MAP OFFICE
(Laurent Gutierrez and Valérie Portefaix)::::
born in France
Live and work in Hong kong

The Hong kong architectural and urban study group map Office was founded by two French architects, Laurent Gutierrez and Valérie Portefaix, in the late 1990s. Benefiting from the particular geographic and cultural advantage of Hong kong, they have developed an innovative research project to study the modernization process of China, as radically exemplified by the urbanization of the neighboring Pearl River delta. The rapid industrialization of the area—the first zone to be developed—came about in response to china’s opening to and integration with the global economic system.

In referring to their photographs, videos, and texts as “City of Production,” they not only testify to the extraordinary development happening in the region, but, more importantly, emphasize a whole set of issues related to urbanism, social transformation, and globalization.

For World Factory the group has conceived of a site-specific installation, Personal Islands to provide a particular structure to mark up the territory of the exhibit, and to provide viewing platforms for the audience to watch different video works. the design, based on an interactive, DIY (do-ityourself) principle, recalls the process of urban expansion of Hong Kong and the Pearl River delta derived from the strategy of claiming land from the sea. It embodies perfectly the notion of “lean urbanism” that the group has defined as a unique form of urban strategy invented in specific regional conditions.

Visit Map Office's website