FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY – DESIGN TRUST FUTURES STUDIO’S
FIRST PILOT MICRO-PARK IN CENTRAL & WESTERN DISTRICT –
SITTING OUT AREA UNDER FLYOVER IN HILL ROAD -
SOFT OPENING ON 20 DECEMBER 2022
A Testament to Cross-disciplinary Creative Efforts and
Collective Participations from Diverse Communities from Hong Kong, the Region and Beyond
(Hong Kong, December 20th 2022) Design Trust, an initiative of the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, is pleased to announce the soft opening of its first pilot micro-park in Central & Western District – Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road – at Shek Tong Tsui, Hong Kong. As part of the programme “PLAY IS FOR THE PEOPLE” under the Design Trust Futures Studio (DTFS) 2018 initiative, the launch of the Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road is a testament to Design Trust’s continuous and dedicated efforts in bringing together the local communities and other stakeholders from both private and public sectors to transform the unique concepts by cross-disciplinary design experts into meaningful outcomes that impact society or public spaces in Hong Kong. This micro-park is expected to be fully completed in February 2023.
Curated and conceptualised by Marisa Yiu, Co-founder, Executive Director of Design Trust, DTFS is Design Trust’s flagship programme that launched in 2017, advocating for the positive values of design in the role for shaping a better Hong Kong and the region we live in. “We are thrilled to be able to go beyond conceptual ideation to bring our pilot micro-park design into reality in Central & Western District. It is an outcome of numerous site research and analysis, various public engagement sessions and collective efforts from public and private agencies, aiming at introducing this unique design at Hill Road for the Shek Tong Tsui residents and visitors to enjoy, and injecting new energy and ideas with minimal intervention,” says Yiu. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the supporters, collaborators and institutions involved – from private and public agencies, individual donors, advisors to all the contractors, and I look forward to sharing this wonderful mentor-mentee design to the community very soon.”
Yiu continues, “The revitalised Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road is the culmination of many months of discussions, refinements and collaborations across the board. It demonstrates how creative curiosity can challenge norms to improve the design of public space for the benefit of the public. I invite the wider Hong Kong community to enjoy the transformed Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road, and the other upcoming micro-park in the Yau Tsim Mong disrict in the coming months.”
The Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road proposal was designed by a creative, cross-disciplinary design mentee team composed of Aron Tsang (architecture and landscape), Andy Cheng (architecture and landscape), Zoey Chan (architecture and landscape) and Jose Fu (new media and technologies), mentored by Gary Chang, Hong Kong-based mentor for the project. Situated between Sai Ying Pun and Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui was once an area with a small population of granite miners working in the local stone quarry, who immigrated from Huizhou, a Hakka-speaking province. The team’s focus was to preserve the local history and heritage, and unfold the forgotten stories of the area through the design of the sitting-out area in various ways. They worked along with non-governmental organisations, stakeholders, designers and the community have collaborated to put forward a refreshing park with vibrant visual identity and natural green respite for the enjoyment of the public.
The design of the Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road has adopted a playful approach, taking the vertical height of the flyover on Hill Road as major consideration. A sculptural lighting installation together with benches, public spaces and chess tables are provided to bring new perception and experiences to residents and park users. A timeline installation of the district is inscribed on the slope ground where the Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road is built, blending the old with the new in the design of this open space and interactive area beneath the flyover. Fast-forward to 2022, Aron Tsang, Andy Cheng with Marisa Yiu and ASD architects, LCSD, Design Trust colleagues are deeply involved in the process of this project since 2019 onwards.
DTFS’s Pilot Micro-Park in Shek Tong Tsui, Central & Western District, Hong Kong
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About Design Trust
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.
Website: https://designtrust.hk/
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About Design Trust Futures Studio (https://designtrust.hk/DTFS/)
Design Trust Futures Studio (DTFS) is a long-term flagship programme 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.
About “PLAY IS FOR THE PEOPLE” (2018) under the Design Trust Futures Studio (DTFS) initiative (https://designtrust.hk/design-trust-futures-studio-2018/)
Since 2018, DTFS has been working alongside public and private agencies including Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Architectural Services Department and the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office (ceased operation from July 1st 2022). From January 2018 to April 2019, DTFS’ “PLAY IS FOR THE PEOPLE” programme was sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), while Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation was the Education & Community Outreach Partner. As conceptual designer and lead organiser, DTFS led and engaged, conducted research and design four micro-parks as public spaces of the future. These locations include: Portland Street Rest Garden, Hamilton Street Rest Garden, the Sitting-Out Area under Flyover in Hill Road, and Yi Pei Square Playground. The aim is to transform the micro-park designs into reality, with Architectural Services Department as the works agent and Leisure and Cultural Services Department as the client of the parks. Capital works and support for the construction of the Yi Pei Playground were sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and funded by the Hong Kong SAR government. The three other parks capital works are supported by the Hong Kong SAR government.
From 2018 to April 2019, originally 18 mentees formed the four multidisciplinary design teams, accompanied by one mentor per group, to overlook the projects including advisors from different fields. Led by Marisa Yiu, the team of mentors consist of local Hong Kong-based designer Gary Chang (Founder, EDGE Design Institute) and artist, photographer and designer Stanley Wong (anothermountainman) alongside international mentors Mimi Hoang (Principal, nARCHITECTS, New York) and Sam Jacob (Principal, Sam Jacob Studio, London). Richard Hassell (Co-founder of WOHA) has also been providing ongoing support and guidance to the teams as international workshop mentor, along with Elizabeth Diller (Founding Partner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro) and her team, who shared their design philosophy and processes for the Highline and other public space projects at the DTFS 2018 Research Study Tour in New York.
Design Trust thanks the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office (PICO) *ceased operation from 1 July 2022, Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), Central & Western District Office, District Council (Central & Western) and Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) for their continued support of the programme for Sitting Out Area Under Flyover in Hill Road pilot park project.