Hong Kong Architectural Legacy Symposium

Design Trust Exhibition 2026: The Art of Movement

HONG KONG ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY SYMPOSIUM

By DESIGN TRUST

Supported by HSBC

Thursday April 9th, 2026, HSBC Main Building, Hong Kong

With Special Guest of Honour

Lord Norman Foster

To receive Design Trust Legacy Award 2026 

Moderated & Convened by

Marisa Yiu, Co-Founder, Lead Curator and Executive Director, Design Trust

Along with “The Art of Movement” 2026 Honouree Mrs. Penelope Seidler, and Speakers:  Mr. Donald Choi, Mr. David Nelson, Dr. Henry Steiner & Mrs. Margaret Steiner, Mr. Rocco Yim, Prof. Cole Roskam, Ms. Florence Chan, Mr. Hardy Lok, Ms. Angharad McCarrick, Mr. Bryant Lu, Dr. Eric Schuldenfrei and Mr. Colin Ward.

Benefiting the design and creative communities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, we are delighted to announce and celebrate Design Trust Legacy Award Honouree Lord Norman Foster and Foster + Partners in recognition of their invaluable contributions to global design and Hong Kong’s iconic cityscape. On the occasion of 40th anniversary of HSBC Main Building, designed by Foster + Partners, Design Trust is excited to announce the Hong Kong Architectural Legacy Symposium, by Design Trust, supported by HSBC, on Thursday April 9th 2026, with special Guest of Honour Lord Norman Foster’s keynote convened, and moderated by Lead Curator Marisa Yiu, followed by a curated conversation with influential architects and designers who have shaped Hong Kong’s Central architecture through time, advancing Design Trust’s ongoing efforts to develop an architecture and grants archive for Hong Kong and the region.

Invite Only, Private Event
Programme 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, Thursday April 9^th, 2026

Keynote Dialogue between Lord Norman Foster and Lead Curator Ms. Marisa Yiu

• Opening remarks by Lead Curator Ms. Marisa Yiu
• Presentation of Design Trust Legacy Award 2026 to Lord Norman Foster
• Lord Norman Foster in dialogue with Lead Curator Ms. Marisa Yiu

Lord Norman Foster

Norman Foster is the founder and executive chairman of Foster + Partners, a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability. Major projects include Beijing Airport, Millau Viaduct in France, 30 St Mary Axe (also known as the Gherkin) and the Great Court at the British Museum in London, the Hearst Headquarters tower in New York, Apple Park in California, Bloomberg’s European Headquarters in London, the Comcast Tower in Philadelphia, and the Norton Museum of Art in Florida. Recent projects include, 425 Park Avenue in New York, the Narbo Via museum in Narbonne, and the redevelopment of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Some of his current projects within the practice include JP Morgan’s new headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in New York, the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Center in Cairo, and a community boathouse in Harlem. He is president of the Norman Foster Foundation, based in Madrid with a global reach, promoting interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations of architects, designers and urbanists anticipate the future. He became the 21^st Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate in 1999. In 1997, he was appointed to the Order of Merit andin 1999 was granted a Life Peerage in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, taking the title of Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

Foster + Partners, Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability, which was founded over fifty years ago in 1967 by Norman Foster. Since then, he and the team around him have established an international practice with a worldwide reputation for thoughtful and pioneering design, working as a single studio that is both ethnically and culturally diverse. The studio integrates the skills of architecture with engineering, both structural and environmental, urbanism, interior and industrial design, model and film making, aeronautics and many more – our collegiate working environment is similar to a compact university. These diverse skills make us capable of tackling a wide range of projects, particularly those of considerable complexity and scale. Design is at the core of everything that we do. We design buildings, spaces and cities; we listen, we question, and we innovate.

