We spent much of our Hong Kong extravaganza at the PolyU University itself and wandering between the buildings. It was a really beautiful campus, with lots of little thoughtful touches; such as buildings being named after highly respected community members and people who have donated significantly to the University.
It made me think about how the design and architecture has the potential to be so much more inspiring for a student.
There was so much green. Plants, trees, little patches of grass, it’s amazing how much difference that can make to the ambience and atmosphere. There was a beautiful tree with red berries; it really looked like a giant bonsai.
I loved the flags of the world and bunting cast wonderful shadows on the building behind. I think the idea was to make the international student community feel at home and welcome and demonstrate their global status. It looked great strung at a jaunty diagonal from the top of a building to the floor, which makes it less cheesy and therefore less obvious as a motive to promote their international relations.
In an obvious way the design and architecture gives a noticeably encouraging setting to learn inside of. But in an unconscious way too, I think that everything was enhanced by little touches, which perhaps people take for granted
The fluidity of the design and layout; the building’s positioning and walkways between each part of campus. I think it’s all still based around the idea of Feng shui and the ancient Chinese system of aesthetics. It’s not something I’ve ever really contemplated before but I find the concept really interesting.
Which reminds me Zada Hadid Architects are designing the new ‘Innovation Tower for PolyU’, their new building for the Institute of Design. (I think it's due to be ready in 2011 - but that could also be the construction date in stead.)
They are creating an accessible urban zone from a previously void area. Outdoor recreational facilities and forums will promote the diversity of civic spaces whilst also immersing people on a more intimate scale.
You can see some of the renderings below and read a bit more blurb about it on the Dezeen website.
I think it is another fab example of how the campus architecture can be designed to inspire and encourage the students. Zada Hadid even says of the project how it will “stimulate and project a vision of possibilities for its future, as well as reflect the history of the HK PolyU by encapsulating in its architecture the process of change.” - Probably a much better way of explaining what I am thinking.
I can't imagine a building as civic and majestic as this being created for UCLAN somehow (our Media Factory for example) let alone to be designed by architects as prestigious as Zada Hadid. It is such a fluid, innovative design, well representative of the name I feel.
Images: The jaunty international flag display, The beautiful giant bonsai with shiny red berries, a Chinese leaf cluster (that’s not a technical term), an oddly textured growth/fruit, a sheltered walkway from PolyU into Kowloon, photo’s by me, ©Ellie Osborne 2010
& the Innovation Tower, PolyU by Zada Hadid, ©Zada Hadid Architects
