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Professor Seng, Mei Feng Eunice 成美芬

Title:
Associate Professor

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Professor Seng, Mei Feng Eunice 成美芬

Title:
Associate Professor

Also Cited As:
Seng, E

Professional Qualifications
YearAwarding InstitutionQualification
Columbia UniversityMPhil
Princeton UniversityMArch
National University of SingaporeBA (AS)
Biography

EUNICE M.F. SENG is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture and founding principal of SKEW Collaborative, Shanghai-Hong Kong. Her research interests include the histories and theories of modernity, housing and the metropolis, politics of power and post-colonialism, inter-disciplinary and comparative approaches to architecture, as well as utopias, artifacts and their cultural representations. Current and past research projects include “Inventing the Public: The Colonial Complex and Modern Collective Housing in Singapore, 1936-1976” (2008-), “Building Housing Experiments, c.1950s: A Comparative Analysis of Modern Housing in Hong Kong, Singapore and London” (2009-2011), “Documenting Man Wah Sun Chuen: A Critical History of Collective Dwelling in Hong Kong, c.1950s-70s” (2012-) and “Artifacts: Partitions” (2012-).

Ongoing efforts to situate history and theory within architectural design and practice extend to invited lectures and published writings such as “6 Moments of Utopia: Architecture & Housing from Modernist Theory to Contemporary Practice,” “Mapping Modern Housing, c.1950s,” and “Reading Simmel, Thinking Shanghai” in 2008; “Shanghai-Artifacts: The Reproduction of Nostalgia, or the Possibilities for a Design Culture” and “Housing Stories: The Politics and Aesthetics of green & other possibilities” in 2009; “Garden City Inc.: Utopia as private enterprise” and “Architecture or Utopia (and 6 other architectures)” in 2010; “Politics of Greening: Spatial Constructions of the Public in Singapore” in 2011, and “She’ll kill for a View: Housing, Film & the Asian City” in summer 2012.

At HKU, SENG teaches core undergraduate courses on the history and theory of Modern Architecture and a Common Core course on the theories and representations of the city titled “Metropolitan Visions.” SENG teaches MArch I design studio and graduate level electives including a seminar course titled “ReBuilding Utopia: Visions of architecture in the post-war world” and a MArch Thesis Research Seminar core course on critical architecture. She also advises graduate student thesis and is a guest lecturer for an intra-faculty course on Housing & Cities.  SENG is also a guest lecturer for the Faculty’s Architectural Conservation Program, the Career Discovery Summer Program and the Cities in Asia: Studio SHA-HKG-International Summer Program in Architecture. She currently sits on the History and Theory Committee and the Publications Committee, and is a member of the Affordable Housing Research Network (AHRN).

At SKEW Collaborative, SENG directs design research and has exhibited their work at a number of international platforms, including the Venice Biennale 2004, the Singapore Art Festival 2004, SENI Art Festival 2004 at the Singapore Art Museum, Organized Spaces Exhibition at the New York Asian American Art Center in 2005, Shanghai Contemporary Art Exhibition 2005, Get-It-Louder Exhibition 2005 in Shanghai & Beijing, Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale 2007 & 2009, You-Prison Exhibition at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo 2008 in Turin, 100% Design Exhibition 2009 in Shanghai, Chengdu Biennale 2011 and Singapore Hub-to-Hub Public Art Program 2011. SENG also frequently presents SKEW’s work to a wide range of audiences such as at the ERA World Design Congress 2005 in Copenhagen, the Asia-GSD Lecture Series at Harvard University and the Student Lecture Series at Princeton University in 2006, the Guest Lecture Series at the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Institute of Architects, Asian Urban Lab Singapore and Tongji University in 2007, the Anyang Public Art Project 2009 in Korea, and the Modern Asian Architects Network (MAAN) Conference 2010 in Singapore.

SENG obtained her degrees from Columbia University, Princeton University and the National University of Singapore. Prior to the founding of SKEW, she was project architect at Architectural Research Office in New York City and was assistant editor for the bilingual journal 32 Beijing/New York. During this period, she began to write and published critical essays on domesticity, housing and the Asian city (e.g. “Hom-e-scape(s): tabula rasa, or a denial of a Singaporean contemporaneity,” Singapore Architect Journal, 1999). In 2000, she held an exhibition “Speculative Projects in Five Cities” at the Substation Gallery in Singapore, co-designed an installation “Inhabitations: NYC-SIN” for the “Reconstruction of a City” Exhibition at the inaugural Singapore Biennale, and participated in a group exhibition “Researching Cities” at the Storefront for Art and Architecture New York City. SENG is also the recipient of numerous awards and grants from Princeton University, Design Singapore Council, the Lee Foundation, the Singapore National Arts Council and the University of Hong Kong. 

