Newsletter No. 388

10 No. 388, 4.12.2011 …… 如是說 Thus Spake… 你是否有一套掌管校園發展處的管理哲學？ 我認為世上沒有完美的方案，只有最佳的妥協。舉例說，要 在一張白紙上畫些東西，或許難以畫出點甚麼來。反而，在 某些限制，甚或衝突情況下，會衍生最佳的解決辦法。我喜 歡的設計是：從用家角度出發、具成本效益、無需維修，且 可持續發展的。美感是主觀的，但除了考慮功用和可持續發 展以外，建築師有責任設計優秀的建築，像藝術品般供大 眾欣賞。 你的人生經歷怎樣影響你的處事？ 年幼時，我在內地是個放牛童，六十年代來港跟母親團聚， 成長環境極為窮困。那時來自五個家庭共八個人擠在一個 只有五十平方呎的房間，我和母親睡在雙層床的下層。為免 增加電費，房東太太限令我們午夜後不准開燈。可是，我們 每晚都要串珠子幫補生計。無奈之下，唯有偷偷亮燈，為防 止洩光，要用毛巾封閉門隙，又要遮蓋窗子。炎炎夏日，氣 溫高達攝氏三十五度，房間密不透風，沒有電風扇，更遑論 空調。由於有着這樣的經驗，我深深明白讓貧困學生得到幫 助是多麼重要，也因而設立獎學金和助學金。 請談談你設立的獎學金。 在唸建築的最後一年，由於沒有錢製作畢業論文的作品，只 得申請數百元緊急援助金。2004年，我在福建故鄉的村子 成立第一個獎學金，並以父母親的名字命名。我向鄉里展 示我的小學畢業證書，事實上，無論到哪裏工作，長期放在 我辦公室的就是這張小學畢業證書，而不是其他學位或專 業證書。到現在獎學金受惠人數有近五百，其中包括中小學 生和獲著名大學錄取者。要補充一點，獎學金不只是為村裏 的年輕人而設，也提供予來自北方省份的學生。去年，有兩 名獲獎學生分別入讀全國排名十四的山東大學及排名十六 的華中科技大學，讓我引以為榮。另外，還有一個海外學習 獎學金，但至今仍未頒出。 我的女兒亦效法我，在她的母校成 立獎學金。今年初岳母仙遊，我和妻 子遂以她的名字成立獎學金，作為紀 念。去年我花了近二十五萬於獎學金 開支，對於靠每月支薪的我來說，並 不是一個小數目，但我並不因此而感 到口袋輕了。 可否介紹你於2005年和2010年在 福建和潮州舉辦的暑期英語義教 計劃？ 我的妻子是本港一所著名英文學校 的副校長，故我們想善用這項優勢來 協助內地學生學英語。該計劃現廣受 歡迎，學生很是喜歡。當然在成立初 期也得經歷些陣痛，最初招募義務教 師並不容易，我還試過在校園宿舍派 單張。其後，我們邀得朋友、同事的 子女、國際生及在港的外籍英語教師 參與。現時，我們與中大的暑期計劃 合作，招募國際生當義務教師。我們 已獲邀明年暑假到順德義教。 初來香港時，我連一個英文字都不 曉。我曾經輟學，在一家照相館當學 徒。但一星期後，便重踏校門，因為我知道不唸書便沒有將 來。說我是在跟英語搏鬥，已算輕描淡寫了。後來，一個晚 上，我偶然聽到鄰居收音機的廣播，一位大學講師正在說學 習外語是怎樣困難，但我們要記得語言只不過是用來溝通 的，應專注於讓人明白你說甚麼，不必拘泥於文法和詞彙。 此後，我努力練習英語寫作和會話，又請老師改正作文，最 終入讀大學。 你是建築師，有哪些建築最讓你嘆為觀止？ 當學生時，我最欣賞由勒 ‧ 柯布西耶設計的法國廊香教堂。 除了是執業建築師，我還從事過很多不同崗位。我曾投身酒 店管理和物流，是一家酒店的建築師、項目經理、承建商， 最後成了其營運主管；又曾從事溜冰場生意，並涉足巴士及 製造業。可是，事業生涯中最燦爛的一章，就是在中大工 作。我十分高興有機會參與校園發展，力圖完善設計，工作 既獲讚賞，亦獲大學全力支持。 As the head of the Campus Development Office, are you guided by any philosophy when making decisions? Well, I believe that there are no perfect solutions in the world, only the best compromise. For instance, if given a clean piece of paper on which to draw, one may find it difficult to produce anything. But with constraints in the brief, even conflicting ones, it is rewarding to come up with the best solution. I like user-oriented, cost-effective, maintenance-free, and sustainable designs. Aesthetics are subjective; but, architects have a role in creating good architecture as art for people to appreciate, besides functionality and sustainability. How have your eclectic experiences in life shaped the way you behave? I grew up in an unimaginably poor environment in the 60s after I came to Hong Kong to join my mother as a village boy from the mainland. My mother and I shared the lower level of a bunk bed in a small room of 50 sq ft housing eight people from five families. The landlady required us to turn off the lights at midnight because not doing so would hike the electricity bill. But we had to string beads at night to make ends meet, so we had to leave the light on and stuff up the door gap with towels, black out windows in the summer heat of 35 ℃ without fans, let alone air conditioning,. My past made me realize how important it is that needy students get help, and that is why I’ve set up scholarships and bursaries. Tell us about the scholarships you set up. In my final year as an architecture student, I didn’t have money to present my thesis. I had to apply to emergency funds for several hundred dollars in order to be able to graduate. In 2004, I set up my first scholarship in my native village in Fujian Province and named it after my parents. I