Shanghai plaster : a history of cement architecture and colonial modernity in Hong Kong, 1920s - 60s

Abstract

The phrase ‘Concrete Jungle’ has long been used to describe Hong Kong. Such a narrative was built around the assertion that the material constitutes the homogeneous and mundane tabula rasa of the city.

This thesis is a historical inquiry into cement’s role in the dissemination of modern architecture in Hong Kong. It argues that modern cement-based architectural finishes, such as Shanghai plaster and terrazzo, were a culturally and politically charged material that have played an important role in the architectural and construction culture in Hong Kong. Contrary to the methods of mainstream architectural historiography, this thesis places its focus on the material culture and practices of cement, rather than reinforced concrete, to analyse how colonial modernity has impacted cultural processes under the colonial context of Hong Kong.

Throughout the region, variations of cement plaster like Shanghai plaster and terrazzo (Italian Plaster) were used extensively in different kinds of projects. Yet they often represent different and sometimes contrasting ideals of modernities. And the history of their origins, names, recipes, and crafts is either obscure or lost. Assumptions over their definition and history were often made carelessly and ‘passed on’ without careful consideration. This thesis attempts to remedy this gap by scavenging historical information regarding these finishes and organise them into a cohesive account to provide support for other historical and conservation research.

This thesis demonstrates that the diffusion of modern construction techniques and knowledge was far more complex than a unilateral transfer from the coloniser's ‘metropolis’ to the colonised ‘outposts’. It highlights the role of cement in the formulation of a hybridised architectural culture specific to the colonial context. This process was perpetuated by the combined effort of industrialists, researchers, contractors, clients, and architects, and involved an uneven process of experimentations, local adaptations and transferral of techniques. Through focusing on cement as a material, this thesis cuts across traditional classification of architectural style and proposes a framework of understanding architectural culture without focusing only on architects and their theories. This thesis argues that it is crucial in formulating a postcolonial understanding of the colonial cultural processes.

Shanghai plaster was used extensively by overseas Chinese as a representation of modern Chinese identity, while reinforced concrete was perceived as a colonial ‘enlightenment’ project. This thesis highlights the interactions between the coloniser and colonised through studying the role of cement in colonial subjugation and resistance. It shows how cement as a foreign material was absorbed into the vernacular construction culture of lime plastering, and the connotations of 'Shanghai plaster’ in Hong Kong represented the hybrid identity of its patrons in the Chinese community and the growing taste for modernity in the property market. Finally the thesis analyses how Shanghai plaster was institutionalised through the works of the UK Building Research Station and the Hong Kong Public Works Department. Through these examples, this paper argues that architecture involving the use of cement in the region was not solely a result of Western domination during the colonial era, but rather a process of intercultural and transnational exchanges and hybridisation shaped by the interactions between the coloniser and colonised.