Sarah Mui
Co-founder
One Bite
Sarah is a catalytic architect based in Hong Kong, known for her collaborative creations rooted in human-centred design thinking. Her work connects people to their community spaces, strengthening the social fabric. Specialising in public space, social design, and cross-disciplinary creative strategy, Sarah leads the first B Corp in Hong Kong's architectural industry. At onebite, she and her team bridge the commercial and public sectors with the community through innovative ideas. With over five years of facilitation experience, Sarah focuses on the public sector and NGOs, fostering social innovation and participatory design processes.
Alan Cheung
Co-founder
One Bite
Alan Cheung co-founded One Bite Design Studio (onebite) and One Bite Social. As a registered architect with over 15 years of experience, he managed all technical aspects of onebite, focusing on enhancing public spaces and driving urban innovations through cutting-edge tools.
He also ventured into exhibition curation, helming the 3-year Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival. Holding a Master's degree in Urban Analytics, he also leads a team of data scientists in onebite to explore the potential of incorporating big data in architecture and making urban data accessible via the platform URBAN MATTERS.
Every Voice Matters
As a B-corp certified architecture firm based in Hong Kong, onebite has embedded the ethos of community engagement deeply within our operational model, believing it to be a cornerstone for civic development and urban transformation. Our presentation, "Every Voice Matters," will explore the methodologies and outcomes of our community engagement practices that have significantly impacted Hong Kong and how these can be adapted for Singapore and other Asian cities. We will discuss the co-creation KNOTIE methodology which promotes a consensus-driven approach among diverse stakeholders, fostering strong community bonds and creating spaces that resonate with all users. Through a showcase of varied projects, we aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of engaging a wide audience over different project durations and the potential for scalability in other urban contexts. We believe every voice can be heard and can contribute to making more liveable, loveable, and enduring communities.
Keywords
Community engagement, publicness, diversity, scalability, sense of place
Jin Jing
Co-founder
Big Fish Community Design Center (Shanghai)
Ms. Jin Jing graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan University with a specialization in Urban Planning and Community Design. She co-founded the Big Fish Community Design Center in 2018 and She's dedicated to fostering public participation in urban renewal districts. Her work includes leading community empowerment programs, designing practical toolkits, facilitating international exchanges, and executing projects related to community design and planning.
He Jia
Co-founder
Big Fish Community Design Center (Shanghai)
He Jia worked as a professional architect at the East China Architectural Design Institute for many years. Later, he devoted himself to the construction of urban and rural communities and transformed into a community designer and community builder. He believes that urban space is the key carrier of a better life, and the core is the creation of social relations between people. Combining "hardware" and "software" with systematic thinking and using it to help the sustainable development of the community has gradually become He Jia's mission and direction of commitment.
Co-create a community for all
As a community building organization from Shanghai, composed of cross - professional community designers and social workers, Big Fish Community Design Center is committed to adopting a whole - process participatory working method. On the one hand, it promotes the micro - regeneration of community spaces and supports the gradual and sustainable progress of community issues initiated by residents, from joint discussions, proposals, implementation of minimal actions to long - term self-organization. On the other hand, through the revitalization and operation of spaces, it creates a sharing mechanism that encourage residents to initiate issues and activities autonmomously , and collaborates with young practitioners to foster a social innovation - based economy that grows from the community.
This sharing session will take the overall community building action of Big Fish Community Design Center in Xinhua Road Neighborhood, Shanghai as the main case. It will cover aspects from participatory community micro - renovation and community building actions, the "One - Square - Meter Action" plan that supports residents' minimal actions, to the co - construction of the Xinhua Community Design Center as a supporting hub. It will also explore the top - down and bottom - up coordinated promotion of neighborhood regeneration centered around the sustainable operation of the Xinhua Community Building Center. During this process, introduction aboutpolicies and plans of Shanghai in aspects such as the 15 - minute living circle planning and promoting the whole - process participation of multiple stakeholders will be incorporated.
Keywords
Empower local collaboration, community resilience, community design practice in Shanghai Xinhua Neighborhood
Boonanan Natakun
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University
Dr. Boonanan (Pan) Natakun is a lecturer in the Interior Architecture Department and the vice director of the Urban Futures and Policy Research Unit at Thammasat University. His research focuses on low-income housing, participatory planning and design, and climate resilience for urban communities. He actively collaborates on international initiatives, including the SEANNET Collective, the River Cities Network (RCN), and projects applying nature-based solutions to urban public housing. His work highlights the critical role of urban neighborhoods in shaping urbanization in Southeast Asia while advocating for resilience and inclusivity in planning practices.
