‘RE: Tai Kok Tsui’ Future Imagineer Academy
Speculation of Sustainability
Project details
Year: 2024- 2025
Location: Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong
Collaborators/Acknowledgement:
Organiser: Hong Kong Arts Centre
Funder: Urban Renewal Fund
Strategic Partner: Yau Tsim Mong District Office of Home Affairs Department, HKSAR
Programme Collaborator:
Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong
Happy Ageing Lab
School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
We are often unaware of the implications of our actions—we do not know how they were derived or what they will mean for our future. Unprecedented crises, such as the pandemic and extreme climate events, prompt us to rethink our approach to a sustainable future. However, we have been following paradigms that optimise urban development by extracting economic value from natural resources—wetlands, sea areas, forests, and so forth. Whilst these developments undoubtedly aim for a better future in the years ahead, they are not sustainable for future generations.
The Future Imagineer Academy (“FIA”) is one of the programmes under “Re: Tai Kok Tsui”, an initiative organised by the Hong Kong Arts Centre and funded by the Urban Renewal Fund. It is a joint-university programme across the School of Architecture at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (“CUHK”), the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (“PolyU”), and the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong (“EdUHK”). Almost 200 university students from diverse built environment, design, social science, and data science disciplines have participated in the programme.
Rooted in the Tai Kok Tsui (“TKT”) community since 2024, through six university courses and a design competition, we worked together with students to collect data, analyse issues, engage in dialogue with stakeholders, and study the past and present of Tai Kok Tsui from diverse perspectives. We have integrated thousands of spatial, statistical, visual, historical, and community data entries to build an AI platform centred on Tai Kok Tsui. Leveraging the AI platform as a creative tool, we launched a student design competition to develop community design proposals, push beyond traditional boundaries, and imagine the future. Through FIA, we study the past and present, and imagine the future collectively, with a heightened awareness of our actions and decisions. The decisions we make and the corresponding futures will inspire us to reflect on how to forge paths towards sustainable futures.
In July 2025, we hosted a three-day “Future Imagineer Hackathon: Student Ideas Competition”, bringing together eight teams comprising around 30 university /post-secondary students from a wide range of disciplines. Over the course of the event, participants received training, engaged in dialogue with community members and professionals, brainstormed ideas, and used AI-powered platforms to envision the future of various spaces in Tai Kok Tsui.
Photo credits to
Hong Kong Arts Centre
Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong
Happy Ageing Lab
School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
