Wang Dahong (1917-2018) is often regarded as the father of modern architecture in Taiwan. M+ is home to Wang’s personal archive, donated by his family. The archive includes not only architectural drawings, but also personal essays, notes, letters, photographs, and sketchbooks.

The majority of Wang’s architectural drawings were donated to the National Taiwan Museum in the early 2000s. Considering the significance of his practice, the M+ curatorial team expressed interest in collecting any related material still kept by him and his family. This resulted in a group of materials⁠—generously offered by his family—that is one of the most fragmentary, but also personal, archives in the M+ Collections. It reveals Wang’s multifaceted practice within and beyond the field of architecture as an architect, writer, translator, and poet.

Below, M+ staff members discuss both the challenges and pleasures of organising and understanding the Wang Dahong archive.

From the Archives is a blog series that shines a spotlight on the M+ Collection Archives. Below, with the help of M+ staff members, you can explore four projects from the museum's archives of Hong Kong architectural firm Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd. The projects represent the various phases of the firm’s development: the Jackson Wong residence, the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, Hutchison House, and the Bond Centre, later called Lippo Centre.

Interviewees:

• Shirley Surya, Curator, Design and Architecture
• Kevin Forkan, Head, Archives and Library

Who is this archive from?

In our 'From the Archives' blog series, we shine a spotlight on the M+ Collection Archives. Below, with the help of M+ staff members Kevin Forkan, Archivist, and Shirley Surya, Associate Curator, Design and Architecture, we introduce the museum's archives of Wong Tung & Partners (formerly Wong & Threadgill Architects and Engineers), which details four significant projects from this important Hong Kong architectural firm: Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Sheraton Hotel, Tai Koo Shing, and Hong Kong Park.

Who is this archive from, and what’s in it?

Shirley: This archive is from the architectural firm Wong Tung, one of the large architectural firms established in Hong Kong in 1963 by Shanghai-born Americans Bill Wong and Albert Tung. Like all of the Hong Kong architecture firms that we first chose to represent in the M+ Collections, they played a formative role in shaping Hong Kong’s architectural and urban landscape.

Kevin: The Wong Tung & Partners Archive contains material documenting four selected projects: private housing developments Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Tai Koo Shing, the Sheraton Hotel at Tsim Sha Tsui, and Hong Kong Park. Although it’s not one of our biggest archival collections, containing only a few dozen items, it does have an interesting mix of formats, from large architectural reproductions, published material, digital photographs, and VHS tape.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen (1965–1978)

In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections contains the most extensive display of archival materials from the M+ Collection Archives to date. Below, Shirley Surya, Associate Curator, Design and Architecture, and Kevin Forkan, Archivist, go through some of the key archival materials included in the exhibition, highlighting the microhistories you can find if you do a deep-dive into the items on display.

The Geoffrey Bawa archive