“An excellent building and outstanding city must be places where people are happy to gather and live in.”
Mr Alex Lui Chun-wan, renowned architect and city planner, has always sought to use his expertise for the benefit of society.
After graduating from the Hong Kong Technical College, PolyU’s predecessor, and subsequently the University of Hong Kong in the 1960s, Alex gained a wealth of experience overseas. He pursued further studies at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and practised architecture in the US and Singapore.
Eventually, however, Alex’s bond with the local community brought him back to Hong Kong, and to his alma mater. One of his greatest victories as PolyU Council Member (2010-2016) was freeing up vacant land for an exciting campus expansion project.
Alex was working on the 18th floor of PolyU’s Li Ka Shing Tower one day. Glancing out of the window, he noticed the abandoned Ho Man Tin slope next to the railway and immediately recognised its potential.
Within four years, he’d convinced the Town Planning Council to designate the slope a “Government, Institution or Community” site, allowing PolyU to start expanding its teaching facilities and accommodation. Luxuriant sky gardens and glass structures will bring greenery, ventilation and natural sunlight to the campus.
PolyU is not the only institution to have benefited from Alex’s boundless creativity. He has given back to society as an active member of various public and professional bodies for more than two decades.
Alex is always keen to find innovative ways of solving problems.
His dedication to one project has even gained him an affectionate nickname. As Chairman of PolyU’s Green Deck Task Force, or Mr Green Deck, Alex has been striving for years, lobbying the government and environmental, professional and local groups to turn the old Hung Hom neighbourhood into a green open space with cultural, leisure and sports facilities that serve all walks of life.
He is convinced that this innovative project promises huge and long-term benefits to Hong Kong and the public.
The above is an English translation of a story abridged from the Chinese book “Heartening Stories” published by PolyU in 2017.
Photo credit: PolyU Communications and Public Affairs Office
