Designers constantly create in pursuit of “something better than the present.” This endless desire can be a source of creativity, but it also becomes humanity's unending curse. The ocean has existed in the world since ancient times, consistently showcasing its beauty in the human journey. Has nature communicated the best of the present to humanity, and what can we gain?
The “Island Works: Salt Drawing” workshop by Island Research Institute uses salt crystals made from seawater collected around Hong Kong’s Islands as a medium. Participants will control the system to coexist salt and paper, collaboratively creating an ideal island with nature. This workshop explores the coexistence of humanity, nature, and machines in design.
Island Works is a Hong Kong–based research and design collective
co-founded by architects Chi and Leroy. The practice is driven by a sustained inquiry into the city’s 200+ surrounding islands—landscapes often overlooked within the dominant narrative of dense urbanisation yet integral to Hong Kong’s
geographical and cultural identity.
Working through a cyclical methodology of discovery, document, design, Island Works approaches islands as both archival subjects and speculative grounds. Research and firsthand digital documentation underpin an evolving repository that seeks to preserve the essence of each island.
This research extends into a design language that regards islands not only as geological phenomena but also as cultural and infrastructural artefacts shaped by memory, time, and imagination. Through this lens, Island Works advances speculative futures, translating its findings into interventions such as site-specific installations that reframe islands as sites of design imagination.