An architect, planner and urban designer, Peter Cookson Smith has been resident in Hong Kong since 1977 when he founded Urbis Limited, one of the first planning, environmental, and landscape consultancies in the Territory. The firm has since undertaken over 2000 projects in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific area, and won more than 100 local and international awards. He was managing director of Urbis Limited until 1993 and has remained as a director of the rm since then. Prior to this he was an architect and planner for several UK consultancies based in London.

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Dr Cookson Smith writes regularly on the subject of urban design. He is an Honorary Professor at the Department of Architecture, the University of Hong Kong, a Visiting Lecturer at the Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management (CUPEM), a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Asian Studies, and a Lecturer at the Architectural Society of China Continuing Education Programme Postgraduate Course.

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A keen observer, Dr. Cookson Smith uses sketches to add visual life to his research projects. “Sketches allow a little time for observation and understanding - the way spaces are used over the course of a day. I found it impossible to be detached, and accept that everything committed to paper is simply a scene, frozen in time, which hopefully conveys not just a static image but a spirit of place.” He uses a rotring 0.25mm rapidograph for his sketches, which he has a habit to do every morning at 7 am for an hour. His publications include The Urban Design of Impermanence (2006, 2011), The Urban Design of Concession (2011), The Urban Design of Intervention (2014) - published by MCCM Creations, and Seeking Savannah (2018), An Enterprising Path to Barrio Chino (2020), and After Dante: Divine, Design and The Cosmos (2021) - published by ORO Books.

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PETER COOKSON SMITH

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Thursday, 6 May 2021

6 - 8 pm

TheBookshop, G/F., Hong Kong Museum of Art

10 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon

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