H. K. ARCHITECTS PRESS PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION
FFORTS will be made this year
to draft legislation for the re- gulation of architects in Hong Kong. Mr. Edward W. K. Lee, the newly elected president of the Hong Kong Society of Architects. said in his inaugural address recently.
Mr. Lee said that without this legislation there was little the Society could do to protect its members from competition from architects outside the Society. or to enforce its rules. and the scale of professional charges. Following is the full text of his address.---
I feel honoured and privileged to be elected President of the Hong Kong Society of Architects for 1964. I wish to take this opportunity of thanking you for your kindness and confidence in me. I shall endeavour to follow the fine example set by my predecessor. Mr. G. C. Dovey, whose contribution to our Society, in time and thought, can hardly be matched.
Rapid growth
Looking at the history of our Society, many of you will recall that 27 foundation members initiated the idea of forming the organisation in 1956. In the less than eight years since then, our membership has in- creased to more than 200. ́ In addi- tion. our Society became allied with the Royal Institute of British Archi- tects in 1959. The Governor of Hong Kong became patron of our Society last year. On many
OC-
casions. Individuals. societies. com- panies and Government departments have consulted us.
Problems and opinions brought up by the Building Regulations Com- mittee, which acts as the Society com plement to the P.W.D.. and our Socie- ty's Liaison Group have received every attention from the Building Ordinance Office and improved the understand- ing between the Building Authority and authorised architects consider- ably. It is encouraging that our Society is rising in stature and is being appreciated by the community
FOR
more and more. According to an old Chinese saying: "When you drink from a well, remember who dug it." I wish members of the Society would share this philosophy and appreciate the time and energy rendered by the past presidents. councils and commit- tees. If the time these men sacrificed could be evaluated. we would be heavily in debt instead of having more than $7.000 in the bank.
Problems tackled
So far this year, we have had two Council meetings. Apart from daily routine matters. there is a vast amount of work still to be done. I will not be like a politician and pro- mise you an early date for its com- pletion, but I am sure that the Coun- cil and the seven committees Financial, Membership, Building Re- gulations. Programme. Public Rela- tions. Planning and Professional Practice will do their best to con- sider the problems and to improve conditions of architectural practice in Hong Kong. You are requested to attend meetings and let us know YOUR problems.
Efforts will be made to re-examine the scale of professional charges and. most important of all. to draft legisla- tion for the regulation of architects and the architectural profession as recommended by the Board of In- quiry set up by the Society and particularly emphasised by the past president. Mr. G. C. Dovey in his inaugural address last year. As Mr. Dovey pointed out, it took the R.I.B.A. nearly one hundred years of struggling to complete a similar mission. Without this legislation. there is little our Society can do to protect its members from unfair com- petition from architects outside the Society. It is equally difficult for the Society to enforce its rules. and the scale of professional charges. Notice the various criticisms and re- marks made by the public about our profession there is no distinction be tween architects of the Society, non- members, or those who are not even
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 18, NUMBER 6
authorised.
Some people think the architect is just lucky. They say the building boom in Hong Kong has made many of them millionares, that their signatures casually endorsed on a plan means gold. To some people the architect simply copies from one plan to another, paying little attention to design. form. material, textures or colour schemes with the result that "match- most buildings look alike box modern.
To some people the architect is an artist and a
poor
business man. Consequently they strive for such things as free sketches or reductions in professional fees which they would not dare seek from their legal advisers or doctors. It is time for us to do some constructive thinking. Sir Bannister Fletcher said in his preface to "A History of Architecture": "To appeal not only
to architectural students and crafts- men. but also to that wider public which influences and largely controls the architecture of today so that it will demand fine building comparable to the great monuments of the past. yet expressive of our own times and worthy to be handed down as a national heritage to future genera tions."
No easy answer
Obtaining legislation for the re- gulation of architects and the archi- tectural profession is going much further than simply appealing to architects for better architecture. But to appeal to the "wider public" we definitely need a series of well plan- ned programmes. because the "wider public" not only involves the build- ing owners but also the authorities, American architects complain that their city authorities have often pressed for the highest price for redevelopment land and ignored aesthetic considerations. Thus pro- jects are seldom awarded primarily according to design criteria.
The question of better architecture is not simple. One newspaper com- ment reads; "A desire to economise is a universal mental pattern of nearly all building owners. It is up to the architect to inspire. to persuade and to lead their clients gently but firmly out of the architectural wilder- ness. I ask is it entirely up to the architect?
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