'Progress is often equated with destroying the old and bringing in the new,' says German-born photographer Michael Wolf, who has lived and worked in Hong Kong for 13 years.
Best-known for his studies of the city's stacked, highly repetitive façades, the Corner Houses project sprang from his interest in the relentless cycle of reconstruction. Some of these structures are barely three decades old, but the pace of development and the incessant demand for new sites means their days are numbered.
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Reminiscent of the early American skyscrapers, with curved façades and strong vertical and horizontal detailing, these modernist structures are all that remain of the era before big ticket architecture and famous names crowded the former colony's skies. Take a long look, because what's on show will soon be gone.
'I recently heard from a reliable source that all corner houses less than 11 floors in height will eventually be demolished to make way for high rises,' Wolf says, 'because these give a far better return on the developer's investment.'
The images were displayed in 100 lightboxes scattered throughout the city's MTR subway stations, and also presented at the Goethe-Institut Hongkong.
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