Placemaking Project

Commissioned by Design Spectrum (Hong Kong Design Centre) at 7 Mallory Street, Wan Chai in Hong Kong in 2021. Responding to the fact that Wan Chai receives up to 700,000 daily commuters alongside its 170,000 residents, the team conducted participatory action research to introduce "play" to transient adults. They installed wave-shaped benches built from locally sourced timber by "Youth Makers" and a "Corner Swap" area to trade customized rules of play among strangers

Community Consultancy

Community Action Research & Study

All materials carry open licenses for community replication and adaptation. Empower your local initiatives with our ready-to-use design assets.

Disaster Preparedness - Community Resilience

社區客廳

路過北角

Appointed as Study Consultant for Research and Model Development on Community Disaster Resilience, based on its Community-based Capacity Building in Disaster Preparedness for HKJCDPRI. MOL evaluated the pilot programme in Sai Kung to assess its contribution to local disaster preparedness, response capacity and community collaboration. Evidence-based blueprint and strategic framework for strengthening bottom-up disaster resilience in Hong Kong’s rural and sub-rural communities.

Invited by St. James’ Settlement’s (SJS) “To Kwa Wan Community Living Room” URF project, the Public Space Study and Analysis examined small rest areas as potential community living rooms. It included a policy review, population mapping, questionnaires, and fieldworks, using tools of Small Open Space Analysis (SOSA). Findings recommend pilot areas and suggest facility improvements and management approaches involving collaboration among government and community organisations in To Kwa Wan.

URF's Via NorthPoint commissioned MOL to conduct a community baseline assessment and profile study. The research explored North Point’s dense urban environment, migration history, bicultural identity, strong neighbourhood ties and tensions old and new communities. Through cross-generational interviews, including conversations in Fujianese, MOL built trust and identified residents’ needs and aspirations for public space. Findings informed a public lecture and expert gathering, shaping the HKAC project’s subsequent community engagement framework.

Sound Around 聲音陪迴：跟機聽故事

"Sound Around" is a community and sound art project implemented in the Wong Tai Sin District in 2021, organized by Wheel Thing Makers and sponsored by the Wong Tai Sin District Council. Utilizing a mobile "sound story cart," the project engaged deeply with five sub-districts—Wong Tai Sin, Choi Hung, Tsz Wan Shan, Lok Fu, and San Po Kong—to capture ambient environmental sounds and oral histories from local residents. Building upon these materials, the project team created fictional audio novels and community memory picture books in collaboration with various artists and creators, including Bouie Choi, Angel Pang, and San Ho. These works were presented through radio dramas, online audio tours, and community fairs. The project aims to compile local histories and grassroots memories into a cultural archive, encouraging the public to adopt alternative perspectives and re-explore the everyday landscapes and cultural textures of Wong Tai Sin through sound.

Placemaking Project

Since 2019, Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) commissioned MOL to undertake a preliminary “Groundwork research and community profiling study” in North Point in Hong Kong. The commission sat within the initial phase of 路過北角 Via North Point, a public-art and community-building project funded by the Urban Renewal Fund (URF) implemented since early 2020. The study was intended to understand North Point’s demographic characteristics, social fabric and potential community dynamics, and to inform a subsequent stakeholder-engagement strategy.

HKAC’s commissioned our research team for stakeholder-engagement consultancy and training workshops for HKAC, including desktop research, site visits and field observations, and informal interviews with local people. MOL also lists Delphi expert consultation spanning eight professional fields, a public forum, Think Tank discussions, and training workshops for HKAC within the research/engagement context. MOL amde use of the study and related engagement activities laid foundations for pragmatic design guidance and a robust community-engagement strategy.