Engaging Multi-Level Stakeholders Through Co-Visioning Processes in Urban Regeneration Projects
A Case Study of Hua Kwang Public Housing Complex, Bangkok
Urban regeneration projects often face competing interests among developers, residents, businesses, and government entities. This paper examines a pre-feasibility investigation of a speculative urban redevelopment project at Hua Kwang, a public housing complex that has housed low-to-middle-income residents for over five decades. Once a suburban area, Hua Kwang has experienced rapid urbanization and now benefits from proximity to Bangkok’s new central business district (CBD) in Ratchada, an area characterized by high-rise developments and mass transit accessibility.
An interdisciplinary research team—spanning urban planning and design, architecture, real estate development, and social engagement—developed participatory processes to address local challenges, regulatory constraints, and stakeholder needs. Fieldwork was instrumental in identifying key external stakeholders and influential local groups while fostering trust and collaboration. The major outcomes derived from participatory processes through systematic dialogue design across multi-level stakeholders highlight the clear ultimate goals of the project owner. These goals can be deconstructed into smaller yet interrelated objectives, ensuring relevance to all stakeholders involved.
For instance, while the local government prioritizes infrastructure improvements to facilitate new development and attract higher-income taxpayers, local residents express concerns about maintaining a balance between new and existing inhabitants. Their primary concern is preserving diversity and ensuring that the area remains affordable for different income groups. A key challenge in this process is fostering a sense of inclusivity throughout stakeholder engagement. Different stakeholders may interpret inclusivity in varying ways, making it essential for all parties to acknowledge and recognize each other's perspectives. Ensuring transparency throughout the urban regeneration project is crucial to building trust and achieving equitable outcomes.
Transparent co-visioning platforms helped mitigate skepticism, allowing stakeholders to openly express their concerns and aspirations for their living environment. These participatory processes fostered a shared vision, ensuring sustained engagement and momentum throughout the project. Maintaining a sense of inclusivity and transparency over time—before, during, and after the urban regeneration project—ensures that all stakeholders remain invested and attentive, while also gaining a deeper understanding of each other’s needs. As a result, potential conflicts can be mitigated at the early stages, preventing complex and entrenched challenges related to the social, economic, and environmental aspects of community life.
All in all, this study highlights how inclusive stakeholder engagement and thoughtfully designed participatory processes inform urban regeneration projects. By addressing preconceived negative perceptions and aligning stakeholder interests, these insights pave the way for more equitable, inclusive, and responsive redevelopment initiatives.
Keywords
Urban regeneration, public housing complex, co-visioning process, multi-stakeholder, interdisciplinary team
Christine Joh
Principal Landscape Architect
Wul Landscape
Christine grew up across the U.S. and Korea and studied architecture and landscape architecture in Korea and Norway, experiences that shaped her inclusive and thoughtful design approach. Now at Wul Landscape, she blends practice and research to design community spaces and playscapes that reflect the needs of diverse users. She is especially passionate about creating spaces for children, individuals with disabilities, and other underserved groups, believing that public spaces should be transformative and accessible for all. She enjoys working with public clients who value direct communication and embrace the challenges of designing for diverse and evolving communities.
Bridging Generations
Redesigning Galdaebat Children's Park to Balance Elderly and Child-Friendly Needs
Galdaebat Children's Park, located in Dobong-gu, Seoul, exemplifies the challenges of designing inclusive public spaces in a rapidly aging society. Spanning approximately 900m², this park is adjacent to a senior-citizen center and a block away from a preschool, highlighting conflicting demands for its use. While Korean law mandates that children’s parks include play equipment, declining birth rates and a growing elderly population have led to increasing calls for “elderly parks” as more relevant public spaces.
In 2021, Wul Landscape was commissioned to renovate Galdaebat Children’s Park, following preliminary plans by the Dobong-gu Urban Regeneration Department. Through town hall meetings, we encountered polarized community feedback: local seniors argued that there were “no children living here,” while preschool teachers noted that outdated facilities deterred them from utilizing the park. Our participatory design process focused on reconciling these divergent needs by fostering dialogue and reimagining the park as a multi-generational space.
This presentation discusses the challenges and strategies employed to balance accessibility, inclusivity, and functionality, while amplifying the voices of overlooked groups such as young children. It highlights how thoughtful, community-driven design can transform even the smallest public spaces into meaningful environments for diverse users, driving social connection and fostering shared ownership.
Keywords
Multi-generational design, play space renovation, elderly-friendly parks, community engagement
Larry Yeung
Executive Director
Participate in Design (PhD)
Larry is a designer and community organizer who champions participatory design in Singapore. As Executive Director of Participate in Design (P!D), he leads efforts to integrate community-based processes into urban planning. Since 2013, Larry has worked on neighborhood planning, public space design, and community art. He was honored as a World Cities Summit Young Leader in 2021 and recognized as a notable National University of Singapore (NUS) College of Design and Engineering (CDE) outstanding young alumni in 2023. In addition to his work at P!D, he also advises government agencies on citizen engagement projects as a member of the CSC-MCCY’s Partnership and Engagement Experts Panel.
