Senior Living in Dense Cities shortlisted for RICS Hong Kong Awards 2026

Hassell’s joint white paper with Colliers, Senior Living in Dense Cities: Building Dignity and Choice, has been shortlisted as a finalist for the RICS Hong Kong Awards 2026 – Research Team of the Year. 

Hong Kong is ageing fast, but its seniors are still stuck with a binary choice: institutional care or navigating later life with minimal support. Working with Colliers, we set out to find a better way — one that honours the city’s own ageing-in-place ambitions. 

By 2039, one in three Hong Kong citizens will be 65 or over. Our research points to a locally adapted model of vertical urbanism for this generation: flexible 45sqm units stacked above shared amenities and community space, designed to flex as care needs grow, without uprooting residents from the life they know. Global precedents from Tokyo to New York show what’s possible when constraints become catalysts. 

It’s a shift from rigid, one-size-fits-all housing to design that gives seniors dignity, independence and a genuine sense of belonging. 

Congratulations to the whole project team, and to our partners at Colliers.

Read the full report.