Interview with Pak Hei Wang

Pak Hei Wang ("PHW") interviewed on Saturday, 9 May.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

PHW : We are Estate of Mine, a social design collective based in Hong Kong. Most of our members are currently pursuing or have recently completed degrees in Social Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Our practice bridges the gap between academic research and deep-dive community interventions. We focus on "Lesser Design"—a framework that values grassroots innovation and unpolished urban hacks over top-down, rigid planning.

How did you become a designer?

PHW : Our journey began with a shared curiosity about how people "reclaim" their city. Living in a high-density environment like Hong Kong, we noticed that the most vibrant spaces weren't the ones designed by architects, but the ones "hacked" by residents. This collective drive to use design as a tool for social equity and community empowerment led us to form our group and focus on Social Design.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

PHW : Our priorities are Participation, Resilience, and Strategic Vulnerability. We use "Strategic Weakness" as a technique—designing objects or systems that are intentionally "incomplete" to invite users to finish them. Our style is "Phygital"—a mix of raw, analog aesthetics (like Risograph printing) and digital precision (using tools like Three.js and automation).

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

PHW : We often feel a sense of "agitated optimism." The most exciting phase for our team is the fieldwork—seeing a resident use a corridor or a stairwell in a way we never predicted. There is a specific collective joy in witnessing a "fleeting imaginary space" come to life through the actions of the community.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

PHW : Our background in continental philosophy and architectural theory—specifically the works of Hegel, Deleuze, and Foucault—has been a massive influence. It taught us to see power structures in urban layout. Additionally, our diverse skills in graphic design and digital automation allow us to make complex social issues accessible and engaging for the public.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

PHW : Our growth path involves moving from local interventions to building a global digital archive of "Lesser Arts." We plan to expand our "Pocket Spaces" methodology to other high-density cities, with Amsterdam as a current point of interest for a pilot study. Our dream is to design a city that functions not as a rigid machine, but as a "playbook" for its citizens.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

PHW : Do not be afraid of the "messy" or the "unpolished." In social design, a "perfect" render is often a wall that stops participation. Embrace "Strategic Weakness"—leave room for the user to breathe, to hack, and to disagree with your design. That is where real innovation happens.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

PHW : We suggest moving away from the ego of the "creator" and toward the role of the "facilitator." Stop designing "solutions" and start designing "invitations." Our job isn't to fix the world for people, but to give them the tools to reimagine it for themselves.

What is your day to day look like?

PHW : Our day is a hybrid of high-tech and low-tech. It usually starts with coordinating our digital workflows and models, followed by "guerrilla" fieldwork in local housing estates. We spend a significant amount of time listening to residents' stories, which we then translate into design scripts, spatial prototypes, or community workshops.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

PHW : We follow "Post-digital" and "Phygital" trends, but we treat them as a language rather than a rulebook. Trends matter because they define how we communicate with the current generation, but the "human grammar" of empathy and community remains the constant foundation of our work.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

PHW : For us, a project is well-designed when it is "hacked." If a resident takes our design and changes it to fit their specific need, that is the ultimate success. We define good design as a "fleeting imaginary space" that becomes a reality through collective action.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

PHW : Our design is ready when it no longer looks like "our" work and starts looking like "theirs." We know we have succeeded when the community takes ownership of the script and begins to iterate on it without our intervention.

What is your biggest design work?

PHW : "Pocket Spaces – Social Playbook." It is a culmination of extensive fieldwork in Hong Kong’s public housing estates. It isn't just a physical intervention, but a toolkit that empowers residents to reclaim underutilized urban corners through their own collective imagination.

Who is your favourite designer?

PHW : We are inspired by the radical thinkers of the 1960s, such as Yona Friedman, as well as contemporary practitioners who prioritize social impact over aesthetic perfection. We admire those who see architecture as a living, breathing social contract.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

PHW : We are immersed in the vibrant, dense urban fabric of Hong Kong. Our culture is one of "making do"—the ingenious way people solve problems with limited resources. We balance our intense research and design sprints with active recovery, often finding inspiration in the everyday "揦西" (unpolished) beauty of our city.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

PHW : As Estate of Mine, our work culture is horizontal and collaborative. We believe in "Designing with, not for." Our philosophy is built on the idea that imagination is a form of infrastructure. We look for partners who aren't afraid of strategic vulnerability and who value long-term social resilience over short-term polish.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

PHW : As a social design collective, we see our work as inherently philanthropic. Our "Pocket Spaces" project is essentially pro bono; we spend months in public housing estates conducting workshops and co-designing with residents because we believe design belongs to the community, not just high-paying clients.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

PHW : Participating in the A’ Design Award has been a transformative experience for our team. The three main benefits for us have been: global visibility for local grassroots issues, validation of our "Lesser Design" philosophy by a prestigious international jury, and the opportunity to benchmark our social impact against global standards. This recognition has significantly boosted our career path, proving that social design projects can achieve the same level of design excellence as commercial ones. We believe design competitions are important because they create a global stage for "imagination as infrastructure." Being recognized as "Designer of the Day" (or a Gold winner) feels incredibly rewarding; it makes our mission to reclaim urban spaces feel heard and visible on an international level.

Pak Hei Wang Profile