PART7 Architecture LLC: Bruce Lee Memorial Center, Hong Kong

Visions of Time

We have experienced in museums that people look at historical items in glass cases. The contents of the case belong to a different time period than the viewer on the outside of the case. The glass between the observer and the object, rather than being a barrier, actually connects two different periods of time. It becomes a medium which delivers facts and objects through time from the past to the present.

We lost many things from Bruce Lee's home since he died. It is hard to find traces of him here because the building has been transformed. The original doors, windows, trees and pond that we see in his documentary film are gone. There are no existing objects here through which we can feel the spirit of Bruce Lee.

In an effort to respect the memory of Bruce Lee, his family and the home in which he lived, we will use the metaphor of the glass case as a way of reconnecting to his spirit. Here, as in a museum, glass can bridge the past and the present. Spaces beyond glass are from Bruce Lee's past that people can reconnect to. We will call attention to three important spaces through the use of glass: the house, the garden and the gym.

The house will have a new glass facade to replace the existing one. It will have an etched pattern of the original elevation of the building, and will lead the visitor into the home itself. The original layout and furniture will be restored within the house.

There will be a replica of Bruce Lee's original garden in the new basement. It can be seen from above through the glass floor of the memorial atrium and accessible from the basement level. Here visitors can enjoy themselves at the new cafe and be transported back to a time when Bruce Lee and his family lived here.

Bruce Lee's gymnasium, where he spent countless hours training, will be converted into the Kung Fu center. The events and demonstrations that take place here can be viewed through a glass viewport from the exhibition space above or accessed from the first floor.

The memorial atrium and the exhibition center will be wrapped by the glass canopy. The glass canopy, encompassing the entire site, will consist of electrochromic glass panels, also known as smart glass. It is an electrically variable glass which changes light transmission properties when voltage is applied. It allows users to control the amount of light and heat passing through. With the press of a button, it changes from transparent to opaque, partially blocking light while maintaining a clear view of what lies behind the window. With this technology the atrium space formed by the glass walls can be a light controllable space, which will be sometimes a dynamic and sometimes a silent space as a memorial center for Bruce lee.

We see historic items in glass box in a museum. The inside of the glass box is the past when the item existed.

The other side of the glass wall is the past when Bruce Lee lived. We can see Bruce Lee through the glass wall.

In Bruce Lee memorial, we can see Bruce Lee through glass walls. A garden below the glass floor is the garden Bruce maintained. A bed room over the glass wall is the room he stayed.

Electrochromic glass (AKA smart glass) can change its opaqueness controlled by small amount of electricity. The glass can be darkened in daytime and partially darkened or lightened to create some images on the glass wall.