Archive in Exile: At Home in the Liminal World
Alex Wai Yin Yuen, MArch (Year: 5)
Hong Kong
Over the past 30 years, the city’s history has been rewritten by waves of urban renewal. A lot of landmarks symbolizing Hong Kong’s diverse culture were demolished.
The lost architecture remains as a relic, like a pole of magnetic field pulling the younger generation to commiserate the loss of multi-dimensional identity.
With the ongoing repression, many people were forced to leave their home city. They have decided to start their journey of exile, and to continue their lives in places where they don’t belong.
An airport is a canvas to cultivate high hopes for exile community to embark on their next journeys. It is emblematic of the lost city, culture and collective memory of the lost architecture, like a giant aircraft ready to take off to all parts of the world.
As residence of the Terminal, the exile Hong Kong community features concourse as living room and the former offices on the top floor as temporary living space.
Here, people are always waiting to return home.
Chapter 1: Best Before dd/mm/yy Somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Swordfish expires. Meat sauce expires. Even cling-film expires. Is there anything in the world which doesn't?
Chapter 2: Dream of Exile Information of the photograph is an intricate link to history, stories and memories, and is an amazing tool to reconstruct copies of the lost objects.
Chapter 3: Airport Archive 50 Years of shell life that you might think they have come to an end. Indeed they are well kept in this limbo space A terminal building

Arrival and Departure Airport is a non-place. It is also an interchangeable backdrop to events: both exit and entrance of a city.

Terminal 1, Heathrow The building has been listed for demolition since 2015, awaiting its future redevelopment for Terminal 2 expansion.

Revolving Door It generates a fortuitous force through storytelling, tying the knot with other world perpetual travellers

Baggage Carousel Here, there is always a waiting time. For baggage to be reclaimed, And for our identity to be recognized.

Roofs in Limbo Natural spring light throws these physical copies into sharper relief. Their shadows projects onto the division between airside and landside - a momentary dimension of time and space.

The Waiting Lounge Talks and discussion pierce the air beyond the floor plates. In high hopes of freedom and democracy
