 19th century, it was decided that they would have areas where they would concentrate on cultural activities, and this was a very strong model and still is,' Mergenthaler says. The concentration of cultural activities in one spot can often create artistic synergies as well as being convenient for people. But he says there is also something interesting about having cultural buildings dotted throughout the city, the Central Police Station being a good example. Both models - either having a cultural precinct or many venues scattered around the city - are equally vibrant, says Mergenthaler, whose designs for Herzog & de Meuron won the Central Police Station bid. With the government preparing to spend billions to create an artistic oasis in a city often derided as a cultural desert, the question of whether Hong Kong people really want culture has been raised. Mergenthaler says getting people to use a space depends on what is offered and whether they find it an attractive place to spend time. A big budget will not determine its success. 'It's not good to end up with a building of just 'ordinary' architecture and blame it on a limited budget,' Kuma says. 'But it's worse to spend too much money in vain.' Elements of the West Kowloon precinct have been criticised for putting commercial interests before art. While purists may scorn any commercial elements in an artistic precinct, Mergenthaler says to make a successful cultural building, restaurants are a must. 'To an extent, food in Hong Kong is as important as the cultural elements,' he says. 'Shopping - although it depends on what kind of shopping - has a kind of cultural side to it.' But one must be careful to balance the commercial aspects with the artistic side. 'You have to be selective in what kind of shopping you introduce,' Mergenthaler says. 'It cannot be any kind of shopping and that is especially true for Hong Kong because it may become more a kind of experience that is already prevalent.' Roesner, chief curator of Die Neue Sammlung (The International Design Museum Munich), agrees it is not taboo to have shopping or other commercial elements incorporated into a cultural precinct. Artistic buildings such as museums must be modern and interact with the city and the public. 'A museum cannot be stuck in a meadow with nothing around it,' she says. 'There are many different parts of society and they should be catered for. That could include open spaces for young people, maybe a football field where they can run around and clubs for music.' Ultimately, Mergenthaler says, an art precinct has to have an aspect of retreat and become a space of contemplation. 'Hong Kong is always very vibrant, very hectic,' he says. 'Museums and libraries are often places for contemplation where people go and are in a very protected kind of environment.' For Kuma, creating such an environment often involves integrating architecture and nature in his work. 'If you say nature includes the ground, air, sky, light and wind - all these are important elements and, in that sense, Hong Kong is still blessed with nature,' he says. 'Architecture can be tied to such elements. The most important thing is the relationship between the spaces inside and outside. How we design outdoors is most crucial.' Roesner says it is important to develop a cultural precinct with a distinctive identity that is authentic. 'By authentic I mean incorporating what's typical of Hong Kong and its society, and people will want to come to you. For a museum or cultural precinct it's important not only to attract one-day visitors, but to make contact with the inhabitants of the city. It's like the soil for healthy growth of the museum - it's part of the identification of the city so that people feel like they have ownership. And so that people think, 'Wow, this is my museum.'' BODW's Culture and the City talk will be held on December 4 at 2.30pm at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai. For details visit www.bodw.com
