The New Heart of Hong Kong: International Commerce Centre - Paperback

by Rebecca Lo (Author), Joseph Giovanni (Contribution by), Edwin Heathcote (Contribution by)

Kowloon, or Nine Dragons, has historically been the Chinese flipside to Hong Kong's Central, where British traders first set up trading companies in the protected Victoria Harbour. After the relocation of Hong Kong International Airport from Kowloon Bay to Chek Lap Kok, the relaxation of building height restrictions allowed for skyscrapers to begin dominating Kowloon's skyline. 10th Dragon Rising chronicles the development of the International Commerce Centre (ICC) and how what was originally just another office building is changing the way Hong Kong residents live, work, play and perceive West Kowloon as the new central business district. From Governor David Wilson s 1989 policy address outlining a masterplan for a rail corridor linking a new airport to Central, to KPF s initial design sketches for what became a mixed-use engineering marvel, to case studies of those who have chosen West Kowloon as their office or home, 10th Dragon Rising illustrates how ICC challenges the old order of Central's dominance.

Author Biography

A native of Hong Kong, Rebecca Lo grew up in Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Interior Design degree from the University of Manitoba. She returned to Hong Kong in 2000 and contributes to Beijing-based "China Daily," Shanghai-based "LP Luxury Properties," NYC-based "Hospitality Design" and Manchester-based "Sleeper."
Joseph Giovannini heads Giovannini Associates, a design firm based in New York and Los Angeles. He holds a Masters in Architecture from Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and has taught advanced and graduate studios at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, UCLA's Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, the University of Southern California's School of Architecture, and at the University of Innsbruck. A graduate of Yale University, where he did his B.A. in English, he also holds a Master of Arts degree in French Language and Literature from La Sorbonne, Paris, Middlebury College Program.
His projects have ranged from the adaptive reuse of a large trucking facility into lofts to house additions and apartment interiors. Besides heading his design practice, Mr. Giovannini has written on architecture and design for three decades for such publications as the "New York Times, ," "Architectural Record," "Art in America," "Art Forum" and "Architecture Magazine." He has also served as the architecture critic for "New York Magazine" and the "Los Angeles Herald Examiner."
Published design projects have appeared in "Architectural Digest," the "Los Angeles Times Magazine," the "New York Times," "A + U," "Domus," "House and Garden," "GA Houses," "Architekur und Wohnen," "Sites," and "Interior Design." He lives in New York with his wife, Christine Pittel, and daughter Isabella.
London-born architect and designer Edwin Heathcote is a renowned architecture critic and covers the latest in architecture and design for "The Financial Times," as he has since 1999, and is the author of several books on architecture and design.