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Green.Icon@DB: Where creativity and conservation come together

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Head along Discovery Bay Road these days, and you can’t help but be drawn to the striking new artwork that has sprung up near Parkridge Village. Designed by local DB students, the paintings are the result of the recent Green.Icon@DB Graffiti Design Competition, which was launched to brighten up the gate of DB’s all-new, innovative eco centre.

Previously a disused refuse chamber, the building that now proudly hosts Green.Icon@DB has been completely reimagined in recent weeks and transformed into a fascinating environmental education centre – the first of its kind in a residential area in Hong Kong.

graffiti design competition

When it came to selecting the designs for the centre’s exterior, competition was tough, with students from Discovery Bay International School (DBIS), Discovery College (DC), Hong Kong International Learning Academy (HKILA) and S.K.H. Wei Lun all submitting excellent entries. The students’ submissions were shortlisted by each school and posted for public voting on the Around DB Facebook page.

The designs put forward were truly impressive and demonstrated not only the sheer amount of talent among DB’s young artists but also the understanding they share about the challenges currently facing our planet and the urgent need to go green.

Following an exciting week of voting, two students emerged as overall winners – Rishima Mathur of DC in the secondary category and Eric Wang of HKILA in the primary category – and so began the creative transformation of DB’s newest landmark.

graffiti design competition

Fast forward a few weeks, and Rishima, Eric and the other finalists were joined by family, friends, teachers and community representatives at the grand opening ceremony of Green.Icon@DB, where they each received an award in recognition of their achievement. There were broad smiles and happy faces all round as the students were presented with their prizes, while the schools were also recognised for their support of the initiative.

graffiti design competition

After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed a guided tour of the building to learn more about the many green initiatives in place at the centre as well as across DB.

Speaking at the event, Simon Mawdsley, Chairman of the City Owners Committee , said that the facilities at the centre demonstrate the strong commitment DB has to protecting the environment. “You’ll see from the machines that we have and the learning centre that we’ve created, we are really serious about making DB green – we want to move forward with minimal waste,” he explained.

graffiti design competition

Convener of the Environmental Protection Sub-Committee Vic Riley continued. “We should be the pride of Hong Kong,” he remarked. “What we can do here on a small scale could perhaps be extended to the city as a whole.”

“As City Management, we take the initiative to promote green living in DB,” added Patrick Ho, assistant director of Discovery Bay Services Management Ltd. “The important message that we want to give all youngsters, all DBers, is to go green, to make our earth sustainable.”

Commenting on the competition itself, HKILA school principal Justine Barlow said, “It’s a pleasure to have HKILA involved in initiatives such as this. We already support a lot of local initiatives such as DB Green and Plastic Free Seas, so now it’s nice to see something permanent that our students have created in the community.”

Fiona Altoft, head of visual arts at DC, was also enthusiastic. “We are very proud of all the student entries and delighted that Rishima’s artwork was chosen,” she said. “We try and teach our students to be caring and compassionate, to develop respect for each other and for our world. Through this competition, the students used imagery to demonstrate that understanding. It is lovely to see the designs up on the Green.Icon@DB centre.”

graffiti design competition

Congratulations once again to everyone who took part in the Green.Icon@DB Graffiti Design Competition. With the talent and passion for the environment our young people have demonstrated, it just goes to show that together we DBers really can make a difference.

graffiti design competition


Photo by Baljit Gidwani – www.evoqueportraits.com 

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