Did you know? From a recent research we did in a neighbourhood in Hong Kong, 50% of people does not talk to their neighbours. This does not surprises us.
Everyone that we haven’t met is a stranger, but every stranger can become someone that can be your neighbour, your friend, your lover…
For this dialogue, we would like to introduce you to three strangers in Central that we will be using their data for the data sculpture that will be in our exhibition: A bar owner, a social worker, and a cultural provocateur. They would share their stories of strangers and their own encounters in Central, come and meet them and ask them their stories and secret of the neighbourhood!
Moderator-
Co-founder of Architecture Commons, Founder of Neighbourhood Innovation Lab
Speakers –
1. Christopher Wong, Co-Founder and Head Brewer of Heroes Beer Co
2. Benjamin Sin, Senior Social Work Supervisor at Caritas Cheung Sui Kun Community Centre
3. Clara Chan, Co-founder of Lion Head Culture
Co-founder of Architecture Commons, Founder of Neighbourhood Innovation Lab
Architect, entrepreneur, and urban thinker passionate about architecture and urban environments that have a lasting impact on society, Eric Ho is the co-founder and Director of Architecture Commons, a design agency for urban innovation.
Eric studied architecture at University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he was the recipient of the Faculty Design Award. In addition to his passion in architecture, Eric has started a civic start-up MILES: a real estate platform for neighborhood and community good through activating underused storefront spaces, and Good Goods: a next generation shared economy platform for retail.
Eric has been invited to speak at various panels and events including Harvard Innovation Lab, Northside Innovation, Columbia University Studio X and TEDxDumbo. He has served as the judge committee for Harvard University’s annual Dean’s Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge. His work has been published in New York Times, Huffington Post, Fast Company, Good Magazine and PSFK,
Eric is currently also a faculty member at Parsons School of Design in New York and teaches design thinking and design strategy in their Global Executive Masters Program in Strategic Design and Management. He is also a part-time faculty at Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Architecture. In 2019, he started “Neighbourhood Innovation Lab” in 2019 to tackle how we might design human-centred cities, one neighbourhood at a time.
Co-Founder and Head Brewer of Heroes Beer Co
Chris Wong was one of the innovators that started the Hong Kong craft beer movement. Career highlights include starting the city’s first homebrew shop, building a 6,000HL capacity brewery, running the city’s largest craft brewery, and winning numerous awards in international beer competitions. As the city’s leading National BJCP Beer Judge and Certified Cicerone, he regularly runs beer courses around the city to share beer knowledge with the F&B industry.
Senior Social Work Supervisor at Caritas Mok Cheung Sui Kun Community Centre
Benjamin obtained his Master of Social Work degree from the University of Hong Kong in 2002 and shortly joined the Caritas – Hong Kong, leading teams in Sham Shui Po, Cheung Chau, Pokfulam, Aberdeen, Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui and Kennedy Town.
He is currently Senior Social Work Supervisor of Caritas Mok Cheung Sui Kun Community Centre, practicing Asset-based Community Development approach to conserve historical neighbourhoods, promote poverty alleviation, foster community resilience, and deliver social innovation. Benjamin has implemented community-based projects like The Pokfulam Farm, JC Healthy Neighbourhood Kitchen, Labour-friendly Communities Project, and Magic Lanes Studio.
Co-founder of Lion Head Culture
Clara and working partner established Lion Head Culture in 2020 and has been working on community and culture related projects. These include the “People of Central and Western District” Community Stories Project for District Council in 2021, and the Ming Wah Dai Ha Documentary Project for Housing Society in 2022.
Prior to her conservationist practice, Clara was a journalist and won the award of the Best Arts and Culture News Report Champion, Hong Kong News Award 2015. She is currently the Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Conservationists.