Designing with people
The role of Participatory Design in bridging social divides in Singapore
With growing polarization and social stratification, participatory design and planning face critical challenges in fostering meaningful interactions and understanding among diverse individuals and communities across Singapore. However, engagement practices hold significant potential to transcend differences and overcome prejudice. How can participatory design create accessible opportunities for meaningful interaction and understanding between individuals and communities from different walks of life?
This presentation draws on case studies from Participate in Design (P!D), a Singapore-based non-profit advocating for community-centered spatial design, to explore how participatory design fosters dialogue and collaboration to co-create meaningful outcomes. Join us as we discuss how intermediary actors can renegotiate their roles within Singapore’s participation ecosystem, addressing tensions between diverse stakeholders—such as new citizens and locals or residents with differing priorities—to foster an inclusive, socially permeable urban built environment.
Keywords
Participatory design, civic participation, community design, community building, Singapore
Shih, Pei-Yin
Associate Executive Officer
Collabortive O. Planning and Consultancy Company
Shih Pei-Yin is a practitioner dedicated to public art and urban action. Combining action research and participatory design, she has spearheaded initiatives that include the "Roosevelt Road temporary POPS" and "Open Green" projects, revitalizing urban spaces in Taipei and receiving the Good Design Award in Japan. In 2017, her public art project "A Different Light in Willow Den" was honored with the Ministry of Culture's Award for Excellence.
In recent years, Shih has extended her focus to social housing, leading the "Hello! This is Village 3490" public art project at the Linkou Athletes' Village Social Housing. Through this project, she uses art engagement to create a contemporary living lab, fostering community and exploring new models for urban living.
Chang, Jue-Xian
Project Researcher
Collabortive O. Planning and Consultancy Company
Chang, Jue-Xian is a graduate student in the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning at National Taiwan University. For the past four years, he has been a key contributor to the Linkou Athletes' Village Social Housing Public Art Project in New Taipei City. His responsibilities span fieldwork, exhibition planning, local cultural research, and policy discourse. Chang's work focuses on how public art in social housing can effectively transform urban communities through civic arts education, serving as a significant policy model.
From Athlete Village to Social Housing
Creating a Contemporary Living Lab through Art
The "Hello! This is Linkou 3490 Village" public art project takes place in the Linkou Universiade athletes’ village, the largest social housing complex in Taiwan. Based on in-depth research into the local context, the project strategically established two living labs to serve as bases for community engagement and resident empowerment. Over five years, the project team collaborated with fourteen artists from Taiwan and abroad to develop site-specific art interventions, exploring how art can address social issues, connect with everyday life, and translate local culture.
The project team, acting as an intermediary organization, implemented a three-phase strategy: "Forest of Mist" fostered two public spaces for residents participation in communities.; "On the Red Soil" interpreted local history through art projects; and "Field Craft" highlights the diverse needs of residents, including indigenous groups and people with disabilities. Finally, "Ascending the Forest" disseminated the project's findings through traveling exhibitions and publication. Through action research, the project turns into an adaptive planning public art program, enacting the relational aesthetics of art intertwined with life, and promoting social housing as a field for cross-cultural understanding and contemporary living experimentation.
Keywords
Public art, action research, relational aesthetics, social housing, contemporary living lab
Chong Keng Hua
Provost & Vice President (Academic)
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts | University of the Arts Singapore
Chong Keng Hua is Provost and Vice President (Academic) of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) at the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS). He is formerly Associate Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), where he directed the Social Urban Lab (SOULab) and the Positive City Lab and led the MND-HDB New Urban Kampung Research Programme. He is also a Founding Partner of COLOURS: Collectively Ours, an award-winning design practice specialising in public space and social impact.
Social Archi-puncture Playbook
With growing polarization and stratification in society, how can community engagement create opportunities for interactions and understanding between individuals and communities in disparate corners of the city? How can engagement practices overcome differences and prejudice and facilitate an urbanism of social permeability?
Singapore is facing growing challenges, including ageing population and increasingly diverse demographics. The ageing trend has led to more seniors-only households and declining household sizes, increasing the demand for community support. Health concerns, including rising chronic diseases, obesity, and declining mental well-being, further highlight the need for better urban planning. Dementia cases are also projected to double by 2050.
On the other hand, declining community participation and widening inequalities in the past decade make it necessary to experiment with various engagement strategies to empower seniors to take charge of their health, facilitate more inclusive environment, and create a sense of agency and social permeability that brings together different demographic groups in public and private housing estates.
