Hong-Kong City Guide and its emerging design scene
Friday 6 September —
12:00
- 12:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
Hong Kong creativity takes center stage with a panel discussion on the city’s emerging design scene. Join eight local studios as they weigh in on Hong Kong’s unique creative character and evolution, as well as their favorite spots and places to visit around the city.
Participants
Keith ChanInterior Designer & Founder - Hintegro
CL LamCreative Director
Dennis CheungArchitect & Founder - Studio RYTE
Ken Fun & Kevin MakCo-founders - streetsignnhk
Li KwanhoCo-founder - MLKK Studio
Bodin Hon & Dilara Kan HonProduct/Industrial Designer & Creative Director - Yellowdot
Charlotte Lafont-HugoFounder & Director - BEAU Architects
Monica TsangDirector - Monica tsang designs Ltd
Sofia Lekka AngelopoulouEditor-in-chief - designboom
Keith Chan
Interior Designer & Founder - Hintegro
Keith Chan is the founder of Hintegro, a Hong Kong-based interior design studio, leading projects across residential, commercial and social sectors. Outside the studio, Keith envisions to bring positive impacts to the industry and community with his expertise. Since 2018, Keith has been the key go-to-person of Japanese related design forums and partnerships hosted by Hong Kong Trade Development Council, in order to foster the cultural and business exchanges between Hong Kong and Japan. Keith also volunteered in Hong Kong Interior Design Association and Senior Citizen Home Safety Association as design advisor, along with other industry roles. As a cultural enthusiast, Keith regularly contributes to local media like ELLE, ETNET and MENCLUB to share about design, architecture and lifestyle, in hope to make design and culture appreciation accessible to the public.
CL Lam
Creative Director
The term "factory man" is neutral in nature, but the meaning is well understood: the focus is on technical aspect without creativity. Life was calm and business as usual when CL Lam is running 2 factories. After the millennium, strange ideas came up and turned into sustainable production. There were no rules, few case studies at that time, everything was created without routines & boundaries. After years of research and experimentation, in 2017, CL Lam was invited to collaborate with the Materials Research Center of the Polytechnic University HK on sustainable materials exhibition led to recognition. Clients with initially hesitant, eventually succumbed to his awarded sustainable innovations. Clients include Talon, Coca-Cola, LVMH, Droog, Merci, Muji, Levi's, Panasonic, American Express, Exceptional Apparel, Fangsuo, New World, Swire, Hysan, Towngas Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Standard Chartered Bank, McDonald's, WWF, Deliveroo, Emirates, UBS, Mercedes-Benz, Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong Government, and many others.
Dennis Cheung
Architect & Founder - Studio RYTE
Dennis Cheung is a Registered Architect based in Hong Kong with a strong focus on sustainability, fabrication and material innovation. He envisions a sustainable future for the built environment by marrying new technology with traditional craftsmanship. Dennis is the recipient of the Perspective’s 40 Under 40 Award, ARCASIA’s Young Architect Award, and Sina’s New Power Interior Design Award. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and earned his Master in Architecture at MIT. Dennis currently serves as an adjunct assistant professor for Design+ at the University of Hong Kong. Led by Dennis Cheung, Studio RYTE is a forward-thinking design studio celebrated for its innovative approach to furniture, interior, and architectural design, blending cutting-edge technology with traditional craftsmanship. They are committed to creating adaptable and modular designs that respond to the evolving needs of urban living. Their hands-on approach and deep understanding of materials, supported by an in-house woodshop for prototyping and intricate detail development, set them apart. Renowned for their sustainable practices, Studio RYTE focuses on developing novel materials, minimizing material wastage, utilizing flat-pack designs, and reducing the transportation footprint. With meticulous attention to detail and a focus on durability, their designs stand out globally. Studio RYTE has earned numerous accolades, including the Dezeen Awards, Architizer A+ Awards, Wallpaper* Magazine Award, INDE Awards, Sky Design Award, Design For Asia Awards, SaloneSatellite Awards, and the American Institute of Architects Merit Award. They have exhibited multiple times in Milan, Paris, Venice, Cologne, Tokyo, Bangkok, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
Ken Fun & Kevin Mak
Co-founders - streetsignnhk
Named after ‘signboard-streetscape’, the unique vibrant cityscape created by layers of signboards in the streets of Hong Kong, @streetsignhk was founded in Oct 2017 by architects Kevin Mak and Ken Fung. @streetsignhk promotes signboard-streetscape as urban cultural heritage by exploring in-depth signboard stories of Hong Kong & building regulations, conserving existing signboards that face demolition and promoting a sustainable signboard culture through design practice.
