Date/Time
Date(s) - August 29, 2026
3:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Categories No Categories

Following our earlier announcement that Jessy Yau has been selected as this year’s AIA + ACC Hsin Chong Foundation Young Architects Fellow, we are pleased to advise that she will present her research proposal to us at this event. Jessy will spend three months in Japan later this year, conducting research on abandoned houses under the mentorship of Prof. Tetsuya Yaguchi of Waseda University.

After her presentation, last year’s Grantees for Architecture, Elspeth Mary Lee and Donn Holohan, will discuss their own experiences, when they explored how monolithic stone and earth in construction has been used in Japanese buildings.

This event will also feature a guided tour of the Kadoorie Estate House, when we will learn about its design origins rooted in the garden city approach. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore broader themes of conservation, and discover how Kadoorie Estates Limited proactively creates and maintains both exterior and interior spaces that thrive amidst an ever-changing commercial and environmental landscape.

Details

Rundown

Please join us for what promises to be a fascinating conversation on architecture and how to find new life for old structures.

Sign up HERE to reserve a place by August 27, 2026, 5:00 PM.

AIA Hong Kong

About the Speakers

Jessy Yau Kit Sze
Jessy is an architectural researcher and manager of heritage conservation outreach initiatives for a Hong Kong nonprofit. Her work spans architecture, spatial research, and participatory observation, focusing on the climate crisis, the political economy, and community-level ecosystem impacts. She is the recipient of the 2026 ACC Hsin Chong Foundation Young Architects Fellowship, awarded in partnership with the AIA Hong Kong Chapter. As part of her upcoming three-month research fellowship in Kobe, Japan, Yau will engage in hands-on architectural regeneration, surveying abandoned houses, and exploring revitalization models to apply to Hong Kong’s rural villages and heritage buildings.

Elspeth Mary Lee
A registered architect in Ireland and the UK, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The University of Hong Kong, Elspeth is the co-founder of Superposition, a design studio that merges vernacular methods with digital tools. The firm’s aim is to make architecture that is specific, rather than generic, pragmatic but not utilitarian, and with a strong community-centred view of evolving tradition and place. Elspeth was a recipient of the 2025 ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship along with fellow architect and co-founder of Superposition, Donn Holohan.

Donn Holohan
Donn is an architect, trained cabinet maker, Assistant Professor at The University of Hong Kong, and the co-founder of the architectural studio Superposition with Elspeth Mary Lee. As a co-recipient of the 2025 ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship with Elspeth, Holohan also spent two months in Japan exploring traditional building techniques, focusing on monolithic stone and earth building techniques. Through conversations and sharing sessions with local artisans, they gained a deeper understanding of regionally specific methods of material sourcing and construction.