Lead Curator Ms. Marisa Yiu

Marisa Yiu is co-founder and Executive Director/ Lead Curator of DESIGN TRUST, an initiative of the registered charity, Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design founded in 2007. Marisa has been spearheading the creative, research-based platform to curate and fund innovative and thought-provoking investigations in various design disciplines since 2014, the establishment of Design Trust initiatives. She conceptualized the Design Trust Futures Studio, flagship programme as a design community think-tank, on new designs for public micro-parks in Hong Kong, to programmes on Heritage and innovation. She is also Founding Partner of ESKYIU, a multi-disciplinary and award-winning architecture studio based in Hong Kong since 2007, founded in New York in 2005. She was the Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture located at West Kowloon; curated POP-UP Studio-X Shenzhen, and along with her partner Eric Schuldenfrei of ESKYIU, the duo has been awarded the prestigious 2010 ‘Architectural League Prize’ for their installations featured in the Venice Biennale, received Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard recognition, ‘Design for Asia Award’ for Ephemera, commissioned by Swire Properties Art Basel and Movement culture: installation for Ido Portal. Their studio designed the interior architecture and landscape strategies for the 22-storey office tower K11 Atelier King’s Road project, featuring sustainable heritage elements and a multi-functional exhibition venue. Their 2013 “Industrial Forest” commissioned by Spring Workshop, is now part of the M+ Museum collection, and they created a new version commissioned by HSBC a new “ESKYIU Open Forest” in 2023, interactive installation at West Kowloon. Marisa was awarded the 2021 Design Anthology Ambassador award, 2022 "Luminary" category of INDE.Awards that recognizes the ongoing contribution of an industry icon. Design Trust micro-parks in Hong Kong, have been awarded 2021 Design For Asia Grand Award, 2023 HKIA Awards and recently the 2024 prestigious AIA HK chapter Community Citation award, and internationally featured in CNN, SCMP, Wallpaper China and more. Recently, in February 2026, Marisa received the “Spirt of Hong Kong, Culture Award”. At present, Marisa continues to focus with rigor and passion on DESIGN TRUST’s non for-profit projects and granting research programmes in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area region with its international partners.

The Art of Movement Panel A

The Making of Central District: Foster + Partners Legacy, Innovation & Sustainability through Time

Moderated by Lead Curator Ms. Marisa Yiu

Speakers:

Mrs. Penelope Seidler

Penelope Seidler is both an architect and accountant and a cherished cultural philanthropist in the arts and architecture, within Australia and globally. She is a Director of Harry Seidler and Associates. Penelope has held positions on arts boards including the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Contemporary Art, New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Venice Biennale. In 2001, she was awarded a Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in business leadership and was also appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2026 for service to the preservation of cultural heritage, to visual arts organisations and to architecture. In 2011, she was made a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur by the French government and received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of New South Wales and in 2021 awarded Hon Doctor Architecture University of Sydney. She is the Design Trust “The Art of Movement” Honouree.

Harry Seidler & Associates is a closely knit team - a dedicated group of individuals, some of whom have collaborated effectively for more than 50 years. The firm has completed a great variety of buildings, from private residences, industrial buildings, hotels, high-rise offices and apartment buildings to regional developments providing a totally integrated environment. Most of these projects have been in Australia; however, the firm has also undertaken work in South East Asia, Central America and Europe, including a social housing complex consisting of some 850 apartments fronting the Danube in Vienna.

Dr. Henry Steiner and Mrs. Margaret Steiner

Dr. Henry Steiner is an Austrian designer, known for his work in creating branding for renowned Hong Kong-based companies, most notably the HSBC logo, the mythological creature series of banknotes for Standard Chartered Bank, and identities for Hongkong Land, the Hong Kong Hilton, Dairy Farm, and The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Throughout his career, Steiner has paved the way for graphic design as a profession in the city by pioneering the expression of identity through branding, incorporating Eastern symbolism into Western graphic design. He has helped to create a new and relevant identity for the flourishing, mixed culture of Hong Kong. Steiner continues to work and employ a cross-cultural graphic language in his designs till this day. Steiner has been named Hong Kong Designer of the Year, a World Master by Japan’s Idea magazine, and was included in Icograda’s Masters of the 20th Century in 2002. In 2006, he was awarded the Golden Decoration of Honor of the Republic of Austria for design achievement and service to the Austrian community in Hong Kong. Henry Steiner was honoured with the Design Trust Legacy Award in 2021.

