Raymond Fung
Raymond Fung is a consummate multi-tasker. An architect who worked on a number of public parks before his retirement and an ink painter who has won international acclaim, Fung is currently a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong while serving on advisory boards for the city’s parks, museums, heritage buildings and the West Kowloon Cultural District. He talks to Hana R. Alberts about growing up on Hollywood Road and Hong Kong’s struggle with overdevelopment.
My childhood was just like any person’s who was brought up in a poor family.
We didn’t have helicopter parents, so I could do whatever I wanted. I wanted to be an artist.
People say, “Oh, you’re from Hollywood Road, with those very nice boutiques and all those fancy restaurants.”
I get the prestige of having been brought up in a very high-class area, but it was not the case [then]. Now it’s a weird mix. You have galleries next to a coffin shop.
I went to the US because I couldn’t get into any of the universities in Hong Kong. That was the only opportunity for any losers. You had to go abroad and look for fortune.
I came back to Hong Kong because it was easy to find jobs. I started working with Tao Ho. Tao Ho was one of the very prominent architects and he actually was the designer of the Arts Centre, but he now [has] a health problem so people have started to forget about him, which is very sad.
