Standing left to right: Gary Wong, Vikki Lew, Ken Li, Tony Wong, Stephen Ip, Esther Chu, Winnie Lau, Kevin So, Isabella Wu. Seated left to right: Eugene Chung, Bart Chui, Jiaqi Li, Austin Christianson, Wei Wang, Andrew Mohr.
Our group had a delightful dinner with UO alumni at the Assiaggio Trattoria Italiana in the Hong Kong Arts Centre on Tuesday night. We enjoyed hearing about the recent professional activities of the architectural graduates and learning about the paths that they have taken to get there. They are involved with building housing, tall towers, hospitals, and glamorous retail. And it was fun to spend time with the gregarious alumni like Dennis Ziengs, Tony Wong and Julia Lau who have contributed so much of their time and energy to our university. It is inspiring to hear about how they target their energies to shape the world. As a teacher, it is very rewarding for me to be around people who appreciate their education and see that my former students have been able to grow so much.
UO Alumni meet UO students. Left to right: Ken Li, Winnie Lau, Gary Wong, Stephen Ip, Esther Chu, Nancy Cheng, Kevin So, Isabella Wu, Austin Christianson, and Tony Wong.
Earlier in the day, we had a warm welcome from former HKU Architecture Dean David Lung, our alumnus who was pivotal in setting up the UO-HKU connection. He motivated our students to think about the key role that architecture and the built environment plays in conveying and preserving a community’s culture. He ended his visit to the class with two exquisitely produced videos from his MOOC (online course) about conserving the Architectural Heritage of Hong Kong. All of us are eager to sign up, if only to see more of the lovely footage of hidden gems and hear his insightful comments. It was especially touching that in a sequence about the role of the courtyard, he mentioned Oregon Professor Emeritus John Reynolds. John’s book eloquently describes how courtyards in different countries support social interaction while modifying sun, wind and sometimes humidity for thermal comfort. Wonderful to see that after retirement, David Lung is able to embrace new technology and grow his teaching in a new direction.