Cardboard Exhibition System for EdUHK

Using cardboard as primary material, SKY YUTAKA designed and built exhibition installation focused on lifecycle considerations for EdUHK’s 30th Year Anniversary. The design included display system for various digital media, artefacts from the university’s archive and integrated exhibition lighting. To cater for exhibition space located within busy market building, the exhibit included interactive XR installation displayed on LED video wall and Photo-booth kiosk using AR.

The Heritage of Teacher Education in Hong Kong exhibition records the University’s historical and educational achievements and advancements over the past thirty years through pictures, videos and historical data. The exhibition aims to enhance the public’s understanding of the educational heritage of EdUHK, which goes back over a century, as well as the development of education in Hong Kong. The exhibition is divided into four sections from the history of EdUHK and teacher education development in Hong Kong; key milestones of EdUHK; significant achievements and the efforts of EdUHK for promoting teacher ethics and values in education.

The strategic use of cardboard material helped to create an eco-friendly and engaging exhibition: The exhibition employed modular design principles for flexibility and ease of assembly by hand within limited 2 days installation schedule. Two types of recyclable cardboard were used as primary means of construction material to reduce environmental impact. To minimise waste, all the prefabricated cardboard pieces were die-cut from CAD files at local printer using CNC machines. To manage the fabrication process, spreadsheets were used to account for all the pieces required for the final installation and during the prototyping. To increase structural stability, selected components were triangulated to increase its stiffness or use combination of lattices and structural folds to achieve the required structural forms including 2.5m high wall. To appreciate its material aesthetics, much of its surfaces were exposed as natural finishes.

Two interactive exhibits were developed specifically for the exhibition in collaboration; XR installation using archive photos of the old university campus which were represented in simple 3d form using forced perspective that allows visitors to navigate the space using hand gestures. And another installation in form of Photo-booth using AR allowed visitors to take photographs against the backdrop of selected old campus sceneries as souvenir.

Currently there is limited recycling options for typical exhibition construction materials in Hong Kong. The design adopts lifecycle consideration / End-of-Life planning as a key design strategy, ensuring most of the material can be recycled and avoid them going to the landfill. In the time of ecological transitions, the exhibition design reflects EdUHK’s commitment to Sustainable Design Goals (SDG) and promoting education on sustainable environment for the future generation.

Photo credit © Virgile Simon Bertrand