“Micro-Sanctuaries” explores the adaptive transformation of traditional worship spaces within Hong Kong’s hyper-dense urban fabric. This workshop investigates how temples and shrines—spaces of deep cultural significance—have been compressed, twisted, and reimagined to fit into the city’s constrained spatial reality, creating unique hybrid forms that reflect both spiritual yearning and pragmatic adaptation.
Participants will be introduced to the basic elements of a traditional temple, followed by guided walks through Central and Sheung Wan to observe and document real-world examples of micro-sanctuaries—both formal and informal—embedded in the urban fabric. The workshop will then guide participants in using photography and AI-powered tools to analyse and extract the distinctive spatial and design essence of these shrines. Using these extracted elements and insights, participants will create their own specialised micro-shrine designs, reimagining sacred spaces for modern Hong Kong.
Workshop Outcome Knowledge and Skills Development:
- Understanding of Hong Kong’s informal religious landscape and its spatial innovations
- Enhanced attention to overlooked elements of the urban environment
- Appreciation for adaptive architecture strategies in constrained urban contexts
- Basic introduction to AI image analysis tools for architectural investigation, and image generation
Jessica Pui Sze Kong, co-founder of Afloat Studio, a Hong Kong architectural practice focused on innovative designs that explore the “in-between” spatial quality through blurred boundaries and tangled spatial experiences. Passionate about pushing creative limits, she has won international and local awards, including First Prize in the 57th Central Glass International Architectural Design Competition, Second Prize in the 18th Shelter International Architectural Competition for Students, and First Prize in the 2014 Kai Tak River Design Ideas Competition (Open Group). Her work, showcased in the “Harmony in Diversity” (KL–NJ–HK Roving Architecture Exhibition), reflects her commitment to impactful, diverse design.
Nam Wu is an architect and photographer who uses these dual identities to explore the spaces we inhabit and the lives unfolding in between. As an architect, his work focuses on public buildings, including performance venues, sports facilities, and welfare institutions. As a photographer, he specializes in architectural photography and investigates the urban dynamics that shape city life. His work has been exhibited in “Harmony in Diversity – Connecting the Metropolis by In-Between” (KL–NJ–HK Roving Architecture Exhibition) and the Hong Kong Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2025. He was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Young Architect Award 2022.