Interview with Our Graduate: Ms Ellen Cheung
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Ms Ellen Cheung
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Background of Ms Cheung
Ms Ellen Cheung, graduated from Chu Hai Architecture Department
in 1982, is now the Project Manager of the Hong Kong Society for
the Blind. Before joining the present job, she had been working
in a number of architectural firms and Mass Transit Railway (MTR).
R : Reporter C:G Ms Cheung
Work-The past experience
C: Let me introduce myself first. I graduated in 1982; however,
I had already begun working in an architect's office since 1981.
That's feasible because most classes were night-class at the time.
I had worked in two architectural offices for about twelve to thirteen
years before I started working in the MTR. That lasted nine years.
Since then, I have been serving in the Hong Kong Society for the
Blind.
R: Are all your jobs architectural realated?
C: Yes. When I was with the MTR, I was mostly involved with the
disabled projects. After I've left the MTR, I have been responsible
mainly for the project of the blind massage teams. There are a number
of projects in the Society, such as minor renovations, laying of
floors, buying new furnitures, etc.
R: Tell us more about your present job.
C: Well, we have over 500 members in our Society. Other than the
department that I am responsible, there are also the care center
for the elders, a dormitory, a factory for the blind, and the school
for the blind.
R: So you are not quite as involved in architecture now.
C: That's right. Now, I am mostly involved with liaison and management.
Personal-Reasons going to Chu Hai College.
R: Did you do any postgraduate study overseas after graduating
from Chu Hai?
C: No, I have always worked in Hong Kong since.
R: Are there differences between what you have learned in Chu
Hai and what are required at work?
C: Oh, sure. We all learn while we work. Actually, in my case, I
was looking for the qualification of a tertiary degree. I transferred
to Chu Hai from the National Taiwan University. After my graduation
from secondary school in Hong Kong, I went over to Taiwan to study
in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the National Taiwan
University. But then I had to move back to Hong Kong for some family
concerns after two years there. I didn't want to waste my credits
earned in Taiwan, so I continued my study in Chu Hai. I picked to
go to the Department of Architecture in the Faculty of Science and
Engineering. Eventhough it was a full-time curriculum, most classes
were conducted in the evenings. This enabled me to work in the daytime
while studying full-time in the evenings.
R: So the reason you went to Chu Hai was for you to transfer
your credits?
C: That's part of the reasons. I was also very interested in architecture.
Even when I was at the National Taiwan University, I had sat-in
some courses in civil engineering. I was quite interested in this
area. I remember I had participated in some conferences conducted
by Professor Hsia Zhu Jiu of the Department of Civil Engineering
at National Taiwan University.
R: If you were interested in these kinds of lectures and conferences,
why did you pick chemical engineering instead of architecture?
C: At the time, the Nationa Taiwan University did not have a Department
of Architecture. Besides, I was not overly interested in civil engineering.
I thought it was mostly involved with some rigid calculations. I
am more interested in ideas and works that involve with people.
Feelings-Differences between students
of Chu Hai and othe institutions.
R: With your extensive experience, what would you say are the
strengths and weaknesses of Chu Hai graduates versus those of other
universities?
C: Today's architectural office is set up a bit differently than
those of earlier times. When I was more involved in the field, the
architect's office was divided into architects, A.A., draftsmen,
etc. Most Chu Hai graduates worked as draftmen. When computer became
commonplace, they gradually evolved into CAD draftmen. I would say
our Chu Hai graduates were among the doers. We were more involved
in the technical side, such as detail design. The planning side
was left to the architects.
R: Nowadays, Hong Kong University, Chinese University and Chu
Hai all have architecture departments. How should the architecture
department of Chu Hai position itself? Should it place more emphasis
on the technical side or the design side?
C: Well, time has changed. What we do now should be different than
before. I was talking to a group of alumni in a recent gathering,
and we were saying draftmen like us are being eliminated as time
goes by. I believe in two to three years' time, our generation of
trained technicians will gradually be replaced in the marketplace.
We will be replaced by the architects and the AAs. Therefore, the
College should also evolve with time. We should work together with
other universities. In fact, some Chu Hai graduates have gone back
to the Mainland to upgrade themselves. Some of my seniors have gone
to Tong Qi University, for example, to further their studies, or
taking correspondence courses, trying to get accreditation in China.
I think our architecture students should always continue to upgrade
ourselves, and shouldn't be satisfied to stay within a certain stage,
whatever it may be.
R: The job market in Hong Kong has not been very well in recent
years. Chu Hai is still working to get accreditation from the Hong
Kong government. Could you say something to our graduates that could
give them a boost?
C: Looking back on my past twenty-odd years, I do have some suggestions
for the recent graduates. We have to look around and try to understand
what are happening around us. We have to go outside and look around
the world. Try to know as much as you can about other professions.
