Form Follows Fever

Malaria and the Construction of Hong Kong, 1841 - 1849

Christopher Cowell

$90.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

The Chinese University Press
28 May 2024

Architectural structure & design; Urban & municipal planning

Form Follows Fever is the first in-depth account of the turbulent years of initial urban settlement and growth of colonial Hong Kong across the 1840s. During this period, the island gained a terrible reputation as a diseased and deadly location. Malaria, then perceived as a mysterious vapor or miasma, intermittently carried off settlers by the hundreds. Various attempts to arrest its effects acted as a catalyst, reconfiguring both the city's physical and political landscape, though not necessarily for the better.

The study draws upon many hitherto unpublished textual sources, including medical reports, personal diaries and letters, government records, journal accounts, newspaper articles, and advertisements. As this history is set a decade before the introduction of photography to the colony, the book relies upon a variety of alternate visual evidence-from previously lost watercolor illustrations of the city to maps, plans, and drawings-that individually and in combination provide trace material enabling the reconstruction of this strange and rapidly evolving society.

By: Christopher Cowell
Imprint: The Chinese University Press
Country of Publication: Hong Kong
Dimensions: Height: 25mm, Width: 18mm,
ISBN: 9789882372900
ISBN 10: 9882372902
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 28 May 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Christopher Cowell teaches architectural history and theory at London South Bank University. His longstanding historical research focuses on both southern China and northern India, exploring the entanglement of modernity within European imperialism and its participation in architecture and urbanism.