Design Trust Decade Talks 2024 Highlights

27. 9. 2024

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Design Trust and the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design since 2007, Design Trust Decade Talks on Saturday September 14th 2024 at Tai Kwun Hong Kong brought together the Inaugural Design Trialogues Keynote Speaker Rem Koolhaas with his former student members from 1990s: Kate Orff, Nancy Lin, Stephanie Smith, Bernard Chang, Mihai Craciun, Yuyang Liu from the world-renowned 1996 Project on the City Harvard GSD team and their seminal publication on the Pearl River Delta region, who are all now leading designers and scholars, to converse with Design Trust grant recipients architects, designers and scholars including Adonian Chan, Bob Pang & Charles Lai, Paul Tse & Evelyn Ting, Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Ashley Scott Kelly and Zhang Lei to collectively discuss and respond to the topical issues and envisioning the future  role of design from Hong Kong to the Greater Bay Area and internationally.

Opening remarks from Marisa Yiu (Co-founder, Lead Curator, Executive Director of Design Trust)
Marisa expressed gratitude to Rem returning to Hong Kong as the Inaugural Design Trialogues Keynote Speaker.

Design Trust Decade Talks 2024 started with the opening remarks from Marisa Yiu (Co-founder, Lead Curator, Executive Director of Design Trust). Marisa expressed gratitude to Rem Koolhaas returning to Hong Kong as the Inaugural Design Trialogues Keynote Speaker with his Project on the City team, and welcomed grantees, fellows, mentees, supporters and partners of Design Trust community for this special reunion moment celebrating the decade milestone. Yiu said “The year of 2024 is a special moment where we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Design Trust, an initiative of Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design since 2007, while envisioning the next decade for our organisation and its role for Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area within an international context. What we have achieved today, is truly a collective testament to our community to gather and support the ongoing inspirational research and granting projects that connect various generations and impact our city and region with optimism, energy and vibrancy to shape our cultural community. We remain grateful to our supporters and partners for keeping collaborations alive; yet, remain with deepened awareness on to build resilience of our community, how creativity, curiosity and critical research and design, positively shape our future.”

Sharing from Design Trust Decade Talks Panel speakers (from left to right): Charles Lai, Bob Pang, Bernard Chang, Adonian Chan, Nancy Lin, Yuyang Liu, Evelyn Ting and Paul Tse.
Design Trust Decade Talks Highlights. Photo by Yongki Sunarta, courtesy of Design Trust.
Sharing from Design Trust Decade Talks Panel speakers (from left to right): Charles Lai, Bob Pang, Bernard Chang, Adonian Chan, Nancy Lin, Yuyang Liu, Evelyn Ting and Paul Tse.
Design Trust Decade Talks Highlights. Photo by Yongki Sunarta, courtesy of Design Trust.
Design Trust Decade Talks Panel “Reframing Architecture and Urban Culture”

Design Trust Decade Talks Panel “Reframing Architecture and Urban Culture” invited Bernard Chang, Yuyang Liu and Nancy Lin from the world-renowned 1996 Project on the City team led by Rem Koolhaas, and grant recipients Adonian Chan, Bob Pang & Charles Lai, Paul Tse & Evelyn Ting from Design Trust to share their design and research journey and reflection on the regional shift from the Pearl River Delta region to the Greater Bay Area. Moderated by Marisa Yiu (Co-founder, Lead Curator, Executive Director of Design Trust), the panel unveiled the urban and infrastructure development in the past two decades from Bernard, Yuyang and Nancy’s research in 1996 and their latest observation from recent practice and experience. Design Trust grant recipients Adonian Chan’s shared his research on “Hong Kong Beiwei” typography, while Bob Pang and Charles Lai presented their respective archival research projects on brutalism architecture in Hong Kong and the late Tao Ho’s multilayered legacy, as well as the inaugural Open House Hong Kong. Design Trust grantees Paul Tse and Evelyn Ting also shared their research films “Middle Man Hong Kong” and how the research project has informed their architectural design practice.

Sharing from Design Trust Decade Talks Panel speakers (left to right): Ashley Scott Kelly, Stephanie Smith, Zhang Lei, Mihai Craciun, Kate Orff and Elaine Yan Ling Ng.
Sharing from Design Trust Decade Talks Panel speakers: Stephanie Smith, Mihai Craciun, Kate Orff Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Zhang Lei and Ashley Scott Kelly.
Design Trust Decade Talks Highlights. Photo by Yongki Sunarta, courtesy of Design Trust.
Design Trust Decade Talks Highlights. Photo by Yongki Sunarta, courtesy of Design Trust.
Design Trust Decade Talks Panel “Remapping Landscape, Heritage and Future”

The following panel “Remapping Landscape, Heritage and Future” brought together Stephanie Smith, Mihai Craciun and Kate Orff from the world-renowned 1996 Project on the City team led by Rem Koolhaas, and Design Trust grant recipients Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Zhang Lei and Ashley Scott Kelly. Moderated by Zheng Zhou (Head of Programmes & Associate Curator), the panel unpacked the evolution of natural, urban and socio-economic landscapes through different scales through Stephanie, Mihai and Kate’s sharing, with Design Trust grantee Ashley exploring future-looking approach to confront the ecological challenges for the bay area. From the macro-scale of landscape to a micro-scale of everyday life practice, grantee Elaine shared her first grant research looking at traditional weaving culture in Guizhou China while Zhang Lei highlighted their Rong Design Library’s research on traditional wooden joints MaoSun system. The sharing unpacked the rich heritage and craftsmanship nurtured by the evolving natural and cultural landscape, and how such exploration might inform heritage innovation for the future.

Design Trust Decade Talks in JC Cube, Tai Kwun.
Design Trust Decade Celebration Reception at Laundry Steps.

As part of the September month, Design Trust Decade Talks 2024 has announced the inaugural Open House Hong Kong 2024 proudly supported by Design Trust on the following weekends September 21st - 22nd and 28th -29th 2024. This new festival showcases the rich architectural heritage of the city of Hong Kong providing access and tours to around 50 sites and buildings across the city to advocate architectural heritage and urban culture of Hong Kong with a team of expanded Design Trust community from grant recipients to design scholars.

Design Trust Decade Talks 2024 was followed by a reunion moment of Design Trust grantees, fellows, mentees, supporters and partners at the Laundry Steps of Tai Kwun Hong Kong. The celebration reception was also joined by Harvard GSD alumni community to highlight the return of Rem Koolhaas’ Project on the City team. More than 350 audience and guests attended the Design Trust Decade Talks and the reception at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, celebrating the evolving Design Trust community network from Hong Kong to the Greater Bay Area and internationally.