Hong Kong’s dazzling, densely-populated cityscape is a perfect manifestation of the city’s complicated land problems. In this seemingly claustrophobic setting, some lament its constraints while others see opportunities beyond the blocks. In this Cubic Zine issue, Thomas Chung, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture, CUHK shares with us the infinity of possibilities with space, as well as the transfer of knowledge into abandoned rural villages. Hear his story of enlivening the once derelict village of Mui Tsz Lam through co-creating an architectural experiment with over a hundred CUHKers, villagers and volunteers. In this issue: #Architecture #LivingSpace #ExperientialLearning #CrossInterdisciplinary #VillageRevitalisation #MuiTszLam #CountrysideConservation #HongKongCulture

Why did the two young executives leap from their professions into research, especially in gerontology? They had even secured funding from CUHK Sustainable Knowledge Transfer Project Fund (S-KPF) to set up the social enterprise Happy Ageing Lab. How does architecture affect the health of the elderly? Can we age discerningly? What changes do Mo and Rina want to make?

Local villages in Hong Kong are disappearing – before the regrettable reality comes to be, the Condition_Lab plans to engage people through design, injecting life back into these villages with social architecture.

When textbook learning is mundane, and field trips are impractical, here comes a whole new way of exploring colonial architecture and local history.

Prefabrication is not only suitable for construction in urban centres but also in remote rural areas. In 2015, Professor Zhu, using prefabrication, set up the first Checkered Playroom in a remote village in Gansu Province.

‘I was thrilled to realize that social service can be interwoven into architecture!’