The Housing Bureau and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday to establish a co-operation framework for promoting the application of research and innovative construction technologies in public housing development.

The agreement, signed by Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho and HKU President and Vice-Chancellor Xiang Zhang, aims to accelerate the industry’s shift toward high-quality, intelligent and sustainable growth.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ho noted that public housing projects - with their large scale, standardised design and high repetition - offer an ideal testing ground for new technologies.

"The Housing Authority's work extends far beyond just housing construction. It also covers long-term community building, estate management, demolition and redevelopment," she said.

"It's a full sustainable cycle from planning, design, construction to post-occupation operation and redevelopment.

"It provides a very solid foundation with complete practical scenarios and data accumulation for a very comprehensive cross-disciplinary research collaboration with HKU."

Ho highlighted HKU’s expertise across various fields including architecture, engineering and computer science as a major opportunity for collaboration.

The partnership, she said, builds on existing successful work, including the HKU Faculty of Architecture’s iLab team’s cross-border MiC (Modular Integrated Construction) logistics and remote quality inspection with the Housing Authority.

She said the platform would not only deliver more efficient solutions for the city’s public housing but also position Hong Kong as a global leader in innovative construction and sustainable community development.

"We will work hand in hand with all partners to turn today's MOU into a series of concrete, practical and people-oriented outcomes so that more families can move into safe, comfortable and sustainable home sooner and happier," she said.

Meanwhile, Zhang drew a parallel with Henry Ford’s assembly line innovation, saying "HKU architecture aims to produce a Henry Ford 2.0 idea - how we connect from conceptual design of architecture to building plans, construction management and maintenance."

"Our architecture is aiming to using AI to connect all of it. This will be world number one in future," he said.

Zhang also noted emerging challenges such as the city’s ageing population, suggesting future housing designs incorporate sensor systems in bathrooms to monitor elderly residents' health in real time.


Edited by Thomas McAlinden