Shanghai Study Centre (HKU)

HKU SSC Gallery

The Faculty of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong established The Shanghai Study Centre in 2008. It is housed in the historical Post Office Building, on Suzhou Creek.

The Faculty recognized the importance of students broadening their education beyond Hong Kong through immersion in the issues and cultures of China, and the need to introduce variations on the issues of urbanization, globalization, and sustainability in a context related to, but distinct from, those prevalent in Hong Kong. The Faculty is of the view that the addition of this study time, and an emphasis on the above mentioned domains of knowledge are essential for the education of an architect.

The primary motivation for the establishment of the Centre was to create a place devoted to the education and the dissemination of ideas. The education of an architect, landscape architecture and real estate/surveying professionals is thoroughly immersed in issues of globalization, and for a full professional education today, special emphasis must be placed upon developing a student’s understanding of the culture and practices in China – particularly where they are distinct from those in Hong Kong. 7b this end, the Faculty of Architecture initiated and set up a program whereby every undergraduate in the Department of Architecture and the Division of Landscape Architecture is required to spend one semester of their studies at the Study Centre.

The Centre’s location is an ideal partnership for the Faculty of Architecture, as Shanghai is a cosmopolitan city with a global vision on par with Hong Kong. The Centre benefits both HKU and partnering universities involved in joint teaching with the Faculty of Architecture, such as Tbngji University, Harvard University, Princeton University, and provides a common and convenient platform for future academic exchanges between Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas Institutions.

The Study Centre aims to be a place where new ideas emerge about urban development in the fastest urbanizing region in the world. The public program at HKU/SSC invites critics with challenging opinions, architects with provoking viewpoints, planners with innovative solutions and academics with new theories – all with the aim of understanding the current condition in Chinese cities, and to explore beyond today and tomorrow. The goal is to be able to generate new ideas that can contribute to better, more intelligent and more interesting cities and architecture.

The establishment of this Centre is also part of the University’s ongoing effort to achieve a global vision in tertiary education by extending its academic curricula, exchange and public programs beyond the physical confines of Hong Kong, thus giving students a more international learning experience; helping with the development of professional education for changing professional needs in a rapidly globalizing context.

香港大学上海学习中心由香港大学建筑学院在2008年建立,坐落于苏州河畔的邮政博物馆办公楼内。

建筑学院意识到两个重点:一是让学生浸入中国内地的课题和文化,将学生的教育从香港扩展开来;二是需要引入各种问题,比如 城市化、全球化和可持续化等,这些问题同香港有关却又不同。建筑学院认为这段在上海的学习时间以及上述领域知识的强调,对 于建筑师的教育来说至关重要

建筑学院建立学习中心的初衷是希望能够创造一个可以教育和传播建筑、景观和城市思想的空间,为研究、实验、预测与介入创建 一个基地,让研究与实践共行。建筑学、景观和地产专业的职业教育都在全球化的背景中展开,而且对于现如今全面的职业教育, 必须格外强调学生对中国的文化和实践的认识,因为这一切跟香港有着很大的不同。基于此,建筑学院要求每一位建筑学和景观专 业的本科学生必须在上海学习中心进行一个学期的学习,作为在香港大学完成本科教育的一部分。

香港大学上海学习中心致力于成为各种思想交汇的平台。中心的公共项目中汇聚了来自批评者的观点,来自建筑师的实践经验,来 自规划者的大局策略,来自学者的创新理论,让学界和业界倾听声音,交流思想。我们希望能够激发更多的新的思路,同公众一道 认识更好、更智慧、更有趣的城市和建筑。

香港大学上海学习中心的建立是香港大学为保持高等教育的全球视野的一个承诺。在这里,香港大学将教学、合作和公共项目从香 港带入上海,从而为学生带来更国际化的学习经历,帮助他们培养快速全球化环境所需要的职业素质。