[ISD Seminar] Smart Community Design: Education, Research & Practice for Social Change in the Intelligent Age

The modern urban built environment has been a contributor to the social, health and ecological crises faced by cities around the world, while the emergence of artificial intelligence and the new multi-polar global order present both opportunities and existential threats. To address these crises, it is imperative for the architecture and creative profession to take up the social responsibility through more conscious design, bridging the gaps between abstract data and human empathy, between the authorities and the communities, and between technology and everyday life. It is in these contexts that the research laboratory Social Urban Lab (SOULab) and design consultancy COLOURS: Collectively Ours were set up as complementary practice to investigate the people-environment dynamics and translate data-driven, community-based research into evidence-based design for health, equity, agency and urban life. In this talk, Dr Chong will also share how he envisions the future of creative education in the Intelligent Age.

Speaker’s biography:

Dr. Chong Keng Hua is currently Associate Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), where he directs the Social Urban Lab (SOULab), DesignZ Positive City Lab, and the Opportunity Lab (O-Lab). He is also Founding Partner of COLOURS: Collectively Ours, an award-winning design consultancy specializing in public space and social impact, as well as Visiting Senior Academician at Changi General Hospital, Singapore. He will be the Provost and Vice President (Academic) of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) at the newly established University of the Arts Singapore (UAS).

A firm believer in design activism, Dr. Chong has been advocating social architecture and participatory community design in the region. He initiated PARK(ing) Day Singapore in 2013 together with his students, which has since become a nation-wide annual placemaking movement. He has also led students to work on community development projects in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and China. He is active in several international organisations, including Pacific Rim Community Design Network, and Design for the Common Good International Network.

Dr. Chong’s research on social architecture particularly in the areas of ageing, health and data-driven community design has led to extensive international publications, including Second Beginnings (Lien Foundation, 2018), Creative Ageing Cities (Routledge, 2018) and upcoming book Data-driven Smart Community Design (Routledge, 2025). Design interventions led by him have won numerous awards, including the latest Seoul Design Award 2024.

Graduated with PhD in Architecture from National University of Singapore, Dr. Chong has been Visiting Professor at Aalto University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Zhejiang University. He was Curator of Singapore Pavilion at Seoul Biennale 2017 and Venice Biennale 2018, as well as Festival Director of Singapore Archifest 2020.