News

China Harbour–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Land Development’s first technical seminar successfully held

The China Harbour–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Land Development (JRC) held its first technical seminar “Treatment and Reuse of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Ash” on 18 July 2023. The seminar was kicked off with a welcome speech by Prof. DAI Jianguo, Co-Director of JRC and Management Committee Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) of PolyU. Eight speakers from PolyU, City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen University and Guangdong Environmental Protection Group Co. Ltd. delivered presentations on the value-added utilisation of municipal solid waste incineration ash in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The seminar was also joined by a four-person delegation from China Harbour led by the Mr SUN Hualei, JRC Co-Director and General Manager of Administration Department of China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd (Hong Kong).   With the anticipated commissioning of Hong Kong’s first integrated waste management facility on Shek Kwu Chua island in 2025, the seminar focused on the recent technologies for producing useful construction materials from municipal solid waste incineration ash, as well as the challenges and way forward. Participants had a fruitful discussion on promoting university-industry collaboration and technology transfer in the field.

ADoRILS shares insights on development of Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands

Prof. LING Kar-kan, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and Director of Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation, was invited to share his insights on the development opportunities of Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, as well as the impact and opportunities of the Nation’s development plans, at a seminar by New Prospect for Hong Kong last Saturday (15 July 2023).   Prof. Ling said that the Northern Metropolis can reshape Hong Kong’s inherent development pattern of “emphasising the south over the north”, and establish an inseparable “twin city” relationship between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. He mentioned that the “Northern Metropolis Development Strategy” is the first time that the Hong Kong SAR government has recognised the inseparable "Twin Cities" relationship between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and it can encourage government officials to think outside the box, position the project in a cross-boundary spatial framework, and explore the possibilities and effects of Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation.   Online coverage: Ming Pao Daily News (Chinese only) - https://polyu.me/3PZAUll

RILS co-organises HKBIM Future Public Housing Design Competition

The Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) co-organises the “HKBIM Future Public Housing Design Competition” together with China (Hong Kong) Association of Architects and Engineers (CHAAE), Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM), Hong Kong STEM Education Alliance (STEM Alliance), The Hong Kong Project Management Exchange Centre (PMEC) and Hong Kong Academy of Management (HKAOM). The opening ceremony of the Competition was held at Jockey Club Auditorium, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 4 July 2023.   Guests of honour included: Mr Michael WONG Wai-lun, Deputy Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government; Dr WANG Weiming, Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Ms Winnie HO Wing-yin, Secretary for Housing of the HKSAR Government; Ms Lillian CHEONG Man-lei, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government; Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Mr Tony TSE Wai-chuen, Mr SHANG Hailong and Mr Duncan CHIU, Legislative Council Members of the HKSAR; Mr Simon WONG, Chief Executive Officer of LSCM; and Dr Barry LI Chi-hong, President of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE).   This Competition is classified into Secondary School and Open categories. Contestants can unleash their creativity in developing viable design proposals for future public housings by using the HKBIM software platform developed by PolyU. The winning entries may have the opportunity to be applied to future public housing design projects.   After the Ceremony, Dr JIA Beisi, Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture of the University of Hong Kong, delivered a keynote speech on “An Overview of Contemporary Public Housing Design and the History of Public Housing Architecture in Hong Kong”. Subsequently, Ms LI Xiaoying and Ms MA Jie from the Smart Construction Laboratory of PolyU introduced HKBIM, the main design software for this Competition.   Online coverage: Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/44vVb6k Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/44sEYyE Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/46BIkkU Orange News - https://polyu.me/3NBuw1a Xinhua Net - https://polyu.me/3NCeG6j RTHK - https://polyu.me/3rek5ZQ Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3py1LKy Bastille Post - https://polyu.me/44dSJS8  

RILS Management Committee Member honoured with prestigious European research award and academy membership

Prof. Xiao Lin ZHAO, Management Committee Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and Chair Professor of Civil Infrastructure of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been bestowed with the Humboldt Research Award 2023 and elected a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA), in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of civil engineering. The Humboldt Research Award is given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany to up to 100 leading researchers from abroad. The Award is open to all disciplines and recognises academics whose fundamental discoveries, findings or insights have made significant impact on their disciplines. Prof. ZHAO is recognised for his research excellence in civil and structural engineering. Prof. ZHAO has also been elected as a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in the field of technical and environmental sciences. The EASA is an esteemed non-governmental association with 2,000 members including leading scientists, artists and practitioners of governance.  

