A Noble Landmark
dal 20/2/2012 al 20/2/2012
Segnalato da
20/2/2012
A Noble Landmark
University Museum and Art Gallery - UMAG, Hong Kong
A lecture by Dr Peter Cunich during the exhibition "HKU Memories from the Archives"
The University of Hong Kong's Main Building (sometimes known as Loke Yew Hall) is one of the most recognisable architectural icons in Hong Kong today. Not only is it one of the few buildings to survive intact from the great building boom of the first two decades of the twentieth century, it is also still being used for its original purpose. A gift to the colony from the Parsee real estate tycoon Sir Hormusjee Mody, and designed by the firm of Leigh and Orange, the construction of the 'University Buildings' between March 1910 and July 1912 was a civic project that caught the imagination of the whole colony. Despite its enduring significance for the history of higher education in Hong Kong, little is known about the origins and erection of the Main Building and its ancillary structures. Peter Cunich will discuss the genesis of the HKU scheme and the central role that Mody's building project played in establishing Hong Kong's first university as a distinctive cultural icon. The lecture will be illustrated with rare original drawings and photographs from the University Archives.