BuiltExpo 2007 showcases creativity of CityU students

Over 100 final-year projects which demonstrate creativity in building design and construction skills of students of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) are showcased at the annual BuiltExpo 2007.

BuiltExpo 2007 is organized by the Division of Building Science and Technology (BST), and this year under the theme ‘Building Innovation’, it promotes the adoption of innovative energy conservation measures during the two-day exhibition.

The aim of the event is to promote creativity and reflect the University’s on-going commitment to generating new ideas, both in the knowledge base and in teaching methodology.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Professor David Tong Shuk-yin, Deputy President, said innovation was about being forward-looking and he emphasized that young people should make use of their creative minds to improve society.

“You must possess the passion and responsibility to advance the way we live,” he said.

Professor the Honourable Patrick Lau Sau-shing, a member of the Legislative Council (Architectural, Surveying and Planning Functional Constituency), said the local building industry follows the latest trends and has developed an edge over international competitors.

“With globalization opening up potential international markets, sustainable building designs and technology research will become an ever more important area of development,” he said.

BuiltExpo started in 1994 and has since become a major annual event in the Division of Building Science and Technology calendar. The exhibition showcases the final-year projects of students taking an associate degree in architectural studies, building services engineering, construction engineering and management, and surveying. Judges have selected the top three projects from each category.

Kwan Shuk-man, Lee Cheuk-cheung and Leung Wing-yan, students from the building services engineering stream, were involved in a project on industrial and commercial buildings in Shatin. Their work emphasized energy conservation, by using a heat wheel equipment to perform heat exchange and showing how to cut energy use by about 4.5% compared to current air-conditioning systems.

Meanwhile, Cheung Man-ching, Pong Ching-kwan and To Yee-ting, students from the building surveying stream, worked on a conversion proposal for a wholesale market building which incorporated a variable speed-drive to enhance the efficiency of air-conditioning systems. Such a project works to help with energy conservation.    

Cheung Man-ching said students gained a lot from BuiltExpo. “We learned the latest trends and knowledge of the industry. The experience we gained will be useful in our future careers and will always be an indispensable part of our life and intellectual development,” she added.

The exhibition is open from noon to 8:00 pm on 20 April and from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on 21 April, in the Purple Zone, 4/F, Academic Building, CityU. The public is welcome to attend.

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For media enquiries, please contact Ellen Chan, Communications Office, City University of Hong Kong at 3442 6808 or 9687 9841.