Name Card
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Dr Chu, Cecilia Louise 朱慰先

Title:
Associate Professor

Contact Information
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Dr Chu, Cecilia Louise 朱慰先

Title:
Associate Professor

Curriculum Vitae:

Also Cited As:
Chu, C
Chu, Cecilia

Professional Qualifications
YearAwarding InstitutionQualification
2012University of California BerkeleyPhD (Architecture)
2005The University of Hong KongMSc (Architectural Conservation)
2000Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityMA with Distinction (Design)
1992Ryerson UniversityBA (Interior Design)
Biography

Cecilia L. Chu is Associate Professor in the Division of Landscape Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. Trained as an urban historian with a background in design and conservation, Chu's research and teaching focus on the social and cultural processes that shape the forms and meanings of built environments and their impacts on local communities, particularly in Asia. Informing her work is an interest in the design and representation of spaces (as buildings, landscapes, and infrastructures) and the production of their social meanings and values. She is especially interested in the intersection of professional and popular knowledge of architecture and landscapes and how these articulations have contributed to city-making and the shaping of collective aspirations of citizens.

Chu's first book, Colonial Urban Development in Hong Kong: Speculative Housing and Segregation in the City (Planning, History and Environment Series, Routledge, spring 2020), traces a spatial history of Hong Kong through the lens of speculative housing practices. Her edited book, The Speculative City: Emergent Forms and Norms of the Built Environment (University of Toronto Press, Spring 2020), explores the spatial and material processes of speculative urbanization in cities around the world. Her current research projects include an investigation of the cultural history of modern parks and recreational landscapes in China, as well as a comparative study of conservation practices in Asia that have given rise to new interpretations of colonial heritage and histories.

Chu is a co-founder and current president of the Hong Kong Chapter of DOCOMOMO (International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement), an international organization with a mission to promote public knowledge of modern architecture, landscapes and urbanism. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE), a scholarly association concerned with the study of vernacular and popular built environments across the world. She is a current member of the Editorial Boards of Journal of Urban History, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, and Journal for the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong.

 
Honours, Awards & Prizes
AwardeesAward DateHonours / Awards / PrizesCategory
2009-07-01Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award: University of California, Berkeley
Teaching Accomplishment
2010-01-01Joan E. Draper Architectural History Research Endowment Award: University of California, Berkeley
Research Achievement
2014-05-01Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award: The University of Hong Kong
Others
2008-08-01Li Ka-shing Program in Modern Chinese History Fellowship: University of California, Berkeley
Research Achievement
2013-04-01George R. Collins Fellowship: The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH)
Research Achievement
2011-08-01Townsend Center for the Humanities Conference Grant: University of California, Berkeley
Others
2011-08-01Haas Junior Scholars Program Fellowship: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Research Achievement
2017-12-01Common Core Digital And Multi-media Innovations (DMI) Award: The University of Hong Kong
Teaching Accomplishment
2014-09-01Common Core Teaching Development Grant: The University of Hong Kong
Teaching Accomplishment
2017-07-01Knowledge Exchange Impact Project Scheme: The University of Hong Kong
Others
2013-05-01Lord Wilson Heritage Trust Award (team award): Lord Wilson Heritage Trust
Research Achievement
Kokora, ME
2018-07-01Design Trust Feature Grant (team award): Design Trust
Research Achievement
Decaudin, MC
2021-11-01Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme: HKSAR Government
Research Achievement
2020-11-01Seed Funding for Basic Research: The University of Hong Kong
Research Achievement
Professional Societies
Term PeriodPositionProfessional Societies
09/2009-presentMemberAssociation of American Geographers (AAG)
01/2015-prssentMemberSociety of Architectural Historians
01/2015-presentMemberInternational Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS)
01/2015-presentMemberEuropean Architectural History Network
09/2021-presentMember of Editorial Board (Critical Architectural and Urban Histories of Asia Series)Hong Kong University Press
10/2022-presentTrack Chair (Research+Methods)Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA)
10/2022-presentMember of Editorial BoardBuilt Environment
01/2016-presentFounding Member & Past PresidentDOCOMOMO Hong Kong
01/2013-presentMember of Editorial BoardSurveying and Built Environment
10/2022-presentMember of Advisory CouncilDOCOMOMO International
04/2011-presentProfessional MemberThe Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists (HKICON)
09/2014-presentMember of Editorial BoardJournal of Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
01/2019-presentMember of Editorial BoardJournal of Urban History
08/2017-08/2020AdvisorHang Lung Young Architects Program
01/2016-presentMember of Advisory CommitteeSociety of Urban and Architectural Historians Asia (SAUH Asia)
07/2016-presentMember of Advisory CouncilInternational Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE)
Media Contact Directory
Area of Expertise:
Area of Expertise (EN)Area of Expertise (ZH)
Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the built environment
History and theory of planning and architecture
Heritage conservation
Cultural landscapes
Comparative urbanism
Colonial urban development
Housing studies
History and theory of planning and architecture
Cultural landscapes
Comparative urbanism
Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the built environment
Spoken Languages:
Spoken Language(s) (EN)Spoken Language(s) (ZH)
English, Cantonese, Putonghua英語、粵語、普通話
Written Languages:
Written Language(s) (EN)Written Language(s) (ZH)
English, Chinese英文、中文
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