Li Kwanho
Co-founder - MLKK Studio
Kwanho Li, HKIA, is the co-founder of MLKK Studio. He has an immense interest in contextual and materiality exploration through architectural design. He also believes architecture can have a positive impact on social and global environmental issues. He strives for a world-conscious architectural studio model with his partner, a non-profit organization named HARE Studio, which has been set up for such a purpose. Kwanho is also a certified designer at the Passivhaus Design Institute (PHI) and a registered architect in Hong Kong. He is an alumnus of The University of Hong Kong (HKU).
Bodin Hon & Dilara Kan Hon
Product/Industrial Designer & Creative Director - Yellowdot
Yellowdot, led by Bodin Hon & Dilara Kan HON, is a design studio & creative consultancy specializing in products, lighting, furniture, and spaces. Since meeting at IED in Milan, they’ve combined their contrasting backgrounds to work seamlessly across disciplines. Their studio blends technology with crafts, logic with emotion, and East with West, fostering the cross-pollination of ideas. Based in Hong Kong and Istanbul, they collaborate with artisans, industries, manufacturers, and brands globally, translating meticulous ideas into production. Their interdisciplinary thinking and innovative design redefine categories with a sustainable, playful & bold approach.
Charlotte Lafont-Hugo
Founder & Director - BEAU Architects
Charlotte Lafont-Hugo (1985) is an architect graduated with honours from La Cambre-Horta University in Brussels in 2011. In 2013, she entered Hong Kong cultural life as co-curator for Detour, the annual flagship of Hong Kong Ambassador of Design. This project, entitled “Detour Matters, From Microtopias to Social Innovation”, engaged in experimentation and had the ambition of curating the city, creating links between the creative world and various communities, including the academic world. Following that experience, she co-founded her office, BEAU Architects with her husband, Gilles Vanderstocken, in 2014. Her most recent work includes the Kiang Malingue Galleries in Hong Kong (2022) and Shanghai (2016), the scenography for "Cao Fei: Staging the Era" in UCCA Beijing (2020), "Cao Fei: Tidal Flux" in Museum of Art Pudong Shanghai (2024) and the “Oasis project”, the revitalisation of Tai Kwun Contemporary outdoor spaces (2021). For the last ten years, she has been regularly invited as critic and speaker at numerous universities. Since 2022, she led, together with Gilles Vanderstocken, a M.Arch studio on adaptive reuse and constructive intelligence at Hong Kong University (Faculty of Architecture).
Monica Tsang
Director - Monica tsang designs Ltd
Monica Tsang is sincere, playful, and fun-loving. Her design philosophy, "Live your life from your heart and be inspired every day," is reflected in her collections. Influenced by her experiences in the UK, Germany, Italy, and China, her design aesthetic is multifaceted. A graduate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a Masters in Ceramic Design from Staffordshire University, she founded her studio in 2013. She received accolades like the 2014 Best HK SME's Youth Entrepreneurship Award and the 2015 Rising Asian Talents award. Our clients include MGM, City of Dreams, Four Seasons Hotels, Wynn, Peninsula, Regent Hotel, and Sands.
Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou
Editor-in-chief - designboom
Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou is Editor-in-Chief of designboom, based in Milan, Beijing, Zurich and Berlin, with a global team of collaborators. Established in 1999, designboom.com is the world's first online cultural magazine for art, architecture, design and technology, with a global reach of 3 million readers monthly. Born in Greece, Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou studied Architecture in London (UK) and Interior Architecture, Research and Design in Rotterdam (NL). She has worked as an editor on print and digital publications, as well as on interior architecture and design projects in Europe. In 2018, Sofia joined designboom and is currently leading the editorial section and activities of the magazine.