Public space in Hong Kong - meet the architect hoping to spark a conversation

Your pavilion, leong4 ting2, will soon be installed in the piazza of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. What was your brief? “The pavilion is part of an event, ‘Hot is Cool’, hosted by Culture for Tomorrow [a non-profit organisation founded this year by cultural entrepreneur Adrian Cheng Chi-kong]. ‘Hot is Cool’ is all about the relationship between public spaces and communities. Culture for Tomorrow researched social-gathering places in Hong Kong and they suggested that I think about pavilions as representative of our city.”

You’ve designed leong4 ting2 so the entire pavilion can be collapsed and reassembled elsewhere. Why? “It is important that public spaces are designed with high flexibility for different events and activities. In leong4 ting2, stools can be stacked and made into a table for playing chess or drinking tea, and the public can use their imagination to create their own space. The movable stools increase public interaction.”

Were there any particular pavilions that inspired leong4 ting2? “While exploring the history of Hong Kong pavilions, I found that Chung Wah-nam was one of the pioneering architects. Chung designed a number of pavilions in Hong Kong’s parks and estates in a modernist style.