Rocco Yim’s twin passions for his craft and home city shone through again as he humbly accepted the HKIA Gold Medal for 2024, among the highest accolades within Hong Kong’s architecture community. Pictured above (centre) with Housing Secretary Winnie Ho and HKIA President Benny Chan, he urged his peers to channel their creativity towards the well-being of society.

While technology is transforming architecture and design by automating many time-consuming processes, is it also threatening traditional skills, like hand sketching, that have long been part of the designer’s toolkit? RIBA HK is hosting a fascinating new exhibition and competition motivated by Chair Dennis Ho’s passion to preserve the art of sketching.

Architect Owen Lam is just 36 years old but he’s already forging an impressive reputation as a thought leader in intergenerational design. His proposal for a creative and sensitive refurbishment of old tenement buildings, in which many elderly residents live alone in Hong Kong, has helped him win one of two leading industry awards and a trip to Japan to study intergenerational housing projects.

Accomplished Malaysian-born Australian architect John Chow has built an enviable reputation for concept-centred designs in the hospitality space since setting up Metagram in Hong Kong in 2017. Learn more about his journey so far.

Sudara, a luxurious resort-style condominium at Phuket’s Bang Tao beach, is the latest addition to a growing portfolio of prestigious residential projects by the Lan Kwai Fong Group, the creative force behind the legendary Hong Kong entertainment district, and its partners.

Public housing estates are not typically places you’d expect to find breakthrough ideas in architectural design. But an innovative new design guide seeks to shatter that stereotype by encouraging the adoption of a range of wellness design concepts in both existing and new estates in Hong Kong, The guide was discussed at a recent symposium, moderated by Architecture Commons co-founder Eric So (above right).

An inspiring movement to focus the minds of young architects and designers on confronting global issues, such as climate change, regional conflicts, forced displacement, big data and technology is gaining momentum, with the help of leading Hong Kong-based urban designer and academic, Dr. Sujata Govada.

Since launching her own studio in 2018, Emma Maclean has created stunning interiors for apartments, hotels, clubs and boutique retail stores from Hong Kong to Paris. Now the talented designer and A&D Awards judge can add superyacht to her portfolio, after refreshing the interior of Silentworld, an elegant 39.6-metre motor yacht bought by a local family in 2021.

Taikoo Place is one of Hong Kong’s best known business hubs, home to over 300 multi-national corporations. Now it is home to almost as many native plant species thanks to some thoughtful landscaping by its developer, Swire Properties.

Forhad Ullah passionately believes in the power of design to create unique spaces that people feel proud to live and work in, as opposed to the repetitive ‘cookie-cutter’ template adopted in many of Hong Kong’s residential and hospitality developments. “As a resident or tenant, you should be able to say ‘I feel proud to live in this building’,” he says.