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Meet the Hong Kong firm making sustainability real for brands

‘Turning waste to wonder’ is the motto driving design firm Editecture’s sustainability projects – here’s how they give plastics new purpose

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Jacqueline Chak (left) and Genevieve Chew (right), co-founders of Editecture, pose for a portrait at Editecture’s studio in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong, on April 17. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Published: 2:00pm, 27 Apr 2025Updated: 4:48pm, 28 Apr 2025

When a business boasts about its “sustainability” efforts, do you find yourself writing it off as little more than marketing jargon? And if you hear about used plastic bottles being “upcycled”, do you envision something that resembles a bunch of badly cut up rubbish?

If you are this jaded, meet Jacqueline Chak and Genevieve Chew, co-founders of design company Editecture. Over the past 11 years, the duo have devised and overseen a host of projects that, put simply, transform trash into furniture. Stools with curving pedestals (sold at the M+ Shop), charms printed from bottle-cap plastic, exquisite mooncake packages made of recycled paper, and much more have emerged from their studio in Wong Chuk Hang.

The studio also has two rooms that function as labs, where schoolchildren come to learn not only about design but also how Editecture customises pieces for subdivided flats, two of which it completely renovated.

Jacqueline Chak, co-founder of Editecture, wants her creations to be used longer term. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Chak was born in Hong Kong and enjoyed creating things in high school, which led her to study architecture at University College London (UCL). Her first hands-on project involved picking up seven tree branches in a local park and building with them. “I loved that,” she says.

After graduating, Chak spent nine months working at the London office of Foster + Partners, the firm behind Hong Kong’s HSBC Building and international airport, among others. Three months living in a micro-studio in Japan followed before Chak returned to UCL to undertake a master’s degree, having fallen in love with London’s architecture and culture. She then spent five years at two Hong Kong architectural practices, before co-founding a fashion company in 2011 with Chew, a chartered accountant and fellow Hongkonger whom she had met in London.

Genevieve Chew, co-founder of Editecture, says becoming a mother spurred her interest in sustainability. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Born in Britain, Chew grew up in Malaysia before moving back when she was 16 for boarding school and university.

“I went to the London School of Economics to do accounting and finance like a good Asian child,” says Chew with a laugh. “To be honest, I really loved accounting.”