At the Greater Bay Area Urban Design Awards 2024 Awards Presentation Ceremony cum Exhibition Opening Ceremony held today (May 30) at the Hong Kong City Gallery, Ms. Tan Qiu-ming, Vice President of the Guangzhou Urban Planning Association, officially announced the launching of the Greater Bay Area Urban Designer Register on behalf of the Greater Bay Area Urban Designers Alliance, and unveiled the Grand Father List of the Register.

The Greater Bay Area Urban Designer Register is established by the Greater Bay Area Urban Designers Alliance. Urban designers listed in the register are recognized by all five founding members of the Alliance as professionals with extensive expertise and experience in urban design. The register serves as a reference for government departments, developers, and other relevant organizations in need of professional urban design services.

The Grand Father List comprises the first batch of members of the Greater Bay Area Urban Designer Register, all of whom are senior urban designers with rich urban design experience of the five founding members of the Greater Bay Area Urban Designers Alliance. Individual members of the five founding members of the  Alliance with adequate urban design experience may apply to be included in the Register.

Mr. Benny CHAN, President of The HKIUD, remarked that to further enhance integration of the Greater Bay Area, thereby enhancing the region’s overall international competitiveness, talent mobility in the Area is crucial. Therefore, establishment of a professional urban designer qualification recognized universally in the Greater Bay Area is an important milestone.  We believe this register will soon be accepted universally across the region, serving as an important reference for governments, developers, and other organizations in need of professional urban design services.

Background of the Greater Bay Area Urban Designers Alliance

With the mission of elevation of urban design standard and improvement of the livability of the cities in the Greater Bay Area, the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, CURB Center for Architecture and Urbanism – Macau, Guangzhou Urban Planning Association, Urban Planning Society of Shenzhen, and Zhuhai Planning Exploration and Design Industry Association ("Five Founding Member Institutes") jointly establish the Greater Bay Area Urban Designer Alliance ("the Alliance") in 2020. It is a professional platform for promotion of collaboration among urban design professionals, practices and organizations in the Greater Bay Area including urban designers, architects, landscape designers, town planners and engineers, and subsequently establish the professional recognition for urban design practitioners in the Greater Bay Area.

Ms. Tan Qiu-ming, Vice President of the Guangzhou Urban Planning Association, announces the official launch of the Greater Bay Area Urban Designer Register at the ceremony (accommodated by Mr. Benny Chan Chak-bun, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design (right) and Mr Nuno Soars, President of the Board of Directors, CURB - Center for Architecture and Urbanism (left))

Mr. David Lam Chi-man, Deputy Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, deliver a speech at the ceremony