Dezeen School Shows: an art neouveau-style cafe and shop located at a racecourse is among the projects from Hong Kong Design Institute.

Also featured is a jewellery collection that symbolises healing, and a concept store that spotlights traditional signboards.

Hong Kong Design Institute

Institute: Hong Kong Design Institute
Tutors: Kentaro Nagano, Henry Chan, Haotian Man, Damon Yau, Popo Leung, Cheung Sui Cheung, Queenie Yuen, Perry Leung, Ken Wong, Anna Lai, Viola Shum, Cassidy Dung and Nelson Leung

School statement:

"Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI), as one of the member institutions under the VTC Group, is one of the most influential design institutions in Hong Kong.

"It provides high-quality education to cultivate knowledge and professionalism, nurturing design talents to support Hong Kong's creative industry development.

"With years of experience in design education, HKDI brings together the strengths of its design departments – Architecture, Interior and Product Design, Communication Design, Digital Media and Fashion and Image Design – to provide over 20 full-time design programmes, preparing students for work-readiness with socially conscious solutions to meet the demand of the 21st century workplace.

"HKDI strives to provide flexible and diversified pathways from Higher Diploma to one-year Bachelor degrees conferred by reputable universities in the UK, or degree programmes offered by local universities, as well as continuing education programmes leading to postgraduate qualifications.

"Through an established network with over 40 overseas design institutions, HKDI students are connected to the world through international exchange and project collaboration."

The Aqueous Breath by Dorothy Chan

"Located in Mai Po, Hong Kong, The Aqueous Breath re-imagines the bird hide as a 'moored boat', bridging the urban ego and the natural world.

"Shifting into the Gei Wai, it facilitates a vital separation from the city to allow for a mental restart through nature.

"This water-driven healing is grounded in neuro-architecture. The visual movement of water and its acoustics are scientifically proven to stimulate Alpha brain waves and activate the parasympathetic nervous system to lower stress.

"The design guides visitors to synchronise with the rhythms of wildlife, catalysing a shift in human behaviour and fostering a coexisting ecosystem. Rooted in a handcrafted process, utilising a bamboo structure to preserve traditional culture.

"Clad in site-harvested bark to create a calming effect, the architecture ensures that human recovery and ecological conservation coexist."

Student: Dorothy Chan
Course: Higher Diploma in Architectural Design
Tutors: Kentaro Nagano and Henry Chan
Email: dorothychanpl[at]gmail.com

Feed the Fish – A Modular, Interactive Pavilion for Plastic Waste Awareness by Janice Chau

"This is a transformative pavilion designed to turn plastic waste into a participatory architectural experience.

"By combining a curved structural system with cross-bracing elements, the pavilion creates adaptable, dynamic spaces that respond to different environments.

"Its core innovation lies in engaging the public directly. Visitors are invited to insert plastic bottles into the structure – an act called 'feeding the fish' – making the bottle not just a recycled object but an active, visible component of the pavilion's anatomy."

Student: Janice Chau
Course: Higher Diploma in Architectural Design
Tutors: Kentaro Nagano and Haotian Man
Email: janicechau132003[at]outlook.com

Zend Garden by Yoyo Cheuk

"This series of outdoor fitness equipment for seniors elegantly combines zen aesthetics with gentle exercises.

"Research shows many elderly lack regular physical activity despite needing it most for holistic wellbeing.

"Designed for mental tranquillity and mild movement, the collection creates serene outdoor parks inspired by a sand garden to promote healthy ageing.

"It features a Tai Chi gentle pusher made from seven stacked giant pebbles, a pebble-stacking-inspired device for leg lifts and stretches, and a Y-shaped multi-person social seating bench."

Student: Yoyo Cheuk
Course: Higher Diploma in Furniture and Product Design
Tutor: Damon Yau
Email: yoyocheuk06[at]gmail.com

Rebirth by Chantel Shum

"This jewellery series Rebirth narrates a journey from breakdown to bloom, consisting of five pieces: necklace, earrings, watch, brooch and ring.

"Using blue-purple gemstones, sandblasting and polishing techniques, it visualises the process of healing, breaking boundaries and growing into a new self, exploring the power of rebirth after hardship."

Student: Chantel Shum
Course: Higher Diploma in Jewellery Design and Technology
Tutors: Cheung Sui Cheung and Queenie Yuen
Email: 20040629q[at]gmail.com

Future Age by Jason Lam

"Future Age is a lifestyle exhibition that leverages immersive virtual reality and 3D reconstruction technologies to envision human existence over the next 50 years.

"By exploring societal evolution under the influence of artificial intelligence (AI), the exhibition aims to transform Gen Z's apprehensions into a constructive dialogue, showcasing how AI can enhance, rather than replace, our future way of life."

