For Hong Kong architect Marisa Yiu Kar-san, urban design is a way to bring people together, spark conversations and open up possibilities.

She co-founded the non-profit Design Trust in 2014 to turn her vision into reality by creating opportunities and mobilising communities.

“I really believe in the organisation as a community platform that can humbly drive positive change,” said Yiu, who has been shortlisted as a finalist in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards in the culture category.

The Spirit of Hong Kong Awards are co-organised by the South China Morning Post and Sino Group to recognise the efforts of the city’s unsung heroes who contribute to the community or inspire others with stories of how they overcome personal challenges.

Trained as an architect and designer, Yiu has spent nearly two decades pushing the boundaries of what design can do for Hong Kong.

A defining moment came in 2009, when she was appointed chief curator of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism in the then empty West Kowloon Cultural District.