Alive Archive: Reveal the Past, Present and Future of Cheung Chau Theatre

Looking at how meaning is constructed in architecture and how it mediates between past, present and future, this project seeks to intervene in the Cheung Chau Theatre through action in space.

The collective memory of the local community was collected through a combination of research, interviews and questionnaires; the current state of the theatre was carefully documented through 3D photogrammetric modelling and archaeological drawing; and a miniature model of the theatre’s past form and its filming apparatus was created based on previous research, representing the glory of the theatre’s history.

The result of the process is a film that doubles as an archive, turning the building into a vessel that reveals the space and its story to the viewers. After many community screenings, the project has become more than just a preservation effort but an exploration of space design to shed light on a monument’s past and start a dialogue for the future.