Design Trust is pleased to share grant projects highlights in the summer. Including “From the Creators: Informal Façade Customization Tactics” by Francisco Garcia Moro and “CoralBot” by MakerBay Foundation.
Design Trust Grant Spotlight
21. 3. 2022
Design Trust Seed Grant “From the Creators: Informal Façade Customization Tactics” by Francisco García Moro
Dynamic façade customizations are a permanent feature of the streets of Hong Kong and Macau. Design Trust Seed Grant research “From the Creators: Informal Façade Customization Tactics” by Francisco García Moro showcases informal dwelling practices as creative presentations, aiming to review codes and regulations interaction with city building and identity.
From field research to exhibition curation, the research project has opened up platforms of collaboration and discovered traits in common between creators, designers and curators in Thailand, Vietnam and the Greater Bay Area Region, particularly Macau and Hong Kong. The scholarly publication generated from this research has further contributed to the understanding of uses and living customs and urban planning policies that may shape the future, such as permitted signage areas on facades according to the regulations stipulated by the Hong Kong Building Department that impact the layered identity of streetscapes.
Design Trust Seed Grant “Coralbot” by MakerBay Foundation
Coral reefs are essential to a healthy ocean, supporting vibrant ecosystems, economies, playing a critical role in daily lives. Supported by Design Trust Seed Grant, MakerBay Foundation has designed “Coralbot”, a low-cost and open source Coral Reef Mapping Drone to monitor and assess the health of corals in Hong Kong and worldwide.
From 2014 to 2017, the third global bleaching event was the longest, most widespread, and most destructive on record. “Coralbot” addresses this enormous challenge through monitoring coral reefs with regular and accurate measurements, providing scientists with the relevant and up-to-date data with under-water documentation.
The project grant team also engaged with the local communities through educational programs involving over 600 secondary school students on using technology for coral conservation, making “Coralbot” also an educational tool for ocean conservation and robotics in the future.
