Living in Hong Kong I`m confronted each day by the delights and thediversity that architecture can inspire. The spectacular skyline ofcentral Hong Kong encapsulates all the power, wealth and initiativethat the city is built upon; I can take a walk through the concretecanyons of Kowloon and the high-density towers drip with life, storiesand intrigue. When it comes to preserving its architectural heritage, Hong Kongis famously unsentimental, tearing down blocks of old Chinese buildingin favor of lumpen tower blocks, reflecting not just the high cost ofreal estate, but the high-pace of life and the adapt-or-die mentalitythat drives the city. Buildings are not just the everyday furniture of life then; architecture, as historian Joseph Rykwert says, acts as a "metaphor for society."The texture of a city is important, but it`s clear that buildings havea far greater impact beyond the visual, with estimates that buildingscontribute over 30 percent of total global greenhouse emissions.During the sticky summer months Hong Kong`s addiction toair-conditioning goes into overdrive; on a morning walk through thecity you can see frost forming on the inside of windows. Rather than being a cause of our energy concerns and climate change, design and architecture can have a positive impact.Today, architects designers and engineers charged with constructing newbuildings or even whole cities have even more to consider than just howenergy efficient or attractive they are. But what do we mean by good design and does it necessarily mean it is design for good?It`s the key question that will be discussed and debated at the secondPrincipal Voices debate in Singapore on July 9, hosted by Michael Elliott, international editor of TIME Magazine, and CNN`s Michael Holmes.Designers and architects across the world are embracing the challengesof improving our urban environments but how important is the socialelement in the equation? From ensuring public spaces in cities toproviding essential services for those most at need, what is the bestway to achieve this? Already tackling the issues of sustainabledesign with the immediate needs of people at its heart is CameronSinclair, one of the Principal Voices who will be at the debate. Executive Director and co-founder of Architecture for Humanity,Sinclair is committed to devising solutions to disaster struck areas,most recently Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis. Improving livestakes precedent over improving cityscapes, but can the spectacular bemarried to the sustainable? What place is there for superstructures andsignature buildings if they don`t address the key issues of the community? It may be easier to achieve harmony if you start from a blank slate, and new eco-cities could be one method.Fellow Principal Voice panelist Peter Head, will also be in Singapore,and is the master planner of China`s first eco cities, Wanzhuang . Its dirt roads will be transformed into a city of 300,000 run solely on renewable energy. Can it create the balance between society, the natural environment andeconomics? Will it become a model for development or will it be alonely exception to urbanization? Joining Sinclair and Head onthe panel will be Milton Tan of Design Singapore, Moses Wong of theTemasek Design School and Aw Kah Peng of EDB Singapore. Comingfrom a city that prides itself on its modernity they will be wellplaced to tackle another point of `Design for Good`; how can moderncities cope with improving infrastructure and reducing carbon emissions?There maybe local solutions to each question, and innovative ideas anddesigns being put into practice across the world. The debate inSingapore could provide a blueprint for even more solutions in thequest for Design for Good.
edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/04/hong.kong/index.html