Khauta Setjhaba · 2026
Pocket Spaces Buka ya Tataiso ya Moralo wa Setjhaba
by Lee Ngai Man
- Moputso oa Khauta oa A' Design Award 2026 in Setjhaba
- CLIENT: Estate Of Mine
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 61,198
- Verification code 6BED26DF45 · Verify this award
Colors
About Pocket Spaces Buka ya Tataiso ya Moralo wa Setjhaba
Pocket Spaces ke tataiso ya boitshunyako ba setjhaba bakeng sa matlo a setjhaba a phuthahaneng haholo. Moralo ona o fetola diphasejeng tse tshesane le ditepisi hore e be dibaka tse arolelanwang tsa setjhaba. Buka e nkehang habonolo ya maqephe a 12 e hatisitsweng pampiring e sebediswang botjha e tataisa baahi mohato ka mohato, ho tloha ho fumaneng dibaka tse hlokomolohilweng ho isa ho ahing diyuniti tse bonolo tsa dikarolo tse kopanngwang. Ho kopanya ho sebedisa patsi e bokelletsweng ditshileng tsa setjhaba, dithapo tsa ho tlama le dikgwahla tse bonolo, kahoo baahi ba baholo le bana ba ka phethela yuniti ka metsotso e 30 ntle le disebediswa tse ikgethang. Pocket Spaces e tshehetsa boipuso ba sebaka le maqhama a boahisani ditjhabeng tse tobaneng le ntjhafatso ya kaho.
About the Moputso oa Khauta oa A' Design Award
Pocket Spaces Buka ya Tataiso ya Moralo wa Setjhaba ke mohapi oa Moputso oa Khauta oa A' Design Award, kananelo e hlomphehang haholo e fuoang meralo ea maemo a pele, e ntle ka ho makatsa le e ikhethang. Bahapi ba Khauta ke lintho tse hlahisitsoeng tse nang le mehopolo e mecha haholo, tse shebileng pele le tse khanyang ka ho foufatsa, tse bontšang botsebi, bohlale le bokhoni ba baqapi ba tsona. Pocket Spaces Buka ya Tataiso ya Moralo wa Setjhaba e lebelletsoe ho ba mohopolo o babatsoang haholo, o thehang mekhoa e mecha le o moholo, o tlisang boleng bo sa kang ba bonoa. Moralo ona o hapileng Moputso oa Khauta oa A' Design Award ke mosebetsi o tsosang maikutlo, o hlomphehang, o tlisang molemo o moholo le o sutumelletsang meeli ea bonono, mahlale, moralo le theknoloji. Pocket Spaces Buka ya Tataiso ya Moralo wa Setjhaba e hlahisa maikutlo a matla a takatso, e tsosa tjantjello, e khothalletsa boqapi mme e re khahlisa.
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.
