“Culture…. Is made up of rules of conduct; … (which) are residues of traditions acquired in the different types of social structure through which each human group has passed.” (Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss 1983)

Our built environment is an expression of culture of the society concerned. Nothing reflects the values, aesthetics, structures, technologies, creativeness, behaviors, and human relationships of our society better than our rich heritage of built environment, ranging from the construction details and crafts, the building materials and techniques, the architectural compositions, to the urban designs. Thus, the conservation of our urban heritage should be an indispensable mean to facilitate the communication between societies and social groups, and from the past, to the present, to the future generations.

Forward looking societies and international organizations have been attempting, for the past decades, to establish commonly recognized rules and principles on the protection of urban built heritage, based on research, practices, and consensus. Most of these results are composed as charters, guidelines or declarations. This presentation attempts to take an overview of these national and international documents. Significant aspects affecting our practices are highlighted, and influential viewpoints guiding our trends are elaborated. It is hoped that this presentation can offer an insight into the protection of urban heritage, as a mean to enhance our social values and to enable the mutual understanding of societies.

Mr. Edward Leung is Senior Associate of Aedas Ltd., Hong Kong Institute of Architects, Chair of Heritage and Conservation Committee. He is the Academic Director of HKU Space Cultural Heritage Management Programme.

Ju Chao (1811 – 1865) and Ju Lian (1828 – 1904), or the Two Jus, were late-Qing painters native to Guangdong. Despite their role in a military private secretariat, the cousins were by nature passionate painters. It was in painting that they found expression for their strong devotion to their native land, be they images of plants, insects and small animals or village scenes. Featuring the finest selections from museums both local and in Guangdong, the touring exhibition is unprecedented for both the styles and subjects it encompasses.

This lecture is based on a trip Professor Ho undertook in June 2007, when Princeton University invited him to join its Tibet Site Seminar as a faculty member.
Traveling with twelve PhD students, six faculty members and a supply truck, Prof. Ho took the group to the Tibetan hinterland to visit ancient monasteries of different schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The group traversed Central and Western Tibet studying monastic complexes in the full context of art, architecture, religion, history and society. Prof. Ho will share with us breathtaking slides of this journey from the eyes of an architect and art historian, as well as condensed information from the thorough research of a scholarly team.

Well-known to many of our members, Puay-peng Ho is Dean of Students, also Chairman and Professor, Department of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his first degree in architecture from the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in art history from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research interests include Tang-dynasty Buddhist architecture and history of Chinese architecture.

The Blue House Preservation Project was launched by the Hong Kong government in 2006 as part of an initiative to revitalize pre-war buildings. The site includes 3 historic buildings and an adjacent open space, and the project is notable for having allowed original residents to remain in the building following renovations. The Blue House is now home of the “Wanchai Livelihood Museum”, which was opened to the public last year. Its mission is to raise public awareness of the importance of cultural preservation. We will be guided through the Blue House by local inhabitants who will tell us about their lives past and present.

Our visit to the Blue House will be preceded by lunch at “Pawn”, another notable example of turn-of-the-century three-storey building with balconies which used to house a pawn shop on the ground floor. This building, facing the tram tracks on Johnston Road, was similarly renovated recently and is now a restaurant serving excellent traditional English cuisine.

The exhibition takes the work of the significant Hong Kong artists, Antonio Mak (1951–1994), as a starting point, this group exhibition will utilize a multi-layered approach to examine the questions of where and how the art of this significant Hong Kong artist exists today, physically, psychologically and metaphorically; and of how our perceptions might by changed by re-encountering his art and his history in our own time.

Future Trips

April 20-25th, 2009 - London –itinerary will include special guided tours to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, new China Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the newly opened Percival David Foundation Collection at the British Museum, and visit to Compton Verney Museum with Peter Lam, Director of Art Museum, Chinese University of HK.

July 2009 – Washington DC – visit to the Freer Gallery collection at the Smithsonian Institution with Prof. Jenny So

Oct/Nov 2009 - Ethiopia