Search results for ""Author Walter Koditek""

In the post-war decades, Hong Kong architects, many of them having migrated from Mainland China or studied overseas, embraced modern principles when forced to face the problems of housing shortage, mass construction and limited budgets. Although economic efficiencies often prevailed over design, their buildings were rooted in their time and place, reflecting the local climate, social values, materials, technique and use in an often unique and pragmatic fashion. With more than 300 buildings and ensembles documented, the new publication “Hong Kong Modern Architecture of the 1950s-1970s” by Walter Koditek gives a comprehensive overview on the architecture of that transformative period in combining full-page photographs with detailed background information and further b/w images explaining and illustrating the design and history of these buildings. Information about the architects behind the projects and a series of academic essays penned by renowned scholars Cecilia L. Chu, Eunice Seng, Ying Zhou, and Charles Lai complement the publication. While the book does not seek to provide a complete inventory, its unique documentary format, which deliberately mixes well-known architectural masterpieces with more mundane structures under seven specific building categories, invites viewers to comprehend the intrinsic relationships between these built forms and how their designs have been simultaneously shaped by the advent of the international Modern Movement and adaptions to the local context. Crucially, the uniform framing and composition of these compelling facade images directs attention not only to often overlooked architectural details, but also to the varied informal appropriations that transformed their modernist characters over time. The book aims to serve as a reference and enhance knowledge on modernist architecture of the post-war era in Hong Kong, and will contribute to the discussion of its architectural merit, historic and cultural values. Its publication was supported by the Goethe-Institut Hongkong (www.goethe.de/hongkong), Design Trust Seed Grant (www.designtrust.hk), and Docomomo Hong Kong (www.docomomo.hk).

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Founded in the fifteenth century, planned and rebuilt by the French, and then modernised and expanded in the era after independence, the city of Phnom Penh displays a diverse mix of styles. Here, early religious and vernacular buildings, the glittering structures of the Royal Palace, and colonial buildings of the French Protectorate (1863–1953) coexist with the gems of the ‘New Khmer Architecture’ of the 1960s. After the destructive period under the Khmer Rouge, the city went through a rebirth. It has seen rapid modernisation and economic development in recent years, and its urban landscape is transforming at a breathtaking pace. This guide offers a comprehensive overview of Phnom Penh’s built heritage, highlighting its history and architectural layers. In addition to covering better-known masterpieces, it also takes readers through the city’s ‘everyday architecture’, revealing places off the beaten track. Illustrated with contemporary photographs and historical images, the book presents more than 140 works that illuminate the four major phases of development in the city’s ever-changing urban history. It thus makes an important contribution to current debates on heritage preservation in the booming metropolis. Interviews with local experts present their individual perspectives on the city and place the buildings in a broader context.

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