PROJECT: Allegory of the Wall
CATEGORY: Architecture
TYPE: Temporary Pavilion
LOCATION: Hong Kong

Once upon a time, a city was split in two.

It was consumed with profound conflict and intense division among its citizens. Both sides protested each other’s policies, occupying major public spaces as a form of demonstration. Unable to concede, the leaders of each side developed an appetite for filibusters and soon all aspects of urban life came to a halt - the city finally imploded and was left paralyzed. The disagreement between the two sides was so deep that eventually a wall was built to separate them.

The wall did not physically separate the citizens of the city, but psychologically and symbolically it created a barrier so powerful that no one was able to see through it clearly and understand the motives of the opposite side. Views across the walls were denied; both sides were blind to each other’s pleads.

However, despite its original intention, the wall had gained an unexpected reaction over time. It brought people together like a surgical incision in the heart of the city. It denied, it accepted, it divided, it united. Over time, it had gained the power to heal the city. The wall had offered some form of catharsis and relief for both sides. Finally, the wall was taken down to fulfill its ultimate purpose – to fall for the sake of reconciliation.