Oro Sociale · 2026
Pocket Spaces Manuale di Design Comunitario
by Lee Ngai Man
- A' Design Award d'Oro 2026 in Sociale
- CLIENT: Estate Of Mine
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 61,198
- Verification code 6BED26DF45 · Verify this award
Colors
About Pocket Spaces Manuale di Design Comunitario
Pocket Spaces è una guida all'intervento sociale destinata ai complessi di edilizia residenziale pubblica ad alta densità. Il progetto trasforma corridoi stretti e vani scala in spazi sociali condivisi. Un manuale tascabile di 12 pagine, stampato su carta riciclata, accompagna i residenti passo dopo passo, dall'individuazione delle aree trascurate alla costruzione di semplici unità modulari. L'assemblaggio impiega legno recuperato dagli scarti della comunità, fascette e morsetti semplici, così anziani e bambini possono completare un'unità in 30 minuti senza attrezzi speciali. Pocket Spaces promuove l'autonomia spaziale e i legami di vicinato nelle comunità coinvolte in processi di riqualificazione.
About the A' Design Award d'Oro
Pocket Spaces Manuale di Design Comunitario ha vinto l'A' Design Award d'Oro, un riconoscimento immensamente prestigioso conferito a design di primissima qualità, meravigliosi e straordinari. I vincitori d'Oro sono creazioni estremamente innovative, visionarie e di un fascino abbagliante che riflettono il genio, la saggezza e l'abilità dei loro designer. Ci si aspetta che Pocket Spaces Manuale di Design Comunitario sia un'invenzione molto elogiata, all'avanguardia e monumentale che offre un valore senza precedenti. Questo design vincitore dell'A' Design Award d'Oro è un progetto spettacolare e rispettato che giova grandemente ai confini dell'arte, della scienza, del design e della tecnologia e li fa avanzare. Pocket Spaces Manuale di Design Comunitario crea intensi sentimenti di desiderio, risveglia la passione, incoraggia la creatività e ci affascina.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This project is a social intervention guide developed for high-density housing estates. It establishes an open infrastructure system using assembly protocols based on grassroots materials. This empowers elderly residents and children to transform narrow 2 meter corridors and stairwells into co-creation spaces. It is a social resilience tool characterized by zero marginal cost and rapid scalability.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The toolkit uses a nested frame structure of 148 x 210 mm, 105 x 148 mm, and 125 x 176 mm. This ensures the design is portable, while the lightweight materials are easy for elderly people and children to carry. The structures are also designed to be easily relocated during cleaning or maintenance periods.
- Tags
- Social design, social impact, spatial justice, systemic design, discursive design, participatory design, community design
- Production Technology
- The core product is a 12-page A5 portable manual printed on 100% recycled paper. Physical units utilize local material cycles, such as common public estate items and wood collected directly from community waste. Assembly employs low-barrier connections, such as industrial cable ties and simple clamps. This allows non-professionals to conduct community-making in 30 minutes without specialized tools.
- Design Challenge
- The primary challenge was moving beyond the traditional helicopter model of social housing intervention which often relies on one off actions. This project focused on building deep trust through 700 hours of field research to address the apathy caused by extreme density and upcoming redevelopment. It shifts the designer role from designing for to community led design. The project acts as a mobile preservation system that allows social relationships to migrate and integrate into housing plans.
- Research
- This action research project addresses human made ignorance and spatial injustice in high density urban environments. Through 700 hours of immersive ethnography and field research involving 500 residents, we found that urban apathy is a cognitive bias. Neighbors often overestimate the reluctance of others to interact. Public housing lacks the spatial rights to maintain connections rather than the connections themselves. The project resulted in a 40 percent increase in neighborly interactions.
- Inspiration
- This design originates from ethnographic observations of the extreme living density in Hong Kong where space averages 15.5 square meters per person. Through 700 hours of field research and 500 resident interviews, we discovered spontaneous space hacking in corridors and stairwells to build neighborhood bonds. The core inspiration involves translating scattered grassroots wisdom into a systematic social intervention guide. We used an high participation in the manual to awaken spatial autonomy and empower neglected spaces.
- Project Duration
- This organic system launched on January 30, 2025 and evolves alongside public housing redevelopment. The first phase is located in Wah Fu Estate. The second phase will be exhibited at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design in June 2026. The third phase will expand to other high density communities like Mei Lam and Butterfly Estate in 2027 to establish a cross regional social design network.
- Operation Flow
- The Pocket Space Playbook is a portable toolkit designed to help residents transform lifeless public housing corridors into vibrant social hubs. The guide uses a step-by-step approach to help users identify neglected spaces and apply modular grassroots wisdom. This method is effective because it triggers a fundamental community shift: residents realize they have the right to define their own spaces, creating a bottom-up, sustainable ecosystem.
- Image Credits
- Image # 1: Designer Pak Hei Wang, Hiu Man Chiu, Julytha Nga Suet Ho, Ngai Man Lee, Kai Yin Lin, Social Pocket, 2026.
Image # 2: Designer Ngai Man Lee, Hiu Man Chiu, Julytha Nga Suet Ho, Kai Yin Lin, Pak Hei Wang, Social Pocket 2, 2026.
Image # 3: Designer Pak Hei Wang, Hiu Man Chiu, Julytha Nga Suet Ho, Ngai Man Lee, Kai Yin Lin, Engage Material, 2026.
Image # 4: Designer Ngai Man Lee, Hiu Man Chiu, Julytha Nga Suet Ho, Kai Yin Lin, Pak Hei Wang, Informal Knowledge, 2026.
Image # 5: Designer Kai Yin Lin, Hiu Man Chiu, Julytha Nga Suet Ho, Ngai Man Lee, Pak Hei Wang, Social Engage, 2026.
