Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu by Lee Ngai Man

Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu by Lee Ngai Man is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Ibhaso Legolide le-A' Design Award in Uyilo lweNtlalo Competition Category.

IgolideEzentlalo· 2026

Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu

by Lee Ngai Man

Client: Estate Of Mine

Ibhaso Legolide le-A' Design Award Winner in Ezentlalo Category

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The Design

About Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu

I-Pocket Spaces sisikhokelo songenelelo lwezentlalo kwiindawo zezindlu zikawonke-wonke ezixineneyo. Olu yilo lujika iindlela ezimxinwa zangaphakathi kunye nezinyuko zibe ziindawo zokuhlala ezabelwanayo. Incwadana ephathwayo yamaphepha ali-12 eshicilelwe kwiphepha eliphinde lasetyenziswa ikhokela abahlali kwinyathelo nenyathelo, ukususela ekuboneni iindawo ezityeshelweyo ukuya ekwakheni iiyunithi ezilula ezimodyulayo. Ukudityaniswa kusebenzisa umthi oqokelelwe kwinkunkuma yoluntu, iintambo zokubopha kunye nezibambo ezilula, ukuze abahlali abadala kunye nabantwana bakwazi ukugqiba iyunithi ngemizuzu engama-30 ngaphandle kwezixhobo ezikhethekileyo. I-Pocket Spaces ixhasa ukuzimela kwendawo kunye namaqhina obumelwane kuluntu olujongene nophuhliso olutsha.

The Recognition

About the Ibhaso Legolide le-A' Design Award

Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu ngumphumeleli weIbhaso Legolide le-A' Design Award, ukuqatshelwa okuhlonitshwayo kakhulu okunikwa imiyilo yeklasi yokuqala, ephawulekayo nentle. Abaphumeleleyo beGolide ziimveliso ezintsha kakhulu, ezinombono ongaphaya nezikhazimlayo ezibonisa ubuchule, ubulumko nobuchule babayili bazo. Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu iyathenjwa ukuba ibe yimveliso edunyiswe kakhulu, ebeka umkhwa nekumgangatho wesikhumbuzo enikela ixabiso elingazange libonwe. Lo myilo uphumeleleyo weIbhaso Legolide le-A' Design Award yiprojekthi emangalisayo nehlonelwayo eluncedo kakhulu kwaye inyusa imida yobugcisa, inzululwazi, uyilo kunye nobuchwephesha. Pocket Spaces Isikhokelo Soyilo Loluntu idala iimvakalelo ezinzulu zonqweno, ivusa umdla, ikhuthaza ukuyila kwaye iyasikhwebela.

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.