 
Honours, Awards & Prizes
AwardeesAward DateHonours / Awards / PrizesCategory
2023-10-03ICAS Book Prize (IBP)
Research Achievement
2011-09-01Overseas Promotion Partnership Program Grant: 2011 Chengdu Biennale: Design Singapore Council, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
Others
2011-09-01Museum Award Nomination, Second Forum of Museum, Art Museum & Exhibition Hall Design: Urban Environment Design
ISSN: 1672-9080
Others
2013-05-01Best Sustainable Development (Environmental) Award For "Chinese Academy Of Sciences IOT Center & Labs": Leading European Architects Forum
Others
2014-02-01Wood in Architecture Award Longlist for "Jia Little Exhibition Center & Ateliers": World Architecture News Awards
Others
2014-11-01Best Sustainable Project Shortlist: Blueprint Awards
ISSN: 0268-4926
Others
2014-11-01Best Small Project Shortlist: Blueprint Awards
ISSN: 0268-4926
Others
2015-09-01"Singapore Rail Corridor - An Inspired and Extraordinary Community Space" RFP Stage 2 Shortlist: Singapore Urban Redevelopment Agency (URA)
Others
2016-07-01International Architecture Awards for “XSD Industrial Heritage Retail District”: Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design
Others
2013-11-01Best Green or Sustainable Build Award for Chinese Academy of Sciences IOT Center & Labs: Perspective Global Awards
Research Achievement
2013-06-01Top 50 Sustainable Architects Award: Green Planet Architects
Others
2011-08-01Special Jury Award, Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards for Elite (APDC): Asia Pacific Design Centre / Asia Pacific Federation of Interior Designers
Others
2013-05-01AD100: AD China
Research Achievement
2013-12-01Residential (Asia & Oceanic) Category, Shortlisted, "Wulumuqi Roof House, Shanghai": International Design & Architecture (IDA) Awards
Research Achievement
2013-09-01Sustainable Interior Design of the Year Award 2013, Shortlist for Wulumuqi Road Roof House: Leading European Architects Forum
Others
2012-11-01"Jia Little Exhibition Center, Shanghai," Best Mixed Use in Professional Architecture: Perspective Award
Research Achievement
2013-09-01Sustainable Interior Design of The Year Award Shortlist for "Wulumuqi Road Roof House": Leading European Architects Forum
Others
2013-03-01Faculty of Architecture Teaching Award: University of Hong Kong
Teaching Accomplishment
2013-08-01Best Residential Interiors Award, Shortlist For Wulumuqi Road Roof House: World Interior News, WAN
Others
2008-06-01Overseas Promotion Partnership Program Grant: Design Singapore Council
Others
2014-02-01Adaptive Reuse Award Longlist For "Chinese Academy of Sciences IOT Center & Labs": World Architecture News Awards
Others
2013-06-01"Propositions,” HKU Department of Architecture Publication Series,: Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC)
Others
2013-12-01Best Sustainable Development in keeping with its Environment & use of Technology Incorporated into a Building: Tenth Emirates Glass Leading European Architects Forum (LEAF) Award
Research Achievement
2007-01-01Young Designers Mentorship Program Mentor: Design Singapore Council
Others
2006-11-01Overseas Promotion Partnership Program Grant: Design Singapore Council
Others
2008-01-01Young Designers Mentorship Program Mentor: Design Singapore Council
Others
2006-10-0110 under 35 Young Singapore Designers Recognition Award: Singapore Sutra, Ministry of Information, Communication & the Arts
Others
2014-02-01“Chinese Academy of Sciences IOT Center, Shanghai,” Adaptive Reuse Award: World Architecture News (WAN) Awards, UK, 2014
Research Achievement
Professional Societies
Term PeriodPositionProfessional Societies
09/2019 -MemberEuropean Architectural Histories Network
01/2021MemberAssociation of Asian Studies
06/2011 -MemberStichting Bureau Architectenregister
09/2008 - 09/2009Associate MemberAmerican Institute of Architects
06/2014 -MemberSociety of Architectural Historians
01/2013 -Founding MemberDOCOMOMO International, Hong Kong Chapter
Media Contact Directory
Area of Expertise:
Area of Expertise (EN)Area of Expertise (ZH)
Utopias and cultural representations
Post-colonialism and politics of power
Modernity, modern architecture and urbanism
Domesticity, housing and the metropolis (Asia-Southeast Asia)
Agency and architecture
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