This thesis project studies the possibilities of designing a new space for migrants to construct their diasporic identity in a post-colonial language. The thesis is situated in the context of the mass migration from Hong Kong from 2019, specifically looking at Reading in the UK as a key arrival location. The thesis explores the design hypothesis of the alimentary-spatio-identity triangle and proposes an "open kitchen" based on intervening into an abandoned English pub in Reading to afford a new space for strange encounters for the HK migrants to construct their new belonging.

This thesis aims to revisit the conventions of digital mapping, by undergoing the theoretical endeavour to understand digital mapping beyond the convenient dichotomy, and find our position as readers. Two theoretical lenses are borrowed from the field of anthropology and art history, first being the “thick description” from Clifford Geertz, and latter being the “open work” concept from Umberto Eco. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the significance of the role of the “reader” in digital mapping, for the greater public as well as the discipline of architecture could then reclaim our agency in the flood of data with a shared “digital literacy”.

With combined efforts from water management, architectural and hydraulic engineering students, an interdisciplinary and resilient design is set up for the Paraná Delta. The design relates to all the current environmental, architectural and flood risk challenges - among others, as well as the potential issues in the future since the Paraná Delta is a highly dynamic environment.