Built in the 1920s, the pre-war cluster which was once named “Green House” is a preservation and revitalisation project by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA). It was opened to the public in 2013 and operated under the name of “Comix Home Base”. The Grade II historical building was then renamed to 7 Mallory Street in August 2018, continuing the service to the community by offering shops and activity spaces for events such as exhibitions, seminars, workshops and community workshops.

Neighbourhood Innovation Lab and map consultant iDiscover were collaborating with the Urban Renewal Authority to embark on a new journey to reimagine how 7 Mallory Street may integrate its historical episodes to current cultural contexts, to build a place where evolving experience can be created.

Community Listening through Design Thinking

In order to understand the opinions and aspirations of the Wan Chai residents on Wan Chai and 7 Mallory Street, our team utilized the design thinking process to set and run a series of public engagement activities including street polling, focus group discussions, ideation workshops, and pop up wall exhibition.

Pop Up Wall

From April to May 2021, a Pop Up Wall was set on one of the walls in 7 Mallory Street public open space as an ideation and prototype exercise. The wall visualizes the Wan Chai cultural map and provides a channel for the public to collectively vote for the local culture that they think is suitable for 7 Mallory Street to develop.

Retrieving History and Envisioning the Future

Based on the above insights gathered from the public engagement activities, building on the past, we created a community booklet documenting the past and present of 7 Mallory Street. Envisioning the future, we designed a concept plan for 7 Mallory Street as a local cultural hub which promotes Wan Chai eating, craftsmanship, and living culture.