showed the villagers my primary school graduation certificate. In fact, instead of degree and professional qualification certificates, that certificate follows me in my office wherever I go. Up to now my scholarship has benefitted a total of some 500 students, including primary and secondary school students, and those accepted by key universities. Let me add that it’s open not only to youngsters of the villages, but also to youngsters from Northern provinces studying there. Last year, a student got into Shandong University ranked 14th nationwide, and one to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, ranked 16th. This makes me very proud. There’s also a scholarship for overseas studies but so far none has been given out. My daughter followed my footsteps and set up a scholarship in her alma mater. When my mother-in-law died early this year, my wife and I also established one in her name. I spent about a quarter of a million last year on scholarships. It’s not a small amount for a wage earner, but I don’t feel any poorer for it. Please tell us about the Voluntary Summer English Programme you started in Fujian (2005) and Chaozhou (2010)? My wife is the vice-principal of a well-known Anglo- Chinese school in Hong Kong, so we wanted to see if we could make use of her background to help mainland students learn English better. The programme is very well received now—the students love it—but it had its teething pains. Recruiting teachers was difficult initially. At one point, I had to distribute leaflets at residences on campus. We managed to get friends, children of colleagues, international students, and NET teachers. Now, we work with the summer programme of CUHK to recruit international volunteers. It was well worth the effort, we are invited to extend the programme to Shunde in the summer of 2012. When I came to Hong Kong, I didn’t know a word of English. I gave up schooling and got a job as an apprentice at a photo studio. After a week, I went back to school feeling there was no future without education. I struggled with the language, to put it mildly. One night, I overheard a talk show on a neighbour’s radio. A lecturer from a university was saying how difficult it was to learn a foreign language, but if we kept in mind that the purpose was communication, then we should just focus on getting ourselves understood, rather than fret over grammar or if the words we were saying existed. After that I kept practising English and asked my teacher to correct my writings. Eventually I got into university. Can you tell us, as an architect, which buildings fascinate you? Well, as a student, I loved the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, designed by Le Corbusier, in Ronchamp, France. I’ve played many roles in life, besides practising as an architect. I was in hotel management and logistics; I was once architect, project manager, contractor and finally the operator of a hotel; I was involved in amusement, bus and manufacturing businesses. But the best part in my career was working for the University. I was very happy for the opportunity to pursue design excellence in campus development, for the appreciation of my work, and for the full support of the University. Mr. David Lim, Director of Campus Development 校園發展處處長林泗維先生