RSA X HKDI invitation_final.pdf
RSA Student Design Awards PR _final.docx
Design and Society @ HKDI:
Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of RSA Student Design Awards with Social Architecture installation
17-30 Jan 2014
@ HKDI Design Boulevard
23 Jan 2014 (Thu) Opening night
The new HKDI DESIS Lab[1] is proud to present an exhibition/installation as the celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the RSA Student Design Awards.
The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) is an enlightenment organisation based in the UK committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s social challenges. It has been a source of ideas, innovation and civic enterprise since it was established over 250 years ago.
The RSA Student Design Awards scheme, run by the RSA, is the longest-running student design awards scheme in the world. Since 1924, the RSA Student Design Awards has challenged students and recent graduates to think differently about design, through tackling briefs focused on real-world problems. It aims to bridge the gap between industry and education by offering realistic, industry-led project briefs and awarding prizes aimed at developing the experience of individual students and enhancing their career prospects.
HKDI DESIS Lab invited the RSA Design Team to visit the HKDI and conduct workshops with students to nurture design ideas for society. The Opening night will be a chance for special guests to meet HKDI students and staff members as a reunion of RSA Fellows and the RSA Design Team. Guests are also invited to experience the results of the Social Architecture @ HKDI[2], a special commission as part of the celebration and curated by Cesar Harada, a French-Japanese inventor/graduate of the Royal College of Art in London who recently relocated in Hong Kong.
[1] As part of the DESIS International Network (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability, the HKDI DESIS Lab for Social Design Research established in July 2013 at the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI). Its aim is to generate knowledge through a series of ‘Design Possible Studies’. Each study will involve both Local Actions (Site-specific experimental projects in Hong Kong working with local actors to reframe micro problems through design) and Global Thinking (Collaborations with international partners to co-create macro solutions for global issues). For the first year of its development, three design possible studies were initiated: Home (家), Ageing (老) and Dying (死).