Jointly organised by the Welfare Council, the Central and Western District Office and the Central Venue Management Ltd., and the Central and Western District Council, the “Together We Build: Community Engagement in Public Space Transformation@SummerFest Lifestyle” will be held on the Central Harbourfront Event Space on 25th to 27th August, 2017 for public enjoyment. The event is supported by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, Sino Group, Sun Hung Kai Properties, the Sun Hung Kai Properties Charitable Fund, the China Merchants Loscam (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd.— alongside other organisations. On 14th July, 2017, the Welfare Council hosted a press conference at the David Li Kwok Po Community Hall, H.K.S.K.H. St. James’ Church to introduce the event to general public, where 20 mock-up public furniture as well as a life-sized public furniture (2m x 2m x 2m) and a sedan chair were exhibited.
A Speech by Dr Donald Li, Chairman of the Welfare Council Board of Directors
In his speech, Dr Donald Li, Chairman of the Welfare Council Board of Directors mentioned, “With architectural design as the main theme, the “Together We Build: Community Engagement in Public Space Transformation@SummerFest Lifestyle” engaged 20 teams of designers and students of architectural and design industries and different institutes to lead service users and members of the public to build a HK-shape giant maze and 20 large pieces of furniture designed according to the theme of “healthy living”. Upon completion of the project, members of the public can interact with others in the maze to share the success of social participation inclusion.” Dr Li felt grateful for the dedicated support of co-organisers, major sponsors and supporting organisations to the event and wished it a great success.
Event Briefing by Dr Jane Lee, Director of the Welfare Council
Dr Jane Lee, Director of the Welfare Council, then briefed attendees on the event’s details. “The event aims at creating an ideal platform for cross-disciplinary collaboration and the enriching of recreational and public spaces in response to the lifestyles and needs of members of the community. The event will also pique the community’s interest in architecture, design and art, and promote the spirit of social harmony,” Dr Lee said.
Dr Lee added that the event would gather 2,000 participants to build a HK-shaped giant outdoor maze of 5,000 m2. The maze would include 20 large-sized public furniture featuring activities with healthy lifestyle designed by different service users and designers, reflecting the creativity of individuals of different backgrounds and various needs of the community. A sedan chair race would be held at the event. The sedan chairs of the race would be made to be components of a piece of public furniture. Participants could team up for an exciting sedan chair racing around the maze. Besides, a variety of DIY workshops and activities would be organised for public enjoyment.
Mr Robert Wong, Project Development Director of the Welfare Council, Shared on the Concept of Social Participation Inclusion
“People and the community are considered to be livelihood issues of concern to the general public. However, they are considered to be fundamental to architectural projects. It is a traditional mindset that architectural teams should play a key role in architectural design while users’ participation is not a must. Still, the Welfare Council incorporated participatory and person-oriented design to form a platform where service users can get involved in the process so as to achieve a better outcome in architectural design,” Wong said.
Wong also noted that the Council’s design team would host seminars and design workshops, and take service users to do site visit and teach them to produce mock-up public furniture so as to inspire their creativity and exchange views with them. Through Together We Build: Community Engagement in Public Space Transformation@SummerFest Lifestyle, the Council hoped to stand out the concept of community engagement, which means to invite service users to take part in the design process and break free from the traditional frame work of architectural design.
Cheque Presentation Ceremony
The generous support of our major sponsors including the Ng Teng Fong Charities Foundation, Sino Group, Sun Hung Kai Properties and the Sun Hung Kai Properties Charitable Fund also facilitate the event’s smooth operation. A cheque presentation ceremony was held at the press conference, where Mr Daryl Ng, Executive Director of Sino Group, and Mr Adam Kwok, Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties, presented a HK$1.5 million cheque respectively to the Welfare Council representatives, Dr Donald Li and Dr Jane Lee.
Kick-off Ceremony
Accompanied by Dr Donald Li and Dr Jane Lee, seven guests including Mr Daryl Ng, Mr Adam Kwok, Ms Susanne Wong, District Officer (Central & Western) of Home Affairs Department, Ms Michelle Lee, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Central Harbourfront Event Space, and Ms Ting Xu, Head of Sales Management, China Merchants Loscam, officiated at the kick-off ceremony. Counting to three, guests put the props to form a mini HK shaped maze. The kick-off ritual represented that the joint efforts from all sides would contribute to the success of the event. The finished model is one-hundredth of the size of the original maze.
Sharing Session
The organiser invited a design team formed by HKU SPACE architectural studies students and two service users including Ms Law and Ms Fung from the Welfare Council’s elderly centres to share their thoughts on the project. The design team has co-designed one of the large piece of public furniture, and they agreed that the project gave them an exclusive chance to exchange ideas and work together to create a beautiful yet practical furniture. Mr Yeung, a student of the design team, thought the project did not only let them make best use of the summer holidays and contribute the community from what they have learnt at school but also gave them an opportunity to partner and brainstorm with service users so as to perfect the design. Also, Ms Law never thought she would become a “designer” to design large-sized furniture for the centre. She just couldn’t wait to see the final product and try it with other senior citizens.
After the ceremony, guests toured the mock-up public furniture and 20 mini models while designers and service users shared their design concepts and thoughts with one another.
Hong Kong people are welcome to participate in the “Together We Build: Community Engagement in Public Space Transformation@SummerFest Lifestyle”. For enrolment methods and event details, please visit the event’s website: www.webuild.skhwc.org.hk or call Ms Fung at 2533 1209. To keep abreast of the latest updates on the event, check out Together We Build Facebook page (Together we build_Skhwc).