Architect Robert Fan Wenzhao and the design of Chung Chi campus

Abstract

In about 1949, there was a large-scale migration of architects from the mainland to Hong Kong, China. Among them were those important figures in the modern Chinese architectural history such as Robert Fan, Su Gin-Djih, and Chu Pin. Their arrival at this colony had changed its architectural practice substantially from professional organization to actually built environment. Their unique contributions to Hong Kong’s modern architecture have been a new research interest in recent years. This paper tells a story about Robert Fan and his design of the Chung Chi College campus in the 1950s with an intention to reveal the multiaspects of the so called “migrant architects” through a single architectural event. The author tries to capture the intertwining relationship between the migrant architects and educators through the reconstruction of the recruitment process for a campus architect by Chung Chi College and to identify Mr. Robert Fan’s concept of campus planning with reference to his early design experience in the mainland of China.

Keywords

Hong Kongβmodern architecture / China’s mainlandβmigrant architects / Robert Fan Wenzhao / Chung Chi College / campus planning and design

Acknowledgements

The study was cosponsored by Chung Chi College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project no. CUHK4668/06H/2007/Architecture). The author also would like to extend his thanks to Prof. Zhao Chen of Nanjing University for his information on Robert Fan’s competition entry for the Central University in Nanjing and Mr. Dominic Wong of Chung Chi College for his assistance in literature study.

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg