Otto Ng of LAAB on smart cities

"At the age of 12, I built my own website, teaching myself graphics and programming. I became increasingly immersed in 3D modelling and was often invited to design things for my high school and take on freelance projects. In 2002, I won a competition to design the logo for South China Morning Post's Young Post. My tertiary education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] reinforced my specialisation in design computation, sustainable systems and smart-city concepts."

"I was project architect on the Copenhagen Wheel, which transforms any regular bike into a smart electric hybrid. The wheel learns the pattern of how you cycle and multiplies your pedal power when you are in need of a boost. The wheel also carries sensors that collect your health data and environmental data for the city you're in. It was named one of Time magazine's best inventions of 2014.

"Another is Powerscapes, a solar canopy project designed for the Middle East, a region where there is a lot of oil and sunshine but little food production. The idea is to substitute declining oil production with solar energy harvesting - the canopy collects sunlight but also moderates the temperature and humidity underneath it, allowing agriculture to grow."

"In 2013, I co-founded LAAB with Ricci Wong, Yip Chun-hang and Geoff Chan. It's an architecture studio and fabrication lab that works across the disciplines of art, architecture, interiors and events. Mostly we've worked in Hong Kong, but we have completed a few projects in Taipei, including a recent series of windows for Hermès.

"As most of our projects [involve both designing and building], we have enjoyed stronger control of our experimental design attempts and at reasonable cost. We also see ourselves as a mini design school, as we have internal research workshops to help our colleagues learn and grow."