The Review 2009

22 The Review 2009 • Teaching Stepping Out in Shanghai Architecture is a globalised profession and chances are that many of today’s students may spend at least part of their careers outside Hong Kong. With that in mind, the Faculty of Architecture has opened the Shanghai Study Centre where undergraduates study for one full semester. The first batch of second-year students went to the centre in the 2008-09 academic year with the goal of encouraging them to look beyond Hong Kong and learn more about the architecture and culture of Mainland China. They were taught by an international faculty of teachers and tutors who work in Shanghai. Alison Chan said the Shanghai semester enabled her to get absorbed in her studies and focus intensely on architecture. “In Hong Kong there are distractions, like student halls, clubs, sports, family obligations. In Shanghai we were able to really concentrate on the academics and get a better sense of studio culture. We also had to make some lifestyle changes because things close early there and it was just different from Hong Kong. For example, they use different measurements and terminology for their materials and we had to get used to that. “The co-ordinator was very passionate about the programme and he had a lot of connections with other architects. He organised frequent public lectures and these architects would come and raise questions we hadn’t even considered – they had a more advanced point of view. The exposure we had there was very good.” The centre is located in the historic General Post Office Building off the Bund and it is also used for exhibitions, events and workshops. It also hosts joint postgraduate architecture programmes with Columbia, Harvard and Yale universities, and houses an office of HKU’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre. “In Shanghai we were able to really concentrate on the academics and get a better sense of studio culture” A student makes use of the new studio space in Shanghai 23 The Review 2009 • Teaching Students get creative in the studio