Venue: Multi-function Hall, 1/F, Shenzhen Civic Center
Time：14:00-16:00， Dec 9, 2009
Moderator: Laurence Liauw
Guests: Zhu Tao, Wang Wenjen, Bai Xiaoci, Feng Yuan, Steve Ching

The intricate relationship between the two cities of Shenzhen and Hong Kong grew out from strategic economic planning and close physical proximity. But how these two cities have evolved into an interdependent relationship that extends far beyond mere economic ties is yet another story. How can cities become dependent on one another and what are the ways in which this manifests itself? This will be a discussion around the porous nature of borders, the particular conditions of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the merging of cities into one another.

Moderator

Laurence Liauw

Laurence Liauw, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Practiced in the UK, Malaysia, China after graduating from the Architectural Association School in London. His main area of interest is contemporary Chinese urbanism, typological variation and post-generic cities. He has realized social institutions, arts buildings, planning and residential projects. Published in AD, Architectural Record, A+U, Bauwelt, Domus, AA Files. He research-produced with the BBC a program on the rapid urbanization of the Pearl River Delta in 1997. Guest-Editor of ‘AD: New Urban China’ and World Architecture “Hong Kong Good Bad and Ugly 1997-2007”. He has won invited competitions and design awards, and has exhibited internationally, including 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale, 2007 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Biennale, 2008 New York Skyscraper Museum, and 2009 Rotterdam Architecture Biennale.

Guests

Wang Wenjen

Wang Wenjen is an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong and Director of Wang Weijen Architecture. Wang Wenjen received his M.Arch degree from UC Berkeley and MS from Taiwan University. He was the curator of 2007 Hong Kong Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism and recently a visiting associate professor at Department of Architecture of MIT. His research mainly focuses on Chinese architecture and cities, and had won several AIA design awards and Far Eastern Architecture Awards.

Zhu Tao

Zhu Tao is an architect, cofounder of ZL Architecture in New York and a PhD candidate in Architectural History and Theory in Columbia University. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture degree in Chongqing, China in 1990. After practicing in Chengdu, Shanghai, Zhuhai and Shenzhen for seven years, he came to study in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, where he received his Master of Architecture degree in 2001 and enrolled in its PhD program in 2002. During his PhD study while he writes extensively on contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism, he continues his practice in China. He has recently built two projects, Huacun Project Hope Elementary School in Deyang, Sichuan (co-designed by Shuqing Cecilia Li), 2005, and Wenjindu Bus Terminal Complex in Downtown Shenzhen, 2006.

Bai xiaoci (Shen Xiaoming)

Bai xiaoci, photographer, was born in 1974 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He presently is based in Shenzhen. Bai Xiaoci began to work on documentary photography in 2004 out of personal interest. He mainly focuses on the cities in China and the progress of urbanization and is good at photographing cities and architectures. He has participated in various exhibitions including 2007 “Get It Louder”, 2007 “Shenzhen & Hong Kong Urban and Architecture Biennale”, “I Am Now! – Opening Exhibition for Kunstilicht Gallery”, 2008 “Pingyao International Photography Festival”, 2009 “Shenzhen & Hong Kong Urban\Architecture Bi-city Biennale”, and 2009 “Inheritance – Shenzhen”. He has written the book I’m Living Here, an archive for photos of people and buildings in Shenzhen.

Feng Yuan

Feng Yuan received his bachelor and master degrees from Department of Printmaking, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. He later changed his research interest into architectural history and design theory and received a PhD from School of Architecture, South China University of Technology. He is now an associate professor and director for Department of Art Design in School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-Sun University. He mainly works on the cultural criticism and research on architecture, cities and contemporary art. His important writings include: Countermeasures to Style – the Production of Architectural Symbols and the Logic of Symbols; Why“eating people” – the Exchange and Profits in Art and Action Art; the Production of Spatial Politics and Public Art; The golden Land Reform – The Pearl Delta, a Showy Phenomena in Social Science (in collaboration with Yang Xiaoyan); and the Oppressed “Aesthetics” – “Bloody Clothes” and Pictorial Politics in Class Conflicts.

Steve Ching

Professor Steve Ching has been the University Librarian of City University of Hong Kong since August 2004, and also the Professor of Economics. Prior to his appointment in Hong Kong, he was Director of University Libraries and Professor of Business School at Feng Chia University in Taiwan. His recent research and work focuses are on regional academic library consortia development and management, strategic development for digital publishing, changing management of library services, and economic issues of the Pearl River Delta & Yangtze River Delta region, China (PRD & YRD).

Three major regional co-operations Professor Ching has undertaken recently among Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China through eBook consortia are: 1. Cicada – Hong Kong and Taiwan Super eBook Consortium (partnership with 5 Hong Kong and 42 Taiwan Academic Libraries); 2. ERALL – Electronic Resources Academic Library Link (partnership with all Hong Kong government-funded university libraries); 3. MyiLibrary – Hong Kong and Mainland China eBook consortium (partnership with 4 Hong Kong and 8 China academic libraries). Despite the stagflation growth of library budget, English monographs collection increased significantly. The total volume of ebooks acquired with perpetual rights is over 1.2 million.