A Frontier between Standardised and Customized

The 7th Stratagem: Create something out of nothing
Frontier between Standardised and Customized

Standardisation is a product of modernism, a tool to boost economic growth and ensure a fast pace of development. It brought us into a new era some 50 years ago.

However, in view of the fast-paced of design and construction today, people follow the standard without further thought most of the time. The standard sometimes becomes a can product and cannot deal with the individual specific needs of the users.

Standardisation aims at designing for everyone. It designs to suit everyone but no one satisfied. A design for all is a design for none. Standardisation nullifies the relation between the user and the designers.

The “Architecture” in Hong Kong is an illustration of standardisation. These standards are the products of economic and marketing decisions, but seldom from the point of the welfare of the users. These standards are the frontier that architects must cross to promote a healthier and more responsible architecture.

In this exhibition, we try to break away from this standardization. Starting from a cube, from a standard block, we demonstrate how this block can be customized to suit the needs of the users and the architecture itself. It is based on a villa project of the exhibitor. Through the use of architecture, we establish again the relation between the users and the designers.