Design Philosophy:
As an Architect, I believe the public activities that architecture captures and projects will define the projects as much as the building forms, façade textures and urban presence will do. It remains my primary proposition that architecture should promote the awareness of public spaces and the city context.
With a contemporary style inspired by the density and the variety of urban spaces in Hong Kong, I started to explore integrating public spaces extensively in my works. For example, in Chengdu IFS, China (2014), the design features elevated drop-off to allow ground-level public spaces, rooftop sculpture garden and turning the antiquity site into a walk-on plaza which everyone can enjoy. In Chongqing IFS, China (2017), the design amalgamates vehicular traffic to allow multi-level plazas and courtyards to integrate with entrances to respond to the intricate site topography. In both Changsha IFS, China (2019) and Aoti Vanke Centre, Hangzhou, China (2021) listed in above section, the arrangement of public spaces also functions as a statement to challenge the dogmatic design paradigm. In MixC Dongguan Songshan Lake District Mixed Use Development, Guangdong, China (on-going), a 24-hours green belt is introduced to loops around the ground floor and the basement connecting different public spaces. In parallel to the pragmatic pursuits of client’s requirements, I have put a tremendous amount of time and effort to exploit the opportunity to contribute to the urban environment and the public they serve.
Throughout these years I have been involving in exhibitions, public talks and workshops to share my visions with the public and the up-and-comers to about public spaces and architecture. To name a recent example, I was one of the creators and exhibitors of the “Ding Talk” exhibition in the PMQ, which aims to inspire the public to rethink the possibilities of the future NTEH development.
