Form Follows Fever

Join us for the launch of Form Follows Fever

Form Follows Fever: Malaria and the Construction of Hong Kong, 1841–1849.

Form Follows Fever is the first in-depth account of the turbulent years of initial urban growth of colonial Hong Kong across the 1840s. During this period, the island gained a terrible reputation as a diseased and deadly location. Malaria, thought a mysterious vapour, intermittently killed settlers by the hundreds. Various attempts to arrest its effects acted as a catalyst, reconfiguring the city’s physical and political landscape. Set a decade before the introduction of photography to the colony; the book relies upon a variety of alternate visual evidence—from previously lost illustrations of the city to maps, plans, and drawings—that individually and in combination enable the reconstruction of this strange and rapidly evolving society.

We are thrilled to welcome the author Christopher Cowell and Prof. Mark Crinson to the AA Bookshop for a conversation to mark the launch of this new publication.

Christopher Cowell teaches architectural history and theory at London South Bank University. He has taught worldwide, including at the University of Hong Kong, Columbia University, and most recently at Trinity College Dublin. His writing examines the relationship between the practice and theory of architectural modernity in Asia against the cultural complexity of colonialism.

Mark Crinson, FBA, is Emeritus Professor of Architectural History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a distinguished architectural historian of the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in relation to empire, industrialisation, and the welfare state. His writing also explores the historiography of architectural history and its interdisciplinary connections.

We have exclusive and limited copies of the book available to buy on the night.