Behaviorology in Hong Kong: how facades & streetscape behave

Abstract

Atelier Bow-Wow has developed useful methods for interpreting the physical conditions of the contemporary Asian city. Their analyses, presented in Made in Tokyo and Pet Architecture, record a series of urban structures in Tokyo that are unusual in the over-lapping of functions, but are often unnoticed by the locals. In this way, they developed an architectural theory of Behaviorology. The central aim of this study is to interpret the façades and streetscape of urban Hong Kong, using Atelier Bow-Wow’s methods, to gain a new understanding of the behaviours found in Hong Kong. Data were collected from the Causeway Bay shopping district, where the façades are the focus of the study. Through the analysis, two significant characteristics were found – patterns of signscape and retail of a parasitic nature. The patterns and mechanisms of signscape and parasitic retail are revealed through the use of photographs and diagrams. What appears at first sight chaotic and complicated actually conforms to certain behaviours that are unique to Hong Kong. This study was not driven by a particular design, but rather the application of an architectural theory to interpret an urban condition. The theoretical implications of Behaviorology, and the research methodologies of Atelier Bow-Wow, have inspired this thesis and together, extend future research possibilities in other urban areas.