Emerging Voices: Design Innovation Through Collaboration

Event Details

Initiated by the American Institute of Architects, Emerging Voices is a series of events that features practices or projects that have the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design.

In this episode, we will focus on how big and small firms can work together to create more synergies and opportunities for designing a better environment across different sectors. We will also deep dive into how design firms and architects can expand design innovation to new topics such as tech integration, sustainability, and more.

Panel Speakers:

Nicolas Medrano, AIA, Design Principal, SOM Hong Kong
Evelyn Ting, AIA, Co-Founder, New Office Works
Steve Trstenjak, Design Director, Gensler
Douglas Wu, Executive Director, Fairland Holdings
Moderated by : Eric Ho, AIA, Co-Founder, Architecture Commons

Join us at the event to hear from industry experts about their recent projects, past experiences, and future aspirations for design innovation through collaboration.

A networking session will follow the event with drinks and snacks provided.

Take advantage of our 'BYOB -Bring Your Own Bestie' - Buy one bring one discount!

Bring a friend, colleague, teammate, partner, or anyone who you feel would enjoy this event for free when you purchase one ticket to join.

Notes:

All ticket purchases entitle guests to bring one complimentary guest to the event upon purchase of a general admission ticket (please share the guest's details via the registration form)
No discount applies for those coming as individuals without a +1

Speakers

Eric Ho

Co-founder of Architecture Commons

Nicolas Medrano

Design Principal at SOM

Evelyn Ting

Co-Founder of New Office Works

Steve Trstenjak

Design Director of Gensler

Douglas Wu

Executive Director of Fairland Holdings

(Moderator)

Architect, entrepreneur, and urban thinker passionate about architecture and urban environments that have a lasting impact on society, Eric Ho is the co-founder and Director of Architecture Commons, a design agency for urban innovation. He also founded Neighbourhood Innovation Lab (NIL) in 2019 instigating a catalyst of systemic change through a range of strategic innovation options and experiments designed with and for city and regional governments; property developers; industry leaders; community organizations and policymakers. Eric was the recipient of the Faculty Design Award at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and teaches architecture at Chinese University of Hong Kong, and design strategy at Parsons School of Design. His work has been published in New York Times, Huffington Post, Fast Company, Good Magazine and PSFK, and was selected among hundreds of companies as a start-up in residence by Urban-X, a startup accelerator built by BMW MINI. Spending most of his time in Asia, Eric is most passionate in finding new ways to disrupt the real estate industry and human-centered design processes for the built environment.

Nic Medrano begins his design process with a deep exploration of the local context and culture surrounding each project and site. He is inspired by the density of the cities he works in across Asia, and by the challenge of designing large-scale, mixed-use developments that enhance both the environment and the human experience. Many of his projects, such as 8 Shenton Way and Guoco Tower in Singapore and Nihonbashi 2-Chome in Tokyo, include tall buildings that remake city centers by bringing public spaces, nature, and transit connections to some of the world’s densest neighborhoods. In 2022, after spending 15 years in SOM’s New York studio, Nic transitioned to the Hong Kong office to spearhead the practice’s growth in the Asia-Pacific Region.

“We want our work to reflect its place and identity. Many of the cities in the Asia-Pacific region are hyper-dense and interconnected, and we try to find ways to enrich and complement those urban fabrics with sustainable, intelligent nature-based solutions.”

As the design leader for SOM’s Hong Kong studio, Nic is responsible for transformative projects across Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. He is advancing SOM’s climate action goals in the region by applying cutting-edge sustainability strategies—from advocating for smart density and “15-minute city” designs, to reducing carbon footprints through new construction technologies and the use of regenerative materials.

Steve is an accomplished architect operating at a leadership level focusing on the design and delivery of large complex, multi-disciplinary architectural projects.

In his 30 years of international experience, Steve has worked with several leading global architectural practices on multiple award-winning projects covering a variety of sectors and typologies. In his current role as Design Director, Steve leads the Hong Kong studio to facilitate creative leadership and design direction, implementing initiatives to achieve efficiency, quality, and design excellence.

Steve is dedicated to humanistic architecture, sustainability, and impactful design. He drives rigorous research, deep understanding, and innovation to ensure optimal solutions and outcomes. He brings strong leadership to projects and strategic development to the business, whilst also motivating and mentoring team members. He is frequently asked to speak at conferences and has served as a juror for Architect MasterPrize Awards, Architizer A + Awards and Dezeen Awards.

Douglas Wu is based in Hong Kong with a background in real estate investment and architecture. He is currently Executive Director of Fairland Holdings, a private real estate developer focused on value-add projects to refurbish and reposition older buildings in Hong Kong and overseas. Recent projects include refurbishment of the Fairview Park Town Centre neighborhood mall, and creating a new branded series of lifestyle buildings ‘Spark City’ in Cheung Sha Wan & Mongkok. Upcoming projects include upgrading a 40,000 sqft neighborhood mall in To Kwa Wan.

Douglas obtained a Master of Architecture at Harvard University. He is the co-Chair of ULI NEXT and part of the Executive Committee of ULI Hong Kong and ULI UrbanPlan. Douglas also serves on the Board of Governors at the ISF Academy in Hong Kong, and is a Founding Patron of M+ Museum.

General Admission

This ticket entitles guests to bring one complimentary guest to the event upon purchase.

Standard PriceHKD 300

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Emerging Voices: Design Innovation Through Collaboration

Event Details