Marisa Yu, co-founder and CEO of Design Trust Futures Studio tells us how smart collaborative design with public participation is transforming local neighborhoods.
Marisa Yu of the Design Trust on transforming local neighborhoods
Nestled among the semi-divided residential heights of Tsuen Wan, the transformation of Yi Pei Square Playground from a downtrodden land to a now colorful strip filled with graphic figures and play areas for all was awe-inspiring. Then there’s the ultra-modern, bright pink Portland Street Rest Garden, cheered by hexagonal tables and chairs, becoming a “Hong Kong destination” and an unexpected Instagram sensation.
Both are among four sites selected to be radically redesigned and renovated under the Design Trust Futures Studio’s small garden initiative, which aims to transform previously dilapidated, high-traffic, urban public areas into new, positive spaces for an interactive community.
“We build these micro-parks collaboratively, and they are positively accelerated for the community at large. It is truly a multi-layered, multidisciplinary program,” says Architect, Co-Founder and CEO of the Design Trust Marisa Yu.
“You have different skill sets and designers participating, and now it’s open to the public to enjoy, you have seniors sitting there, you have children playing, fashion designers come to support us and government officials are knocking on our door asking how they can support us more.”
The project, curated by Yiu, debuted in the spring with Yi Pei Square Playground, under the concept of The Communal Living Room, where a team of young designers collaborated and were mentored by architect Mimi Hoang.
“This was the result of on-site research and analysis, various public engagement sessions and collective efforts from public and private agencies, with the aim of presenting this unique ‘common living room’ in Yi Bei Square to local residents and encouraging concepts of inclusivity and intergenerational intergenerationalism,” explains Yiu.
During the pandemic and with travel limited in Hong Kong, there has been a renewed focus on how local spaces serve people who live nearby – especially in our dense city of skyscrapers and cramped apartments. The emergence of these playful and vibrant little gardens in populated areas of Hong Kong are small, bright beacons of positivity in uncertain times.
Yau Tsim Mong’s dilapidated Portland Street Rest Garden received a similar treatment with a half-park design, inspired by the spirit of the New York High Line. The result: a bright floral space with terrazzo features and reddish movable furniture, where people customize the space according to their own needs, while lush plants, many of them seasonal pink, evoke cheerfulness and positivity.
Soaring colours, shapes and a healthy dose of fun were the result of local designers challenging each other, with many involved in each design.
Focusing on Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in China, Yiu plays an instrumental role in guiding the NGO Design Trust, which she co-founded in 2014, a few years after joining the Design Ambassadors Council in 2008. Apart from her work as a non-governmental organization A governmental, Columbia and Princeton alumnus is also a founding partner of ESKYIU, an award-winning, multidisciplinary architecture and research design studio based in Hong Kong, which has welcomed high-profile clients such as K11. However, it was her work as Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong Biennale and Shenzhen Urban/Architecture Biennial on West Kowloon Waterfront that first put her name on the Hong Kong design map.
“I co-founded the Design Trust with the collective vision of a lot of leaders and friends. Giving grants wasn’t enough – we wanted to involve the international community,” says Yu. “I’ve always been involved with schools and nonprofits, so I wanted to bring that energy to Hong Kong.”
Its biggest impetus has been the creation of the pioneering Design Trust Futures Studio in 2017, building on mentor-intern workshop relationships, considering various urban developments and reflecting on values in the community, while enabling the positive value of heritage design and public spaces in an area.
“It is multidimensional, like back to school for everyone, not only for young designers, but also working alongside various stakeholders – from grassroots and government officials to policy makers and distinguished mentors – with very specific goals in mind,” Yiu explains.
“I’ve always thought of Hong Kong as a model city, just because of the bifurcation of nature and a city with pockets of extraordinary culture, but it’s clear that the government needs to do a better job creating more friendly, inspiring, functional and comfortable playgrounds and parks – it’s about human dignity.”
The spirit of the small gardens seems to have caught on, with the government announcing the renovation of about 170 public spaces in the coming years, although the Design Trust will not participate in most of them. City residents can research how the two remaining experimental sites – the Hamilton Street Rest Garden and the seating area under the Hill Street Flyover – have evolved.
Yiu’s ambition for the organization is to go beyond awarding grants and research fellowships to young designers – it aims to put Hong Kong at the center of the global design dialogue while engaging the public. Fostering a sense of well-being at home is not just about belonging but often how much we can influence its development.
“I had this passion for how to engage the community outside of the different disciplines,” she says. “The concept is to bring people together, to have an active voice, to participate and to transform our city.” The trip was rewarding but also “a huge challenge,” Yu admits.
As a young architect, she spent a significant amount of time working in New York with inspiring mentors and started her own practice with her husband. They then moved to London, where they studied at the Architectural Association, before eventually returning to her hometown. Yiu’s attitude to working toward a 360-degree approach has no doubt been influenced by early mentors such as Elizabeth Diller, who was one of the principal architects of the New York Highline, the famous renovation of the long-old New York elevated railroad. Greenway Public Park.
“This was a case study of preserving this wonderful infrastructure for New York,” she adds. “Every city has its own differences and challenges, but there are also a lot of common experiences to pass on.”
Yeo has taught in the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong and the School of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, this engagement with education, experimental architecture and the history of how city culture is a form of industrialization, all of which inspired the approach she advocates at the Design Trust.
It’s exactly what the city needs – especially now. These vibrant little urban oases offer plenty of hope, both real and symbolic, and their eccentric character proves powerful tales in a city living under the restrictions of the pandemic.
“As a not-for-profit organization, we love experimentation and experimentation,” Yiu says, “From a future perspective, we hope to develop a more comprehensive program, but we still need to feel nuanced… It’s great that you have this momentum of generosity and cooperation.”