Design Trust Futures Studio

Design Trust Futures Studio is a flagship programme of the DESIGN TRUST, that makes visible the processes and positive role of design in the culture of contemporary design and production. The programme stems from a project-studio concept that promotes life-long collaborations through a mentor-mentee programme and workshop collaboration model. As a cross-disciplinary initiative created and conceptualised by Marisa Yiu, Co-founder and Executive Director of Design Trust, experts from different fields will contribute to the teams in the exploration of materials, production, and to put forth the positive value of design of public spaces, public/private assets and/or critical issues in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and its relationship globally.

Design Trust Futures Studio aims to make the role of the design process, visible in the creation of our cities, while transforming the ways in which designers participate, individually and collectively, in the production of urban space. The first two editions worked on public parks in Hong Kong through a collaborative and participatory model starting from a small initiative in 2017 as “SMALL IS MEANINGFUL” looking at the future of micro-parks to 2018 “PLAY IS FOR THE PEOPLE” where teams grew to involve larger stakeholder involvement as a community of projects developed by designers, working in public and private sectors and local communities to build and develop real micro-parks in Hong Kong. In 2019, the theme and concept are focused on "HERITAGE IS INNOVATION", exploring animated definitions of Hong Kong identity, shaping conversations on "Conversation", and finding new ways to open up heritage sites to build new narratives of the role and place of heritage - not as a static subject but a dynamic living and inspiring process. Partnered with Hong Kong Palace Museum and Project Twelve, the 2022 theme, “HERITAGE IS CREATIVE GENERATION” simultaneously challenges complex notions of inheriting and innovating to explore new synergies through experimentation, that pass on new meanings of our heritage onto future generations.

The upcoming Design Trust Futures Studio Greater Bay Area programme crafts a visionary and explorative creative atlas for the Greater Bay Area region. Examining the role of creative practice and pedagogy of design research, across communities, Design Trust Futures Studio (2024 onwards) theme is focused on “Nature is Nurture is Nature” involving eleven cities of the region through a mentor-mentee think-tank programme that examines cross-cultural networks.

For more details, please visit the Design Trust Futures Studio website here.