Photo credit: courtesy of Architecture Commons
Event Description
Since 2019, Architecture Commons and Neighbourhood Innovation Lab have pioneered multi-stakeholder design strategies to advance urban equity across diverse community challenges. We catalyze systemic change through portfolios of strategic innovations and experiments, engaging structural levers of transformation in partnership with city and regional governments, property developers, industry leaders, community organizations, and policymakers.
Operating as a cross-sectoral platform, we bridge institutional boundaries to foster innovation-driven transformation. Our approach facilitates innovation consortia and community-led change initiatives, testing solutions directly with affected communities to ensure relevance and impact.
Our work spans critical urban domains. For the Hong Kong Housing Bureau and Housing Authority, we developed the Well-being Design Guide, establishing new frameworks for public housing that prioritize resident quality of life. POSsible, created for the Architectural Services Department, provides a design thinking toolkit that reimagines public open space development. Through JC@21C, we delivered integrated hardware and program innovations across 36 children and youth centers, enhancing youth empowerment in collaboration with Hong Kong Jockey Club and multiple NGOs. The JC Wellbeing project engaged 16 schools in participatory design processes that transformed learning environments.
This presentation examines the strategies, tools, and insights gained from orchestrating collaboration across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. We will explore how to navigate competing institutional logics, align diverse stakeholder timelines and priorities, and structure inclusive participation that genuinely distributes agency. Attendees will gain practical frameworks for building effective innovation consortia, translating between sectoral languages, and scaling pilots into systemic impact—essential capabilities for practitioners working at the intersection of urban design, social innovation, and participatory governance.
CES: Estimated 1 LU/HSW for AIA Members
AIA Hong Kong is hosting a Spring Conference Watch Party!
When: Thursday 26 March 2026 @ 19:00 - 21:00 (Hong Kong time)
Where: AIA Hong Kong Chapter Office, Unit S602, Block A, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central
If you are interested in joining the Watch Party in person and meeting Eric and Tim, please REGISTER HERE.
Speaker
Eric Ho, AIA, AIA Hong Kong Chapter Director, AIA International; Immediate Past President, AIA Hong Kong; Co-founder and Director, Architecture Commons
Guest Speaker
Dr. Tim Li, HKIA, AP, RA, Class 1 RA Qualification (PRC), DFA (RMIT), MBA (AGSM), LLB (TSINGHUA), Chief Architect, Hong Kong Housing Authority
Moderator: Shannon Ho, AIA, HKIA, ARB LEED AP BEAM Pro, 2026 President, AIA Hong Kong
Speaker Bios
Architect, entrepreneur, and urban thinker, Eric Ho is passionate about architecture and urban environments that have a lasting impact on society. Eric is the Co-founder and Director of Architecture Commons, a design agency for urban innovation, and also the 2025 President of the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter. He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he received the Faculty Design Award. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in urban design at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
To broaden the architectural practice, he has been leading the strategy team at Architecture Commons and launched the “Neighbourhood Innovation Lab” to explore human-centred design for cities and neighbourhoods, winning the Good Design Award in 2022 and 2025. Eric spearheaded the team as the leading consultant for the “Well-being Design Guide” that became a policy across Hong Kong Public Housing Estates development under the directive of the Hong Kong Housing Bureau and Hong Kong Housing Authority, winning numerous awards including the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design Greater Bay Area Urban Design Awards 2024 and Hong Kong Institue of Planner Silver Award.
Dr. Tim Li has over 25 years of experience in the building industry in both the private and public sectors. In his position as Chief Architect of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, Dr. Li leads a professional team responsible for a wide spectrum of tasks on public housing development from inception, planning, design, construction to post-completion stages. He is also supporting various central functions in Housing Department, including the central procurement of Micro-climate Studies for new projects and the development of well-being design adopting design thinking approach to enhance the sense of well-being for residents in future public housing.
Moderator Bio
Shannon Ho is the 2026 President of the AIA Hong Kong Chapter. She joined Aedas in 2003 and is currently an Executive Director of Aedas Macau.
Shannon is an experienced architect with strong technical and architectural detailing skills, developed through her work on a wide range of projects, from high-end hospitality and large scale commercial developments to complex infrastructure projects. Over the years, she has demonstrated her ability to lead and deliver high-quality design and documentation, particularly in executive architect roles on complex and fast-track projects.
Her portfolio includes the original Terminal 2 Airport Authority Headquarters at Hong Kong International Airport. She has also led teams on a series of retail renovation projects for Hongkong Land’s properties in Central District.
