With deep sorrow, we mourn the passing of Dr Donald Liao Poon-huai, our beloved Retired Member and Gold Medalist, on 12 March 2026.
Donald was a renowned architect, a pioneer of public housing and a role model for generations of architects who were inspired by his talents and pursuit of advancement in the local built environment. His achievements were widely recognised internationally, and put Hong Kong on the map of social housing, which, over the years, has become the bulwark of social stability and pride of its beneficiaries.
He was among the early cohorts of local architectural graduates trained in the tradition of modernist architecture, through applying theory and practice that harked back to the Bauhaus movement of the early 20th century, which had a lasting impact on Hong Kong’s cityscape in the days of its rapid rise as a manufacturing hub. Wah Fu Estate, first completed in the 1960s, was a unique landmark of public housing in the then fast developing urban fringe and has become synonymous with Donald Liao.
As architects, we are profoundly impressed by the spatial experience offered to residents and visitors of Wah Fu Estate. Its functional, well-articulated aesthetic and the user-friendly facilities became the textbook norm that guided the design and development of later public housing estates. There is the deep affinity with the aspiration of users, who have benefited from a dignified living environment, in spite of frugal limitations.
Notwithstanding his distinguished career in civil service, having held the offices of Secretary of Housing, and Secretary for District Administration until retirement, Donald was a remarkably humble person, who never promoted himself as an architectural master, even as his works and pioneering spirit have testified to his invaluable contribution to the local profession and society’s wellbeing. We owe very much to Donald and are committed to uphold his heritage.
Donald will always live in our collective memory. We offer our sincerest condolences to members of his family. May he rest in peace!
President Julia Lau and Council
The Hong Kong Institute of Architects
