Interior of the "An Integrated Teaching Building" in CUHK designed by Wallace Chang. Photo by Wallace Chang.
鄭炳鴻教授設計的香港中文大學的綜合教學大樓內部。攝影：鄭炳鴻
What does a place’s physical setup has to do with the sense of community?
一個社區的實體設置和人們的社區感有什麼關係？
This question of human-space relation is what Professor Wallace Chang, one of the Centre’s members, has been exploring in his works. Trained as an architect, his designs range from public bathrooms to university buildings. Openness and simplicity are two core themes in his designs.
本中心成員鄭炳鴻教授一直在探討這個關乎人與空間的問題。身為建築師，鄭教授的設計涵蓋廣泛的建築類型--從公廁到大學教學樓，都離不開「開放」和「簡樸」的核心主題。
“The high density apartment blocks in Hong Kong cannot cultivate the kind of neighborhood relations common in rural villages,” Wallace said. “Interaction in public space is the key”. He designed an award-winning teaching building in his home department—the School of Architecture at CUHK—where a spacious atrium provides a space in which students of different levels and teachers interact casually. The unadorned cement exterior reflects the philosophy that university education should be pure and modest, and it helps to keep the construction costs relatively low. Wallace said users of the building have responded positively to the design-- some commented that it feels spacious, distinctive, and yet friendly.
鄭教授認為，在香港，高密度的住宅大廈無法培養出農村裏常見的鄰里關係，皆因缺乏便於人與人交流的公共空間。他其中一個獲獎設計，是他任教的中文大學建築學院教學樓。該樓有寬敞的中庭，以便不同年級的學生和老師都能隨意交流。簡樸的水泥外牆，展現著大學純樸的教育理念，也降低了建築成本。鄭教授說，教學樓的使用者對該樓設計反應正面，不少人都喜歡這寬敞、獨特又不失親切感的空間。