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Opinion | Like Singapore, Hong Kong can try to go beyond liveable to become lovable
- Singapore wants architects and urban planners to give more priority to intangible values like people’s sense of attachment, connection and inclusion
- Hong Kong can take a leaf out of Singapore’s playbook in thinking about the preservation of its buildings and spaces, and measuring success differently
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Singapore and Hong Kong suffer from the same problem – we’re just not lovable enough. We may be viewed as ultra-modern metropolises that are the gateways to Asia. Perhaps even glitzy and glamorous.
But when it comes to our ethos, we’ve been seen less favourably. “Boring” has been used to describe both Hong Kong and Singapore – a travel vlog on how Singapore had “no vibe” recently went viral, with both Singaporeans and foreigners weighing in.
But haven’t Hong Kong and Singapore earned enough cool points as locations of Hollywood blockbusters from Transformers to Crazy Rich Asians? What is boring? What is cool? What makes a city lovable to some and loathsome to others? What makes cities tick and how do we make them more memorable?
Architects work with measurable, quantifiable and gradable standards. Calls for iconic or green buildings are typically met with plans for taller structures or carbon footprint calculations.
But instead of just designing buildings and cities, should architects and urban planners also be concerned about unmeasurable aspects like feelings of attachment and inclusion?
Design should address some of the most urgent issues in our everyday lives. Inclusion, connection and attachment affect all of us and should top the agenda for governments, societies and even businesses. In finding new and better ways to live sustainably, could architects and designers create spaces that embody these values?
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