Josephine Leung
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, GOCO Hospitality and Owner, Fivelements
“Ultimately, I want to create places where people can feel better and be themselves. That begins with listening – to the land, the culture and the people who will use a place – and understanding what is already there before deciding what to add.”
An award-winning architect and urban designer, Josephine studied at the University of Hong Kong and Columbia University before a career spanning urban planning, mixed-use development, hospitality and wellness communities.
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Former Vice-President and Director of Design at HOK International, responsible for more than USD 5 billion in urban planning projects. Her team won Best Urban Design Firm of the Year and an AIA Sustainable Urban Design Award.
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Now leads GOCO’s Concept Development, Design & Technical Services division, having worked on more than 200 projects from initial concepts and master planning to wellness programming and operational readiness.
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Refreshingly resistant to formula, her approach draws on local healing traditions, natural resources, architecture and community to create places that couldn't belong anywhere else.
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A cancer diagnosis in 2023 made her interest in longevity intensely personal. Her search for therapies, treatments and practitioners people can genuinely trust led her to co-found Bangkok’s OLiv Longevity clinic and now informs her work with Fivelements.
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A mentor as well as a designer, Josephine has supported architects, designers and project managers who have gone on to become leaders themselves.