Recent buildings from Hong Kong and China compared and contrasted at PMQ exhibition
10x100 looks at a decade of the built environment, from large and grand structures on the mainland to more local projects in Hong Kong, showing the value of sharing knowledge about the challenges cities face
Buildings speak about a city’s identity and character the same way one’s outfits hint at your personality. While China is perhaps more known for bizarre structures – such as the infamous CCTV tower in Beijing and the Fang Yuan building, which consistently tops the list of ugliest buildings in the world – the country is seeing more constructions with sophisticated design, as this exhibition shows.
10x100 Exhibition, a collaboration between PMQ and Urban Environment Design, an architectural magazine in mainland China, displays a hundred architectural projects from the past decade by big names in the industry as well as emerging young talents.
Fifty from Hong Kong are set beside 50 more from mainland China, and the contrast in character is very apparent.
Most of those from China are large and grand structures, such as the Tree Art Museum, Huaian Sports Centre and Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum in Qinglong.Meanwhile, the local projects run from home modification for low-income families and smart homes to malls and green stations.
“Couple of years ago, Xi Jinping said no more weird architecture. He was describing that maybe it’s a time for us to slow down and not build in such a rush,” says Thomas Tsang How-kheng, associate professor in the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Architecture and one of the exhibition’s two curators.