Four projects were conducted between 2020 and 2023 using a combination of design ethnographic methodologies and gamification techniques to advance four key design principles: Health, Equity, Agency, and Life.
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Design for Health: The Community Behavioral Needs Assessment (BNA) in Boon Lay, in collaboration with MOHT and grassroots organizations, explored ways to encourage physical activity and healthy eating. This led to RECHARGE, a prototype that transforms waiting areas into fitness spaces, allowing commuters to exercise while tracking progress via an online dashboard.
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Design for Equity: The Dementia-Inclusive Neighborhood project, in partnership with CLC and AIC, studied Yio Chu Kang to develop design and policy recommendations for creating dementia-friendly communities in Singapore’s high-rise environment.
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Design for Agency: The Mindful Placemaking initiative, in collaboration with CGH and local partners, piloted a green social prescribing program and a community art farm in Changi Simei, promoting mental well-being and community empowerment.
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Design for Life: The Common Good Pavilion, featured at Archifest 2022, redefined urban streetscape by integrating food resilience and participatory placemaking.
Building on the concept of acupuncture, these projects exemplify how our proposed Social Archi-puncture framework that integrates data analytics, participatory design, urban intervention, and community asset development can scale up by activating public spaces through hybrid “phygital” engagement, fostering co-creation between citizens and designers to enhance community health, equity, agency and urban life.
Teoh Chee Keong
Assistant Professor
School of Architecture and Built Environment, University College Sedaya International
Teoh is an Assistant Professor and Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Engineering , Technology and Built Environment, UCSI University. He obtained his Master of Architecture from CYCU, Taiwan in 2005. He specializes in Building Conservation, he involved in several notable historical building restorations works in Malaysia and Taiwan, including Taiping Market, Taiping Shuntak Ancestral Hall, Taichung Railway Station, National Monument- Taipei Guest House etc. His teaching and research focus on the areas of cooperative learning and community engagement. He conducted several design-build community projects, such as Kuala Sepetang ‘Kaktao46’ Community Library, Sungai Buloh Leprosy Story Gallery, Garden Library at Kebun Komunity Rumah Pangsa AU2 etc. He has contributed more than 200+ articles for various media including Sin Chew Daily, MalaysiaKini, Asiaweek, Architecture Malaysia etc on architecture and cultural conservation.
Revitalizing Urban Spaces Through Community-Driven Festivals
The Case of Kongsikl and Klang River Festival
The Klang River Festival, launched in 2022 by Kaki Kongsi KL, is a grassroots-driven initiative aimed at reconnecting urban communities with the Klang River through cultural and artistic interventions. As rapid urbanization and infrastructural developments have distanced the river from everyday life, the festival seeks to revitalize its significance as a shared public space by fostering social interactions, cultural exchange, and environmental awareness.
This presentation examines how the festival’s planning and execution facilitate encounters between individuals and social groups across the city. It highlights key engagement methods, including participatory art, oral history projects, and collaborative performances, which encourage dialogue and shared experiences among diverse communities. A crucial aspect of the festival’s success lies in its strategic approach to securing horizontal and vertical partnerships—bringing together local artists, grassroots organizations, and community groups while also engaging corporate sponsors, property developers, and municipal authorities. By aligning private investment with public benefit, the festival creates a framework where cultural engagement and urban development can coexist.
Witee Wisuthumporn
Co-founder
CROSSs & Community Architects Network
Witee (Muang) is a very confused community architect and co-founder of CROSSs, a Social Architect / Community Architect firm committed to fostering positive change in cities, neighborhoods, and society. With a deep focus on participatory processes and design Witee collaborates with communities and stakeholders to create processes and spaces that are inclusive and rooted in collective aspirations. Driven by a fundamental question: "How can architects be part of the process of building the neighborhoods we live in together?" Witee is even more confused.
Our Humble Participatory Process
Shaping Chaiyaphum City’s Public Space
What happens when 200 people—students, health volunteers, city clubs, active citizens, local authorities, and even the mayor—come together to shape their city’s future? In Chaiyaphum, Thailand, a deeply participatory process unfolded over a series of three-day workshops, where diverse voices converged to co-design 64,000 square meters of public space in the heart of the city. Facilitated by CROSSs in collaboration with Chaiyaphum Municipality, this process wasn’t just about design; it was about belief—belief that people, when given the space to listen, negotiate, and create, can shape their city in meaningful ways. Through series of 3 days onsite Workshop, open dialogue, shared constraints, and collective imagination, participants witnessed firsthand that urban transformation starts from the ground up. This session will share insights from the journey, reflecting on a humble, inclusive process can reconnect people with the places they call home.
Keywords
Participatory process, co-creation, city design, Haiyaphum, community architect