DesignSmart Young Design Talent Award

Dylan Kwok Tat-lun

Hong Kong-born, Vancouver-raised and Helinski-educated, Dylan Kwok took an equally circuitous route before landing in spatial design. From drafting and marketing design, he moved into interior design.  But during his last year of study at the University of Art and Design Helinski for his Masters in Spatial and Furniture Design, he found his own design philosophy and has captured the attention of the design community.

A self-proclaimed critic of the overly commercial style of design too often found throughout the world, he was attracted to the practical, minimalist Scandinavian approach. Spending three years working and studying in tandem, his ideas have been informed by Helinski and its people as much as by study and practice. For instance, in Finland it became clear just how important living spaces and public spaces were to society.

As the world began to talk about going green, Kwok had already adopted a forward-thinking mentality about sustainability, beautifying that which is old, and regenerating the old without wasting what was originally present. In a competition to find a use for an old silo, Kwok’s was particularly well-received because instead of building something new, he simply turned it into a kind of secret park for all to enjoy.

His Masters’ thesis, AgriPuncture, blends agriculture with acupuncture to produce a new way of looking at the green movement and sustainability in the modern world – introducing bits of green throughout the city in the same way that acupuncture uses needles in various key points on the body to alleviate pain and make life more enjoyable. The project supports the idea that reinvigorating older areas of the cities can successfully take on a green theme, including introducing small green spaces into urban courtyards to promote a type of sustainable lifestyle, or using the south-facing walls of taller buildings as a type of vertical canvas on which to watch the art of life grow.