Mrs. Margaret Steiner was formerly the Head of the Graphic Design Department at HSBC. She worked with famous Dr. Henry Steiner on the rebranding of HSBC logo Commission: Steiner was engaged to create a consistent corporate identity for the bank in 1979, with the final design created in 1983.

Mr. David Nelson

David Nelson is Foster + Partners’ Senior Executive Partner, Head of Design and a member of the Design Board, a position he has held since 2004. Throughout his long career with Foster + Partners, he has played a key role in shaping its creative and operational direction. He has been involved in some of the practice’s most recognisable buildings, from the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters to Apple Park in Cupertino, as well as high profile projects in China, Singapore and Korea. His understanding of the studio’s evolution, his open, collaborative mindset and continued leadership role has made David a key figure in Foster +Partners’ evolution; he also brings a global perspective, gained from living in Hong Kong and travelling extensively to construction sites and projects across the world.

Mr. Donald Choi

Donald Choi is currently the Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority, and possesses over 40 years of experience as architect and developer globally. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hong Kong, Board Chairperson of the Construction Innovation and Technology Application Centre, President of Hong Kong Institute of Real Estate Administrators, Director of the Hong Kong Design Center, Director of Habitat for Humanity, member of the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, and an Advisor of Our Hong Kong Foundation. He served as the CEO of Chinachem Group from 2018 to August 2024 before his retirement. Prior to this, he was the Managing Director of the Nan Fung Group and a Director at Foster + Partners. He was the Authorized Person for the CLK HK International Airport, voted one of the Top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century. He was awarded the Executive of the Year Award 2021 by DHL-SCMP and won the CEO of the Year Award 2022 given by Real Estate Asia. Donald received the Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1982 and Master’s degrees from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the London Business School, the University of Hong Kong, and Columbia University.

Mr. Rocco Yim

Dr. Rocco Yim was born and educated in Hong Kong, and is currently Principal of Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd. Since winning a First Prize Award for the L’Opéra de la Bastille international competition in 1983, his works have consistently been awarded both in Hong Kong and overseas.  Accolades include ARCASIA Gold Medals, Kenneth F. Brown Award, Chicago Athenaeum Architectural Awards, WAF category winner, ULI Global Award, German Design Council Iconic Awards and the Plan Award.

Rocco is a regular invited speaker in local and international symposia, including keynote speakers at WAF 2014 and UIA World Congress 2021. He also held a solo exhibition at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin in 2013. Rocco’s work has been published in four monographs, from The City in Architecture in 2002 to Reconnecting Cultures in 2013. "Learning from Hong Kong?" will be published in late 2024. He was Design Trust Heritage Innovator Award Honouree 2024.

The Art of Movement Panel B

Untold stories: the Positive Power of Architectural Archives, Voices of Central; and the Making of Future Cities

Moderated by Lead Curator Ms. Marisa Yiu

Speakers:

Prof. Cole Roskam

Cole Roskam is Professor of Architectural History in the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. His research explores architecture's role in mediating exchange between China and other parts of the world. In addition to numerous articles and essays, he is the author of two books, including Improvised City: Architecture and Governance in Shanghai, 1843-1937 (University of Washington Press, 2019) and Designing Reform: Architecture in the People's Republic of China, 1970-1992 (Yale University Press, 2021). Cole Roskam is the academic advisor for Design Trust Exhibition 2026: “The Art of Movement” and has contributed the essay “One the Move”. He also serves as Design Trust Greater Bay Area Design Council Advisor.

