Pocket Spaces Manwal sa Disenyo sa Komunidad by Lee Ngai Man is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award nga Bulawan in Katilingbanon nga Disenyo Competition Category.
BulawanKatilingbanon· 2026
Pocket Spaces Manwal sa Disenyo sa Komunidad
by Lee Ngai Man
Client: Estate Of Mine
A' Design Award nga Bulawan Winner in Katilingbanon Category
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The Design
About Pocket Spaces Manwal sa Disenyo sa Komunidad
Ang Pocket Spaces usa ka giya sa sosyal nga interbensyon alang sa mga estate sa pampublikong pabalay nga dunay taas nga densidad. Ang disenyo naghimo sa sigpit nga mga koridor ug hagdanan ngadto sa gipaambit nga mga sosyal nga luna. Usa ka 12-ka-panid nga madaladala nga manwal nga giimprinta sa recycled nga papel ang naggiya sa mga residente sa matag lakang, gikan sa pag-ila sa mga gipasagdan nga lugar hangtod sa paghimo og yano nga modular nga mga yunit. Ang pag-assemble naggamit og kahoy nga gikolekta gikan sa basura sa komunidad, mga cable tie ug yano nga mga clamp, aron ang mga tigulang nga residente ug mga bata makakompleto og usa ka yunit sulod sa 30 ka minuto nga walay espesyal nga mga himan. Ang Pocket Spaces nagsuporta sa espasyal nga awtonomiya ug sa relasyon sa mga silingan diha sa mga komunidad nga nag-atubang og redevelopment.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award nga Bulawan
Pocket Spaces Manwal sa Disenyo sa Komunidad usa ka mananaog sa A' Design Award nga Bulawan, usa ka hilabihan ka prestihiyoso nga pag-ila nga gihatag sa unang-klase, katingalahan, ug bantogan nga mga disenyo. Ang mga mananaog sa Bulawan labihan ka bag-o, daghan og panan-aw, ug nagsidlak nga mga paglalang nga nagpakita sa henyo, kinaadman, ug kahanas sa ilang mga tigdesinyo. Gilauman nga ang Pocket Spaces Manwal sa Disenyo sa Komunidad mahimong labing gidayeg, nagtakda og uso, ug monumental nga imbento nga naghatag og bili nga wala pa makita. Kini nga disenyo nga nakadaog og A' Design Award nga Bulawan usa ka makapahingangha ug gitahod nga proyekto nga labihan ka mapuslanon ug nagpalapad sa mga utlanan sa arte, siyensya, disenyo, ug teknolohiya. Pocket Spaces Manwal sa Disenyo sa Komunidad nagmugna og kusog nga mga pagbati sa kaibog, nagpukaw og kahinam, nagdasig sa pagkamamugnaon, ug nagbihag kanato.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- 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.
- Team Members
- Pak Hei Wang
Ngai Man Lee
Kai Yin Lin
Nga Suet Julytha Ho
Hiu Man Chiu - 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.
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