Architecture as the Guardian of Collective Memory’s research began with the resistance to authoritarian control in Hong Kong. As the city does not have a strong pre-colonial identity, this raises question of its past and present identity, and the search for a new one.

Referencing ‘flowing water’ protest tactics from Hong Kong’s recent history, the project takes on the approach of being apolitically political and proposes architecture as the guardian of collective memory.

Swimming is a seemingly innocent and mundane activity that is familiar but cleverly allows congregation of people. The project engages with significant buildings on the site and explores unconsidered means of interacting with water. Protest is communicated through both the building and the occupants using the building.

The cleaners, who service the pools, are normally invisible but now play an important role of driving the protest; the swimmers enjoy the pool as “just a place to swim” and transverse the city, but also a site for demonstration. The onlookers encounter moments of ambiguity, which may cause discomfort or register as signals. The architecture allows unexpected future protests to bubble-up.