In her presentation, prof. dr. D. Dijokienė explored the relationship between the river and the city, presenting the contemporary transformation of riverbanks and stressing that the life of the city in every historical period has been inseparable from the river, which has performed various functions. She pointed out that over time, with the acceleration of industrialisation, cities have seemingly "turned away" from the river, while today the riverbanks are reborn as a new public space in the city, shaping the city's identity. The research carried out in Kaunas and the possible scenarios developed for the banks of the rivers Neris and Nemunas became the highlight of the researcher's presentation in Hong Kong.
Doc. dr. I. Alistratovaitė-Kurtinaitienė's presentation stimulated the discussion on finding a balance between heritage and new construction. I. Alistratovaitė-Kurtinaitienė highlighted the transformations that are constantly taking place in cities, which have a significant impact on the preservation and strengthening of city's identity. She shared the research conducted in Klaipėda, which aimed to create a methodology that could measure the relationship between historical structures and new ones – to predict the city's growth and change, which would not damage, but rather complement the cityscape.
During the trip, the researchers also had the opportunity to explore structures on a different scale, further broadening their cultural and professional horizons during their stay at the Faculty of Architecture of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). "An impressive university campus, both in terms of its landscape and its urbanisation. The expressive relief, the scale of the buildings, the solutions for connections and passageways on several levels, the maintenance and order of the environment, the English traffic, the abundance of greenery and planting compositions, and, of course, the warmth and humidity emanating from the ocean are all truly stunning," shared I. Alistratovaitė-Kurtinaitienė.
Every two years, the IPHS invites the world's leading researchers in various fields to share their expertise, bringing together the strongest universities and research centres in architecture, urban design and planning and other fields related to urban and regional planning. Read more: https://planninghistory.org/
News photo: I. Alistratovaitė-Kurtinaitienė
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