Ms. Florence Chan

Florence Chan is an architect with extensive experience in China and the US. She serves as a Principal at KPF's Hong Kong office, part of an internationally acclaimed architectural practice headquartered in New York with projects spanning the globe. In her leadership role, Ms. Chan oversees the firm's operations across China and the Asia Pacific region, bringing extensive expertise in the delivery of highly complex, large-scale mixed-use developments. Her distinguished portfolio of completed projects includes Victoria Dockside and Hysan Place in Hong Kong, Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen and Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre in Guangzhou. She served as the President of American Institute of Architects (AIA) Hong Kong Chapter in 2022 and she currently sits on the Board of Council of Vertical Urbanism Hong Kong Chapter.

Mr. Hardy Lok

Hardy Lok is a prominent Hong Kong construction industry veteran, Managing Director of Sun Co Ltd, and known for his role as Founder member of Hong Kong Pei Hua Education Foundation, Chairperson of the Society for the Protection of the Harbour. Hardy is alongside his late Father, The construction of the iconic HSBC Main Building in Hong Kong (1980-1986) was carried out by the John Lok / Wimpey Joint Venture to create the 180-meter, 47-storey building designed by Norman Foster, featuring a unique modular design with steel modules prefabricated in the UK.

Ms. Angharad McCarrick

Angharad McCarrick is an Archivist raised in Hong Kong. She is responsible for the HSBC's archives across the Asia-Pacific region. After qualifying as an Archivist in 2010, she worked for Dyson, Swire and M+ before joining the HSBC’s archive team in 2022.

Mr. Bryant Lu

Bryant Lu is the Vice Chairman of Ronald Lu & Partners, the firm established by his father in 1976, which he joined in 2000. He took charge of the firm’s expansion into mainland China; while making RLP Asia to be a leader in sustainability architecture in Hong Kong.  Establishing the firm’s design ethos as human centric, future-ready while honouring the local culture and heritage, he will share on the role they play in the HK newest building:

The Henderson, a 36-storey office tower located in the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district, Ronald Lu & Partners in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects. This case study and its relationship to the Central, and advancing technology of Architecture.

Dr. Eric Schuldenfrei

Eric Schuldenfrei served two complete terms as the Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong, from 2018 to 2024. Receiving his PhD from the University of Cambridge, he has taught at Princeton, Columbia, and the Architectural Association. His most recent book, The Films of Charles and Ray Eames: A Universal Sense of Expectation, focuses on architecture, politics, cinema, and education. Schuldenfrei served as the Curator of Exhibition, Education, Film, and Media for the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Biennale and has presented his work at DLD in Moscow on the topic of Future Cities, at the V&A museum, Harvard University AsiaGSD series, the University of Cambridge, and the Royal College of Art in London. Together with Marisa Yiu, Schuldenfrei founded ESKYIU – a multi-disciplinary architecture studio integrating culture, art, community and technology. They have been awarded the “Architectural League Prize” and “Design Vanguard” as well as edited the books Instant Culture and Industrial Forest together. He also serves as Design Trust Greater Bay Area Design Council Advisor.

Closing remarks by Mr. Colin Ward of Foster + Partners

Colin Ward is an architect and Senior Partner at Foster + Partners. During his thirty-year career at the practice, he has worked on wide range of projects including Hong Kong International Airport, Wembley Stadium, The Murray hotel, and  the Huangpu masterplan in Shanghai and many projects in the region and Hong Kong.

HONG KONG ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY SYMPOSIUM By DESIGN TRUST
is made possible by the generous support by HSBC

Acknowledgement

Symposium Partner: HSBC; Cheuk Shum, Anna Patricia Chua, Kristie Cheung, Tin Pui, Vivian Lo.

Design Trust PR & Communication Advisory: Sinclair Communications; Kiri Sinclair, Michelle Shiu, Gayatri Mathur.

About Design Trust (designtrust.hk)

Design Trust was established in 2014 by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, a registered charity in Hong Kong since 2007, as a grant funding and community platform. Design Trust supports creative projects that develop expertise, build research initiatives and content related to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. Working across a multiplicity of design disciplines from graphics, media, architecture to the built environment, Design Trust aims to actively accelerate creative research, design and development of meaningful projects that advocate for the positive role of design.