“The mother of art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
The quote above is incredibly apt for the city of Hong Kong, which is no doubt why it became the tag line for the recent Architecture is Art Festival. While I didn't make it to any of this years events I have to say that festivals like this are so important to a city where architecture and design has become such a commodity and so far removed from something that is an essential part of our everyday existence as humans. Quality of life and living is ignored in favour of controlled land releases, inflated prices per square foot and space "efficiency". “We don’t look at architecture as art anymore, we only look at it as some kind of investment,” says Mathias Woo, the Artistic Director for the event. “All the buildings in Hong Kong are anti-architectural. Architecture is about community… Hong Kong is like an expensive prison.”
We can only hope that events like this one will start a much needed dialogue between the community and the decision makers.....
Photo taken by me from my street looking towards IFC2.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Architecture is Art
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3 comments:
Those were some pretty harsh comments about Hong Kong. But I think it reflects a sentiment in so many lives. We as humans are not a commodity and anyone that attempts to view us as such or participates in extreme bottom-line decision making has missed the point of creation and life.
On a lighter note--have a wonderful week-end.
Long time lurker, first time commentator.
I completely disagree with the choice of worlds the previous commentator used. Perhaps "painfully honest" would have been better.
It is a reality that is prevalent in their culture. And one that many of us have come to emulate unfortunately.
Thanks Cristina, I agree. Harsh, but true. There are many things I love about Hong Kong, but the state of housing here (or the quality of) is not good. I have the benefit of being able to leave when it becomes unbearable, however many Hong Kongers do not have that luxury. I only hope the rest of the world does not follow...
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