Dr Yat Shun Kei PhD MArch BA(AS) HKIA ARIBA FHEA

Personal Statement

I am currently looking at how the term “built environment” was first coined in the 1960s in Britain; and the changes in architectural pedagogy and research engendered by the invention of the built environment. How discussions in sociology, human ecology, and conservation shaped the articulation of the built environment will also be considered. This research will be published as a monograph of the Routledge Research in Architectural History. I am also working on a monograph on Theo Crosby with Stephen Parnell and Alan Power, to be published by Lund Humphries.

In addition to British architectural and urban history, I also have keen interest in the material culture and design history of Hong Kong. As part of the Hong Kong Design History Network, I curate the Hong Kong Pavilion in the London Design Biennale in June 2021 which, through a digital sand-table, re-imagines history writing as a collective and participatory process.

At the LSA, I am the co-champion of the School's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group since 2021. I embedded EDI pursuits in my teaching, including using Liverpool and the LSA's (post)colonial legacies to re-examine modern architecture and town planning.

I am trained as an architect and have worked as a strategic planner and architectural designer in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, and Shenzhen. In 2011 to 2015, as a design fellow at Urbanus (Hong Kong/ Shenzhen), I led several large-scale design projects including Shum Yip Upperhills Loft. My experience in practice has informed my research interest in land rights andplanning issues in China and Hong Kong.

EDUCATION BACKGROUND
PhD in History of Design, Royal College of Art
M.Arch I, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
BA (Architectural Studies), University of Hong Kong