HKJC supports PolyU's design and social innovation with HK$249M

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has recently received a donation of HK$249 million from The Hong Kong Jockey Club in support of the Jockey Club Innovation Tower, the future home of the University's renowned School of Design (SD) and the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI).

The Jockey Club Innovation Tower is the creation of Ms Zaha Hadid, a world-renowned architect and the first female recipient of the coveted Pritzker Architecture prize. Located at the northeastern tip of the University campus, the Tower is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. Upon completion, the 14-storey Tower will provide some 15,000 square metres of net floor area and all the necessary equipment and facilities for design education and innovation, including auditorium, design museum, gallery and exhibition spaces, multi-functional classrooms and lecture theatres, design studios and workshop spaces. It will provide a unique environment for the future development of SD into one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world.

Besides supporting the learning, teaching and research activities of SD, the Tower will also house the JCDISI, which aims to become an international design, innovation and entrepreneurship hub where Hong Kong's higher education institutions can collaborate with the business sector and community groups to bring innovative ideas with social relevance into commercial viability. The Institute will provide an open platform for students and young designers to learn and interact, and to carry out collaborative interdisciplinary design projects which can be applied to the real world.

To address the critical emerging social needs in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Region, the JCDISI will concentrate on project development and knowledge transfer in four strategic themes - Service Design, Sustainable Environments, Holistic Health, and Adolescent and Family Development, which reflect the core competencies of SD. With all these core activities, it is expected that JCDISI will become a vibrant learning resource for the design community and a "third space" between the institutions of higher learning and the real world of business, industry and community.

香港賽馬會捐款二億四千九百萬資助理大推動設計及社會創新

香港理工大學（理大）最近獲得香港賽馬會捐款二億四千九百萬元，資助興建「賽馬會創新樓」項目。理大享譽國際的設計學院以及即將成立的「賽馬會社會創新設計院」都會位於「賽馬會創新樓」內。

「賽馬會創新樓」由國際知名的女建築師Zaha Hadid設計，她是首位榮獲被譽為建築界諾貝爾獎──Pritzker Architecture Prize的女建築師。「賽馬會創新樓」座落於校園東北部，預期可於二零一二年底竣工。樓高十四層的大樓落成後可提供一萬五千平方米實用面積，內有設計教育和培育創新人才的所需設備，包括禮堂、設計博物館、設計廊、展覽廳、多用途課室、演講廳及設計工作室等。大樓所提供的獨特環境，將可進一步推動理大設計學院發展成為首屈一指的世界級設計學院。

除了理大設計學院的教研設施外，「賽馬會社會創新設計院」亦將設於「賽馬會創新樓」內。該設計院的目標是要成為國際間推動設計、創新及創業精神的樞紐，致力促進香港高等院校與業界及社區團體之間的合作，以期將對社會有貢獻的創新意念轉化為具有商業價值的項目。設計院亦將為學生及年青設計師提供一個學習及互動的平台，鼓勵他們合作進行跨學科、並可應用於現實社會的設計項目。

因應香港社會及珠江三角區域的發展需要，「賽馬會社會創新設計院」將會集中推動圍繞四個策略性主題的項目發展及知識轉移，四個主題是：服務設計、可持續環境發展、全人健康，以及青少年與家庭發展，涵蓋理大設計學院具核心實力的領域。隨著相關活動的開展，預期設計院將成為設計界別充滿活力的學習資源，並發展為高等院校與工商業界及社區的「第三空間」。