Quotidian Architectures: Hong Kong in Venice

ORGANIZING INSTITUTIONS
The Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Hong Kong Arts Development Council

VENUE
Arsenale, Campo della Tana, Castello 2126, 30122 Venice

EXHIBITORS
davidclovers + C.E.B. Reas; Map Office + Sun Hing Industries; Urban Rethink Tank + Craig Au Yeung; Joshua
Bolchover, John Lin + HKU CPW + Kadoorie Farm; Hong Kong Housing Authority + Michael Wolf; Ocean.CN
+ CAD + Rocker-Lange Architects; William Lim + Philip Yung; Adam Frampton, Jonathan Solomon, Clara
Wong + Clean Air Network; Rocco Design + HKICC School of Creativity; OMA + Chu Hai College; Urbis +
MET Studio + Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust; RAD + Greg Girard; WKCDA + Foster and Partners, OMA, Rocco
Design

CHIEF CURATOR
Juan Du

CURATORIAL TEAM
Mary Chan
Margherita Errante
Giulia Foscari
Chad McKee

Inspired by the Chinese colloquial phrase for the necessities of daily life, 衣食住行 (Clothing-Food-Dwelling- Transport), we ask architects, artists, activists, educators, industrialists, and governmental agencies to reimagine and expand on the simple choices we make every day. The ‘Quotidian Architectures’ exhibition explores the potential of design to create socially and environmentally responsible architectures through presenting collaborative and cross-disciplinary projects from Hong Kong. What we wear, what we eat, where we live, how we travel, what we learn, how we relax – decisions we make every day as individual inhabitants collectively contribute to the overall environment and lasting well-being of the city. Hong Kong is a diverse and complex city where acute physical constraints have created extreme urban forms and inspired inventive architectural solutions for the basic needs of city life. The ‘Quotidian Architectures’ exhibition reveals Hong Kong’s unique challenges and proposes possible solutions for dense urban settlements around the world. Projects that investigate and utilize design to engage the urban environment from all levels and aspects of daily life will represent the creative fields of Hong Kong in this year’s Venice Biennale. Clothing, Food, Dwelling, Transport, Education and Leisure - six categories of exhibits form the core of the exhibition. In each exhibit installation, architects work in partnership with sustainability-oriented practitioners to generate a project demonstrating the potential and necessity of collaborative design thinking. ‘Quotidian Architectures’ aims to generate debates on current architectural designs for sustainable development and recognizes the urban environment as a complex eco-system comprised not simply of natural resources, but also of social communities, economic operations, and cultural practices. Architecture is not a tree; architectural design thinking must venture beyond technological applications and surface plantings to include crucial social considerations, cultural identities, and behavior patterns of the residents of the built environment. Designers should recognize the daily rhythms of our environments to better engage the ecology of the city and hence create responsible and sustainable architectures. There are three phases of ‘Quotidian Architectures’ exhibition starting with the Venice Biennale 12th International Architecture Exhibition: Hong Kong in Venice, followed by the Response Exhibition in Hong Kong at the end of the year, and concluding with a Traveling Exhibition in six cities in Mainland China. The staging forms a continuous and active platform of working collaborations between sustainable development practitioners, architectural professionals, and exhibition visitors in Italy and China. The exhibitions present opportunities to explore and share the contributions that design should bring to those building and living within the architectures of our city. After all, people meet in architecture.

Juan Du
Chief Curator

EXHIBITION INFORMATION

2010 HKVB QUOTIDIAN ARCHITECTURES EXHIBITION
www.venicebiennale.hk/vb2010

VENICE BIENNALE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.labiennale.org

THE HONG KONG INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
www.hkia.net

HONG KONG ARTS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
www.hkadc.org.hk

ARTE COMMUNICATIONS
www.artecommunications.com

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