Student: Jason Lam
Course: Higher Diploma in Visual Communication Design
Tutor: Perry Leung
Email: jasondesign60[at]gmail.com

雜招廣益 Collective Grocery Co by Rame Seto

"Street signs are everywhere around our city, and many of them hold a rich cultural heritage.

"In a fast-paced city like Hong Kong, traditional signboards are slowly being replaced with little to no preservation of sign culture.

"Collective Grocery Co is a concept store aiming to raise awareness of sign culture.

"Each product represents a local industry and how it connects with Hong Kong, in hopes of educating local audiences to cherish the abundance of the city."

Student: Rame Seto
Course: Higher Diploma in Visual Communication Design
Tutor: Perry Leung
Email: ramemonet[at]gmail.com

Slow Ding Ding by Koi Wong

"Hong Kong is famous for its fast-paced lifestyle, where people often rush through daily life without noticing their surroundings.

"This project explores how the iconic tram – a symbol of slow movement – can remind people to pause, observe and rediscover the meaning of slow living in a busy city."

Student: Koi Wong
Course: Higher Diploma in Illustration
Tutor: Ken Wong

Two Gilded of Lilies by Eleana Ng

"This story is about two failed experimental female subjects who desperately crave freedom.

"Just as they are about to be taken back by soldiers, a seemingly kind woman, Marina, rescues them, allowing them to experience the taste of freedom. However, secretly this woman doesn't intend to save them.

"This is a group project done by the Animation and Visual Effect Students. Eleana contributed as the producer."

Student: Eleana Ng
Course: Higher Diploma in Animation and Visual Effects
Tutor: Viola Shum
Email: lamzuozhe[at]gmail.com

Minute by Minute by Ben Chan

"While other cities stop using batteries, Harbor City promotes the 'Battery Project'. Five years later, 80 per cent of citizens join.

"70-year-old Lan and her gifted 17-year-old grandson Tse Chun live together. Lan buys a one-year plan. Soon, Tse Chun collapses during drama practice.

"The doctor prescribes expensive battery medicine. To afford it, Lan tries to cancel the plan but is forced to halve the dosage instead.

"Tse Chun forgets lines and loses his competition. Suddenly, the TV announces a free Battery River. Shocked, Lan calls customer service, but the line remains busy.

"This is a group project done by film, television and photography Students. Ben contributed as the director, scriptwriter and art director."

Student: Ben Chan
Course: Higher Diploma in Film, Television and Photography
Tutor: Anna Lai
Email: chan65767360[at]gmail.com

From Rust To Dawn by Yvonne Hung

"The narrative structure of 'One Thousand and One Nights' constructs dawn as a temporal symbol of redemption.

"Through the literary metaphor of Scheherazade prolonging her life by storytelling, daybreak becomes a liminal threshold between life and death.

"This literary device, which transforms an astronomical phenomenon into a strategy for survival, provides a theoretical framework for exploring the relationship between light and hope.

"This study establishes a visual paradigm that connects cultural memory with future imagination through a dialogue between architectural geometry, calligraphic rhythm and industrial structure.

"Transforming the decay into a new beginning.

"This is a group project done by the fashion image design students. Yvonne contributed the styling part of the project."

Student: Yvonne Hung
Course: Higher Diploma in Fashion Image Design
Tutors: Cassidy Dung
Email: hyyvonneeee[at]gmail.com

The Silence Tear by Swally Lai

"The Silence Tear is a conceptual fashion collection that raises public awareness of the enduring legacy of child labour.

"It powerfully connects the historical injustices of the Victorian era (1837–1901) with modern exploitation in the luxury goods industry.

"Through avant-garde silhouettes, deconstruction, and compelling narrative elements, the garments expose the physical, psychological and social traumas of child labour, emphasising the loss of safety and human dignity.

"The core concept revolves around the inescapable cycle: vulnerable children robbed of choice, thrust into perilous factories, mines and streets.

"Design details include fractured fabrics mimicking shifted bones, severed cuffs and hems symbolising lost limbs, and binding layers representing entrapment.

"Aimed at luxury consumers, fashion enthusiasts, policymakers and the public, the collection seeks to evoke empathy, challenge apathy and inspire action."

Student: Swally Lai
Course: Higher Diploma in Fashion Design
Tutors: Nelson Leung
Email: swallylai0508[at]gmail.com

Café and Gift Shop at Sha Tin Racecourse "Round" Cafe by Akira Ng

"The art nouveau movement popularised art and demonstrated the value of equality for all.

"The movement – just like the Hong Kong Jockey Club – promoted horse racing to the common people, allowing this traditional aristocratic sport to be participated in by the general public.

"As an art movement, it advocates organic, natural, wavy and flowing curves, making the design more dynamic.

"It looks like plants sprouting from the soil and is full of vitality."

Student: Akira Ng
Course: Higher Diploma in Interior Design
Tutors: Popo Leung
Email: akiraogamire1205[at]gmail.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and the Hong Kong Design Institute. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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