RILS Management Committee Member featured on Now TV

Prof. Eddie C.M. HUI, management committee of RILS and Associate Head (Partnership) and Professor of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), shared his insights on land supply-demand imbalance on Now TV programme “News Magazine” on 7 February 2023. Online coverage: https://news.now.com/home/local/player?newsId=506529&catCode=124&topicId=566 (Chinese only)  

Three RILS research projects received over HK$17.51 million from the Research Grant Committee

The Research Grant Committee (RGC) announced the funding results of the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) and CRF Young Collaborative Research Grant (YCRG) 2022/23. Three research projects led by RILS members, Dr Alessandro STOCCHINO, Ir Prof. J.G. DAI and Dr H.F. DUAN, received over HK$17.51 million grant in total. Research project Project Coordinator (PC) Amount awarded Collaborative Research Equipment Grant (CREG) Hong Kong Coastal HF-Radar Network Dr Alessandro STOCCHINO HK$8,000,000 Collaborative Research Project Grant (CRPG) Subambient Daytime Radiative Cooling Coating for Energy-Efficient Building Envelope Ir Prof.J.G. DAI HK$5,384,413  Young Collaborative Research Grant (YCRG)  Coastal Urban Flooding under Climate Change: Evolution Mechanisms and Intelligent Analysis  Dr H.F. DUAN  HK$4,133,507

RILS member has been appointed as a Member of Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE)

Prof. Dan TSANG, member of RILS and Professor of CEE, has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) in The Environment and Ecology Bureau. The Council plays a pivotal role in reviewing the state of the environment in Hong Kong, as well as advising the Government, through the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, on appropriate measures which might be taken to combat pollution of all kinds, and to protect and sustain the environment Prof. TSANG also serves in Environmental Impact Assessment Subcommittee and Waste Management Subcommittee to support the development of environmental protection and conservation policies in Hong Kong.    

Management Committee Member of RILS has been appointed to the Urban Forestry Advisory Panel (2023-2024)

The Development Bureau announced on 30 December 2022 that 16 non-official members were being appointed to the Urban Forestry Advisory Panel (UFAP) for a term of two years from 1 January 2023. Sr Prof. Charles Man-sing WONG, management committee member of RILS, Associate Dean (FCE) and Professor of LSGI, was honoured to be one of them to receive the membership. The UFAP comprises both local and overseas experts from diffeent fields including urban forestry, plant science, engineering and landscape architecture related academics, professionals and experts, and will provide advice on orban forestry policies and intiatives from multiple perspectives. Please click here for access to the official Press Release from the HKSAR Government.  

RILS researcher wins the NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme (JRS) 2022/23 Exercise

Dr H.F. DUAN, member of RILS and Associate Professor of CEE, has received a funding of HK$1,244,750, granted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)/Research Grants Council (RGC) Joint Research Scheme (JRS) 2022/23. Awarded Project Summary: The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) possesses an important strategic position in the overall development of China. In 2019, the Chinese Central Government released the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)”, with aims to fully utilize the advantages of the city cluster (9+2 cities) within the GBA. However, in recent years, extreme and compound climate and weather events (e.g., typhoon and rainstorm) have become more and more intense and frequent globally, leading to challenging situations for the environment and resources in coastal regions including the GBA. Recent studies have revealed that a large portion (estimated at 15-28% based on different methods) of current resident areas in the GBA will be below the flooding water level in 2100 due to climate change. This indicates that the coastal flooding issues induced by the joint occurrences of rainstorms and storm surges will become increasingly severe in the future in the GBA. Through the close collaboration of the Hong Kong and Mainland teams, this joint project carries out scientific research on investigating the patterns and characteristics of joint occurrences of coastal rainstorms and storm surges, thereby assessing the resultant flooding risks in the GBA. This project addresses two scientific research issues as follows: (1) the underlying patterns of rainstorm-storm surge joint occurrences in the coastal regions of GBA; and (2) the physical mechanisms of coastal flooding caused by compound climate and weather events in the GBA. To this end, the comprehensive methodology of statistical analysis, numerical simulation, laboratory and field tests is applied for this research. The results and deliverables from this project could provide scientific guidance and technical support for effective planning and management of coastal flooding in the GBA, as well as offer significant references for urban flooding mitigation and prevention in other coastal regions.

RILS scholar wins the Research Team of the Year Award in the 2022 RICS Awards Hong Kong

The research team led by Prof. Geoffrey Qiping SHEN, member of RILS and Chair Professor of Construction Management from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), has won the Research Team of the Year Award in the 2022 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards Hong Kong.  Since Year 2019, the research team has been working closely with the Qianhai Authority to comprehensively improve the level of Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation in the construction sector. The team has proposed solutions to problems encountered in cross-regional collaboration of the construction industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). As an achievement, the team successfully drafted two sets of record-filing measures, named as "Administrative Measures for the Registration of Hong Kong Construction Organisations in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone" and "Administrative Measures for the Registration of Hong Kong Construction Professionals in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone". These two measures have been enforced by the Qianhai Authority. As of 18 November 2022, 409 Hong Kong-based professionals and 45 Hong Kong-based organisations had completed their filings in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone. The implementation of the two measures helps break down the qualification barriers in the construction sector of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, a move that was praised by the former Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government, Mrs Carrie LAM, during the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Cooperation Meeting 2021. In July 2021, the administrative measure was listed as one of the 47 innovative measures and practices by the National Development and Reform Commission and will be promoted nationwide. Contribution by the research team in promoting collaboration in the construction sector in the GBA has been highly recognized by the RICS Hong Kong. The prestigious Research Team of the Year award represents the team’s outstanding achievements to the built environment, which will inspire the team to continue contributing to cross-regional collaboration in the GBA development.