Squatter Area The Shek Kip Mei Fire

Resettlement Area Public Housing

About Shek Kip Mei

Sham Shui Po Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre Urban Poverty Coolest Block

In the late 1940s, the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist party broke out in Chinese Mainland, causing a large number of refugees to flood into Hong Kong. Under the principle of free trade, the Hong Kong government did not provide any corresponding public housing plan at that time, and refugees built squatters on the edge of urban areas and mountain sides.

The squatter area is very crowded and sanitary, and fire accidents often occur.

Concept

A fire broke out in Shek Kip Mei squatter area on Christmas Eve.After burning for six hours, more than 10000 wooden houses and stone houses were burned, and more than 70000 people were affected, covering an area of 1.5 square miles.The fire caused more than 50000 residents to lose their homes overnight. At that time, the British Hong Kong government calculated a sum of money and found that if all residents were paid compensation, it would be better to build some resettlement buildings.

After the fire, the Hong Kong government broke its usual policy of non intervention and built a number of seven storey buildings in situ, called resettlement buildings. Seen from above, these buildings look like the letter "H". The unit area of the building is only over 100 feet. Tenants need to share bathrooms and cook in the corridor space outside the gate. As for the rooftop, it will be used as a primary school and community center. This is the first batch of public housing in Hong Kong - Shek Kip Mei Village.

As the economic development and population growth, resettlement buildings can no longer meet the needs of Hong Kong residents. Since its establishment, the Hong Kong Housing Authority has continuously introduced and updated public housing policies. The former resettlement areas have been rebuilt, enabling residents to have better living space and complete supporting facilities. In order to save land resources, high-density public rental housing has sprung up. Nowadays,there are more than 2,000,000 public rental houses.

The household income in Hong Kong's Shamshuipo District is the second lowest in Hong Kong. Shek Kip Mei is home to many low-income residents. Unlike its neighbouring batches of Tang Lou in Sham Shui Po (which will usually draw most attention during discussion on community design, gentrification, urban poverty and slum etc.) or Kowloon Tong (a zone encompassing top local billionaires and prestigious institutions), Shek Kip Mei (SKM) often was camouflaged without much concern to its situating issues.

Mapping

It is up until the rebranding of the SKM Factory Estate into JCCAC (as known as Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, funded by Hong Kong Jockey Club and established in 2005) where local creatives and artists were invited to the community, has it starting to bring in more community events and activities to serve those surrounding tenants. However, the space of JCCAC is often criticized by poor bureaucratic management, enclosed infrastructure and their lack of consistent engagement with the elderlies and children.

It is not difficult to find that capital brings despair rather than hope to the community. Because of the limited space, opportunities and fundings for artists to extend their projects within the community, Shek Kip Mei is still facing an aging community without proper care. The daily busy life and work, as well as the fixed and boring action route, make it difficult for people to be happy to establish new social relationships.The outbreak of the COVID-19 closed most of the old shops that had already been in a difficult situation.

COVID-19 has hit many industries and communities hard, but it has also brought unexpected opportunities to Sham Shui Po blocks. Sham Shui Po is a working-class neighbourhood known for its textile industry, but the area has recently gained a newfound 'cool' status as artists and young creatives have started to move in. Not only did these new residents inject new energy to the neighbourhood but they also helped to promote the district's historical legacy, building new fixtures that harmoniously blend in with the old.

The characteristics of Hong Kong's housing problems can be summarized as follows: the living environment is narrow, housing prices and rents impose a heavy burden on residents, the phenomenon of "snailing" is serious, and public housing has a long waiting time.

This proposal proposes to select "sandwich class" (residents who neither meet the conditions for buying affordable housing nor are unable to buy commercial housing) as users. Compared with the residents who have applied for public housing, the living environment of this group is poor, narrow, and even has no fixed residence. This proposal aims to create a new living mode for the sandwich class, In order to alleviate their living problems.

The project is located in Mei Ho House,which is the first moveable public housing in Hong Kong and also the origin of public housing in Hong Kong, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Hong Kong. By studying this prototype, it can provide us with a more imaginative view of the transformation of public housing in Hong Kong.

*Ho:Abbreviation of MHolil

The renovation of each floor is actually the six different living modes proposed.

The EYE of Reynisfjara: Retreat for the Blind

Competition Project Reynisfjara,Iceland

Individual Academic Works Supervisor: Quan Li quanli840420453@gmail.com November 2022

This proposal aims to present a design of a unique, dynamic hotel building that would provide a tactile and sensory journey for those who may not experience architecture through sight.

The design takes the human senses as a starting point and investigates the different senses that different spatial forms can bring. In addition the special site - a black sand beach on the south coast of Iceland - provides the design with a wealth of natural resources such as wind, light and the sound of water, all of which are taken into account in the design. By organising the spaces inside and outside the building the visually impaired are given the opportunity to connect with nature, so that they can perceive architecture and nature in the building without having to see it and have a unique experience.

Sight has historically been regarded as the noblest of the senses. However, people who are blind or experience vision impairmen‘s certainty cannot based on vision and visibility. Sight has historically been regarded as the noblest of the senses. However, people who are blind or experience vision impairmen‘s certainty cannot based on vision and visibility.

The Eyes of the Skin

People with visual impairment have more sensitive senses than people without visual impairment, and they are more likely to access tactile and auditory information.

According to the sources, the five senses can be obtained through a variety of substances. How these substances are translated into the design is a key point of this project.

Sensory elements from nature

How to build the cornection between the blind and nature through architectural design?

The proposal provides a simple loop flow line, in which people who are blind or experience vision impairmen can enjoy a unique retreat experience without worrying about the sense of direction.

How can people who are blind or experience vision impairmen perceive the waves on the black beach? This design attempts to create a hot spring pool inserted into the sea, so that the blind can feel the sound, temperature, wind, pressure and other sensory stimuli brought by the waves in a comfortable environment. All functions of the hotel revolve around the hot spring pool, and constantly deepen its sensory experience.