CAVE: Imaginary City. Kai Tak - 09.05.12
It was hard not to get drawn in to the Hong Kong space across from the entrance of the Arsenale at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The amazing little courtyard filled with wooden edible garden planters beneath the old grape vine covered trellis… and inside, amongst the many projects… we found the most spectacularly colorful and detailed world of a model for Imaginary City Kai Tak by CAVE architecture design studio. From the mini flying cars to cow farms to dragons to card playing old guys and more, there were endlessly fascinating little details worked into the model!
They describe the project ~ “By reversing the conventional methodology of masterplanning CAVE speculates an Imaginary Kai Tak by firstly exploring the local stories, maps, photographs and cultural events before the process of zoning. Six narratives are inspired by qualities drawn from these events which are then further developed into six device systems. The device systems are embodied as residential blocks, a transport hub, agriculture green space, a cultural retail hub, a government complex and multi-functional units. These systems function collaboratively to compose a city that resolves the needs for a speculative future of Kai Tak (where Hong Kong is under global environmental threat) whilst simultaneously preserving the shared memories and qualities of South East Kowloon. This project was commissioned by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and exhibited in the 2012 Venice Biennale.” The details can’t be missed ~ see it all on the next page!