With the support of Luke Him Sau Educational Foundation

此活動由陸謙受教育基金贊助

Faculty of Architecture Fall 2025 Symposium

Unpacking the Contemporary: Chinese Architecture from the 1990s to the Present

Date: 29 September 2025 (Monday)

Time: 1:00pm–8:00pm

Venue: KB419, 4/F Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong

Join in person here [Registration closes at 9:00am, 29 September 2025]

You will receive a confirmation email upon successful registration. Please present it at the venue for admission to the event.

Join on Zoom here

Speakers: 

• Professor Yung Ho Chang, Dean and Chair Professor (Architecture), HKU Faculty of Architecture
• Professor Kenneth Frampton, Emeritus Professor, Columbia GSAPP
• Professor Michael Hays, Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory, Department of Architecture, Harvard GSD
• Dr Eduard Koegel, Studio Eduard Koegel, Berlin
• Professor Hua Li, Institute of Architectural History and Theory, School of Architecture, Southeast University
• Professor Cole Roskam, Associate Head (Research) and Professor, HKU Department of Architecture
• Professor Eunice Seng, Head and Associate Professor, HKU Department of Architecture
• Professor Junyang Wang, Professor Emeritus, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University
• Professor Weijen Wang, Andrew K F Lee Professor in Architecture Design, HKU Department of Architecture
• Professor Tao Zhu, Associate Professor, HKU Department of Architecture
• Professor Xiaofeng Zhu, Design Principal, Scenic Architecture Office, Shanghai; Guest Professor, College of Architecture & Urban Planning, Tongji University

Abstract:

Despite the fact that a great many significant buildings have been produced by architects practising in China in the past decades, contemporary Chinese architecture is still largely unknown globally, outside a small circle of observers and academic institutions. This symposium is the first of a series at the University of Hong Kong, with a panel of scholars and practitioners, both international and local, to dig, dissect, discuss, and debate about the conditions and implications of this relatively nascent architectural phenomenon.  

The subject of contemporary Chinese architecture inevitably brings up a Pandora’s box of questions, led by the one of: how is ‘contemporary Chinese architecture’ defined? While this forum is meant to keep a long-waited conversation open, the following key-words/phrases are suggested as some of the points of departure: 

Contemporary Chinese art 

Critical Regionalism 

Cultural identity 

Materiality 

Modern Chinese architecture 

Pre-modern culture 

Regions within region 

Spatial structure 

The vernacular vs. the official 

PROGRAMME RUNDOWN

Screening, 1:00pm – 1:30pm 

Kenneth Frampton  X  Tao Zhu  

Panel I: Practice, 1:30pm – 3:30pm 

Moderator: Eunice Seng 

Panellists: Yung Ho Chang, Hua Li, Xiaofeng Zhu  

Panel II: Theory, 4:00pm – 6:00pm 

Moderator: Cole Roskam 

Panellists: Michael Hays, Eduard Koegel (online), Junyang Wang 

Round Table, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Moderators: Yung Ho Chang, Weijen Wang 

Participants: Michael Hays, Hua Li, Cole Roskam, Eunice Seng,  Junyang Wang

More Information

The event is open to the general public. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis and prior reservation is needed. Walk-ins are also welcome, subject to venue capacity on the day of the event. 

CPD Credit Hours and AIA CES Learning Unit Hours are offered to members of the HKIA and the AIA attending the symposium, respectively, upon registration of their attendance at the venue entrance. 

This symposium is part of the Faculty’s 75th anniversary programme – stay tuned for more celebratory activities coming up. 

Enquiries: 75years@arch.hku.hk