Don't just stay in a single trade. Meet more people. In architecture
particularly, employers may ask you to design something you have
never handled before. You always have to be ready. Don't just train
your eyes on architecture and nothing else. Broaden your horizon-take
some civil engineering or related courses, for example. Though the
outlook for architecture graduates has been a bit grim in recent
years, it is still only a "first degree." You have other
options. In other countries, some students would go on for a second
degree in Law after finishing medical school. Explore different
possibilities. Don't let a subject limit your imagination and future.
Present-Building the concern for the disabled
R: Do you think the buildings in Hong Kong have enough facilities
for the disabled?
C: For about seven or eight years while I was with the MTR, I was
involved with disable-related projects. At the time, the MTR had
a group responsible for developing disable-related facilities, researching
the different standards and amenities of various countries, and
designing accommodations for the disables. The MTR would collect
information on some new inventions, instruments, and things like
that. It's a bit different than what we do here. There, we were
dealing with customers. It's like a service profession; and of course,
we would still be concerned about their needs.
Discrimination-Is architecture a male business?
R: In the past, architecture has given an impression of a male-dominated
business. Have you ever had any experience of sex discrimination?
C: None whatsoever. When I first started working in an architect's
office, there were a couple of girls working as drasftsmen. My post
then was Architectural Assistant. Thereafter, more females joined
in. In the lattar part of my involvement with the MTR, I was at
the sites quite often. When we were building the Tseung Kwan O Branch,
my position was Assistant Construction Architect; and my boss was
also a woman. The matter of the fact is there is absolutely no problem
for women working in the architectural profession in this day and
age. Perhaps I have been lucky, but while I was with the MTR, the
colleagues at the site office were all pretty nice.
Outlook-The future of architecture.
R: As to the future of Hong Kong's architectural profession,
where do you think the opportunities lie? And in what direction
will the market go?
C: I think the main trend lies in the Mainland. After all, the land
sales in Hong Kong have been going down in recent years. There are
less new constructions around. The opportunities are in the north.
My husband has also set up an architectural office in China in the
last little while. There are less and less jobs around in Hong Kong.
The big developers would only go to the big architects; so there
is little room for the small architects to survive here.
R: What differences are there between the designers and architects
of Hong Kong and overseas?
C: I think the architects in Hong Kong are easily influenced by
the developers. And because there are a lot of people crowding on
a small piece of land, you have to have land first before you can
develop. The architects in Hong Kong are facing a number of limitations.
In Tokyo, or in Hiroshima, Japan, for example, the governments there
provide substantial supports. The architects over there could experiment
with new materials and new methods in the construction process.
There are more rooms for them to develop and expand. Here in Hong
Kong, we don't have this luxury and support. There are simply too
many restrictions.
R: Every year, the freshmen are asked the question of why do they
choose architecture. What was your answer then? If you were asked
the same question now, would you have a different answer?
C: I can affirmatively say that I've never regretted choosing architecture.
However, no one asked me this question then. Actually, it was quite
tough. I had to work in the daytime, and study in the evenings.
Sometimes, we had survey classes on Saturdays and Sundays as well.
But that was a stepping stone, through which we had met some people
in the architural business.
R: Do you find it difficult to be a brilliant architect? A number
of people have said that in this profession, you always give more
than you take in.
C: That depends. Like those years when the property market was booming,
and there were a lot of speculators, architects were the objects
of jealousy. We have ups and downs in this world. It only happens
that now is not a good time, so you would have this idea of not
getting enough for what you've given. I think everyone has to have
certain determination for whatever one does.
R: In study, we should put interest ahead of the market, right?
C: That's right! Though it's common to get bored at one's job, and
sometimes the seniors may say something dampening, but you've finished
your college years; and upon graduation, you could go on and pursue
further studies.
R: Would you like to come back to Chu Hai to teach?
C: I think I am a bit weak in this area. Besides, design is not
something related to my work. Looking at the curricula of the Faculty
of Science and Engineering, I don't think I am qualified to teach.
But if there are some symposiums where I can share ideas and experience
with you guys, I would love to do that.
R: What would you say is the chance of success if we are to
go to work in the Mainland?
C: According to my husband, the CAD draftsmen are pretty good in
China. They are way ahead of the Hong Kong workers in the area of
software. On the other hand, their pay is a lot lower than ours,
averaging just over a thousand dollars a month. I think we really
need to take a good look at the situation. We may not have an edge
even if we go back to work there. We need to work very hard. Find
out quickly and precisely what they are still lacking behind and
concentrate on the area. Workers in the Mainland could draw 3D pictures
much quicker than us. Here in Hong Kong, we charge close to two
thousand dollars for a picture. Over there, they charge about a
thousand dollars only.
R: Their cost of living is lower than in Hong Kong, so their
fees are also lower. I don't think it's fair to compare costs with
them.
C: Not to mention that some of them could enter this profession
right after technical schools; and here in Hong Kong, you must have
to have a college degree before you can do it. If you could modify
some of your viewpoints, and think instead of going into the directions
of construction or project management, the prospects could be better
there.
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