Finding small wonders on the streets of Central

"We used the Modernologio method for our research into Central due to the parallels between the repercussions of COVID-19 and the 1923 earthquake in Japan," explained Brian Kwok, an associate professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Design and the leader of the research team for the exhibition.

During four separate sessions held over a month, Kwok guided 24 invited participants through Central. They walked its streets, flyovers, alleys, parks, markets, stairs and slopes to observe how people used these environments. The notes they made form the basis of the exhibition.

"The biggest difference between other Hong Kong districts and Central is that the latter is defined by its hilly terrain," Kwok noted. "How do you deal with a shop on a steep slope? We saw that people were using many of the sit-out areas and small parks as their ad-hoc gym during the pandemic. That completely changed the function and intent of those spaces.

"We found an old commercial fridge hacked into a neighborhood library on a staircase landing. They encouraged residents to freely borrow and trade books. Again, that completely circumvented the original intent of the appliance as well as the area's purpose."