Project Name
NEONSIGNS.HKPosted in
Design, Industrial / Product Design, Lighting Design, Art| Detailed Information | |||||
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| Project Name | NEONSIGNS.HK | Posted in | Design, Industrial / Product Design, Lighting Design, Art | ||
Waterside View: View of M+ from the Park at West Kowloon Cultural District. © Herzog & de Meuron, Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron and WKCDA.
Neon Map | NEONSIGNS.HK æ¢ç´¢éè¹
Park View: View of M+ from the Park at WKCD – next to a tree-lined avenue along the waterfront. © Herzog & de Meuron, Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron and WKCDA.
Main Entrance © Herzog & de Meuron, Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron and WKCDA.
Taking the form of a website not only because it offers a dynamic crowd-sourcing tool for mapping Hong Kong’s vast number of neon signs, but also because the museum doesn’t actually have a building to house its collections yet, NEONSIGNS.HK is M+ Museum’s seventh ‘mobile’ project. The team Herzog & de Meuron + TFP Farrells is the winner of the international competition to design M+ Museum, set to be completed in 2017. The building overlooking Victoria Harbour will eventually showcase the museum’s permanent collection, which will also include – what else – neon signs salvaged from the streets. So far, the museum has acquired two iconic neon signs in Hong Kong: the neon cow that has hung above the Sammy’s Kitchen steakhouse in Sai Ying Pun since 1977 as well as the Kai Kee Mahjong School rooster neon sign, dating from 1976.
The NEONSIGNS.HK project will run until 30 June 2014, so if you happen to be in Hong Kong, don’t miss the opportunity to contribute to the project by pinning your own photos of your favourite neon signs on the Neon Map! (via Instagram#HKNEON)
Visitors to the NEONSIGNS.HK website can explore its diverse content related to various aspects of the neon-light culture through an array of video documentaries, essays and of course the interactive Neon Map, a tool that allows anyone to add pictures of his or her favourite Hong Kong neon signs. Developed by pill & pillow, who collaborated with gardens&co for its graphic design, the beautifully executed website’s content also features dozens of the signs that have been pinned on its map, including the famous Bank of China Tower, a true Hong Kong landmark, which is particularly impressive. In addition to the above, Aric Chen and Tobias Berger, the project’s curators, have also added offline activities, such as bus tours, workshops and talks.
Sammy’s Kitchen steakhouse in Sai Ying Pun.
Courtesy M+, West Kowloon Cultural District.
Since 1977, the Sammy’s Kitchen neon cow has presided over Queen’s Road West in Sai Ying Pun. Due to its size, the owners have been ordered to dismantle the sign, and it will subsequently enter the M+ permanent collection.
Photo by tannhahuser. Wing Po Pawnshop.
Photo by Law Ching. Sham Shui Po near Prince Edward.
Photo by Bona Liu.
Neon signs on Portland Street, Mongkok.
