Supported by the Design Trust Impact Grant, the highly anticipated second edition of Open House Hong Kong (OHHK) returns this November, following the success of its inaugural event last year. Hong Kong is proud to be one of over 60 cities participating in the Open House Worldwide international network. This year, OHHK will run over two weekends (November 22, 23, 29, and 30), offering the public exclusive access to a wide range of remarkable architectural spaces. The event invites participants to experience how outstanding design and innovation shape a ‘good city’ that thrives on the harmony of lifestyle, culture, economy, and environment.
This year's edition continues to uphold the spirit of an open city with new programmes planned by a cross-disciplinary team of practitioners. The selection of more than 80 spaces in Hong Kong showcases the diversity of the city's history, nature, function, innovation, and geography. Many of these hidden gems are being rediscovered or made accessible to the public for the first time. Through opening these spaces, we hope to enhance the public's understanding and imagination of architecture and the city, and together explore the question: ‘What makes a good city?’
Organising Committee
-
Kit Chan
Writer & Photographer
Graduated from the University of Hong Kong, and formerly a journalist, Kit Chan currently works as a column writer, editor, photographer and independent curator. Putting focus on architecture, humanity, space making and urbanism, he actively documents Hong Kong, as well as other cities. He is the author of two books, KNOWHERE and KNOWHERE HONG KONG, published respectively in 2020 and 2023.
The former publication has been awarded with Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards 2021. -
Jessica Chan
Urban Researcher / Urbanist
Jessica Chan is an urban researcher, especially interested in spatial imagination, urban policy and discourse. After graduating from the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she received the Chevening Scholarships to pursuit her master's degree in Urban Studies at University College London. Later, she completed the master's degree in Urban Analytics from the University of Hong Kong with the scholarship suppprt of the University Grants Committee.
-
Kay Chan Wan Ki
Product Designer & Community Interaction Planner
Kay Chan is a product designer and community interaction planner specialising in sustainable design, whilst integrating art and design into public spaces to promote community and environmental inclusion. Kay’s edge in community interaction planning has led her to infuse elements of community participation in most of her work. She has also led education programmes for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, M+, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and PMQ. In recent years, Kay’s focus on interactive communication has inspired her to curate the opening exhibition of ‘Our Living Library’ at Oil Art Space (2022).
- 2018 Mentee of Design Trust Future Studio – Play is for the People
- Designer of Tsuen Wan Yi Pei Square Playground -
Fan Lok Yi Helen
Arts Practitioner & Researcher
Fan Lok Yi is a Hong Kong-based curator who explores the connections between urban spaces, history, and the environment through research and collaborative artistic processes. She has led multiple community projects and has recently dedicated herself to studying the evolution of children's playscapes. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Hong Kong and an MA in Fine Art from the University of the Arts London.
- 2018 M+/Design Trust Research Fellows
-
Charles Lai
Architectural Historian & Architect (UK)
Charles Lai is an architect (RIBA) and an architectural historian. He graduated from the AA School of Architecture in London and the University of Hong Kong. His works explore the history of modern architecture in East and Southeast Asia, the material culture and history of Shanghai plaster, as well as the conservation of historical built heritages.
- 2022 Design Trust Feature Grant Recipient
-
Hiuman Lam
Writer & Photographer
Hiuman Lam graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor's degree in Chinese Language and Literature and a Master's degree in Cultural and Religious Studies. She currently works as a writer, photographer and curator. In 2020, she established the "Hong Kong Reminiscence", which is dedicated to documenting Hong Kong's cultural heritage. She authored a book titled "Hong Kong Reminiscence: Documents of Hong Kong's Old Stories" and has hosted and taken part in several local and overseas photography and design related exhibitions. She hopes to record the unique culture of Hong Kong through various mediums, transforming history into memory.
-
Vera Lam
Art Curator
Vera Lam is the Director of HART Haus, a not-for-profit institution subsidised by Henderson Land Development Company Limited. Her role focuses on providing platforms for emerging artists to thrive and facilitating connections between artists, audiences, and the broader community through interdisciplinary exchanges, curated exhibitions, public programs, and international artist residencies. Lam’s curated exhibitions include "Collected Light: From Legacy to Future" (2024) and "Postmodern Tales" (2023) at H Queen's, enriched by her positions at M+ and Blindspot Gallery with a focus on international and Chinese contemporary art within Hong Kong’s visual culture.
-
Kevin Mak
Architect, Architectural Photographer & Heritage Conservationist
Kevin Mak is a registered Hong Kong architect. He currently focuses on urban & architectural photography and on the signboard heritage conservation platform @streetsignhk which he co-founded. He takes a multidisciplinary approach in sharing and experiencing our urban space, street life and aesthetics through exhibition, research, design & photography.
- 2024 co-recipients of the Design Trust Dynamic Duos Arts Prize
-
Bob Pang
Architect & Author
Bob Pang is a registered architect in Hong Kong and has worked in London, Vienna and Shanghai, such as working as a project architect at the studio of Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. In recent years, he initiated and advocated a research about local Brutalist architectural history for three years, funded by Design Trust and Leigh and Orange. He is the author of "Unknown Brutalism Architecture in Hong Kong" and "Think Things on Architecture", and is currently a columnist for City Magazine.
- 2024 co-recipients of the Design Trust Dynamic Duos Arts Prize
- 2022 Design Trust Feature Grant Recipient
- 2022 Mentee of Design Trust Future Studio – Heritage is Creative Generation
- 2020 Design Trust Seed Grant Recipient -
Sampson Wong
Urbanist
Sampson Wong obtained a PhD Geography from the University of Manchester, UK and is currently lecturer of Urban Studies Programme at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His practices mainly include public writings and contemporary art, and he is the author of two best selling books, Hong Kong Strollology and Urban Strollology.
- 2018 M+/Design Trust Research Fellows
The first Open House was held in London in 1992, and the concept has since spread across the world, growing into a global network of about 60 organisations that host festivals and conversations about architecture, design, and cities. “Open Cities” include London, Barcelona, Osaka, and more. Hong Kong will be joining for the first time in 2024!
Attended by hundreds of thousands of visitors, and co-created by industry professionals, volunteers, and other stakeholders, Open House Worldwide is the largest celebration of the urban landscape in the world.
The network is a project of Open City, a non-profit registered as a charity in the United Kingdom.
