Hong Kong’s green and coastal treasures, along with conference production expertise and venue options, have made the city a prime choice as a global association of landscape architects and fellow professionals head to Kowloon
MORE THAN 2,000 landscape architects from around the world are preparing to descend on Kerry Hotel Hong Kong when the city hosts the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World and Asia-Pacific Region Congress for the first time.
The October 28-30 conference is set to bring together delegates from more than 80 countries to examine one of the most pressing urban challenges facing Asia’s cities: how to design for coastlines, watersheds and communities increasingly affected by climate change.
Hong Kong’s greenery, cityscape and waterfront will catch the eye of landscape architects
Behind the scenes, the congress is being produced by Hong Kong events company Chunky Onion Productions, whose team is coordinating what is expected to be one of the largest international gatherings of landscape professionals ever staged in the city.
Organisers from IFLA say the event’s theme, Liminal Landscapes: Shifting Boundaries of Watersheds and Coastlines, is particularly relevant to Hong Kong, a city shaped by its relationship with the sea and located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta as part of the Greater Bay Area.
Over three days, delegates will take part in keynote presentations, scientific panels, workshops and awards ceremonies exploring topics including coastal resilience, watershed management, nature-based solutions and disaster risk reduction.
The main conference at the Kerry Hotel is being produced by Chunky Onion, while a closing gala dinner is planned across the harbour at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.
The choice of Kerry Hotel places delegates at one of Hong Kong’s largest conference hotels. The waterfront property along the Kowloon peninsula features a 1,756 square metre pillarless Grand Ballroom, the Hung Hot Ballroom, a range of flexible meeting rooms and breakout spaces.
Outdoor event venues overlooking Victoria Harbour also make the Kerry well suited to both the scale of the congress and its theme.
For David Andrews and the Chunky Onion Productions team, the event is a chance to showcase both Hong Kong’s event infrastructure and its natural assets.
“Hong Kong was selected to host this event because we are a bustling urban metropolis with world class event venues like the Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong, the location for the main congress.
“Our city can boast well preserved natural habitat, with our country parks being just one example. Hong Kong also has dozens of fascinating locations for professional tours within a short drive of the city centre,” Andrews said.
Speakers at the three-day conference include internationally recognised practitioners Kate Orff, Stig L. Andersson and Jungyoon Kim, alongside experts from across Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Paul Chan, IFLA Asia-Pacific Region President and Immediate Past President of HKILA, said the congress would highlight the growing role of landscape architects in helping cities adapt to environmental change.
Paul Chan, IFLA
For years, landscape architects have argued that the space between land and water needs proper design attention, not just engineering.
This congress puts that argument on a world stage, in a city that lives with the consequences of that boundary every day.”
“We want delegates to leave Hong Kong with practical tools and partnerships they can take back to their own cities, and we want the wider public and business community to understand why landscape architects now sit at the centre of how Asia adapts to a changing climate,” Chan said.
For Chunky Onion Productions, the event also demonstrates the depth of expertise available within Hong Kong’s meetings industry.
“From an event planning perspective, our team has been aided in our production of this congress by the depth of event professionals located here. Whether we required a robust event platform or logistical support, Hong Kong has the services and talent we required,” Andrews said.
