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Difficulties in Achieving Open Building in the Mass Housing in Hong Kong and Implication of User Participation a
Q. M. Mahtab-uz-Zaman & Stephen S. Y. Lau
a
a
Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
b
Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Available online: 11 Oct 2011
To cite this article: Q. M. Mahtab-uz-Zaman & Stephen S. Y. Lau (2002): Difficulties in Achieving Open Building in the Mass Housing in Hong Kong and Implication of User Participation, Architectural Science Review, 45:3, 175-181 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2002.9697508
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Architectural Science Review Volume 45, pp 175-181
UDC: 728.2:658.3(512.317)Keywords: ; Mass housing; Open building; User-need gap; User participation
Difficulties in Achieving Open Building in the Mass Housing in Hong Kong and Implication of User Participation
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Q M Mahtab-uz-Zaman*tand Stephen S Y Lau**
Customisationandopen buikiingsystemhave been widelydiscussed in building technologyin the Westerndiscourses. These open building ystems have been recommended in a built environment where the buildings are predominantly low rise, detached and less complex. In Hong Kong, the target production of the muss housing due to the growing number of population is 85,000units annually. These residential units are small in thepssjlmr area, which are calculatedfrom theprevailing limited land availablefor the building industries.Most of the muss housing has now reached to a 41 storey high with an average of 50 to 80 sq. m. of grossfloor area. The basic configuration of theflats is determinedfrom the households'fimiture layout. Therefore, there is a limited option in thefla-ibility of the residentialflat configuration. These are the significant constraints in the muss housing where total open and flexible building design are almost impossible.Due to this reason, there is a lack of user satisjaction arisingjbm amed design and lack offlexible optionfor furniture arrangements.Moreover,tomaintainthe mussproductiontargetand tokeep thecostlower,substandardqualip of thefittingsandfinishesare used in housing units.Asa result, there isagrowingtendencyof the user to remove thefinishes andfittings and to replace with the higher qualipfinishes andfitings.
Thispaper discussestheHong Kong public housingproductionprocessesand their constraints in achieving open building concept.An altemativeto the open building isthe 'userparticipation'that reduces,toa degree, the user need-gap.However, a degree of constraint alsoprevails in the userparticipationp c e s s where opinion of the muss user is a diflcult task due to thepopulation size. Thispaper discusses the need of a new paradip in the mass housingproduction in Hong Kong, where an incremental process of the userparticipation could be introduced to enhance the user satisfaction.
1. Introduction The life span of a house reflects the changing needs of the inhabitants
as they continuouslyrefurbish and readjust their living environment [ 11. Housing design and development process is therefore regarded as complex,non-linear,and uncertain, and also involving both natural processes and human values [2]. The act of refurbishing and readjustment is a
* Postdioctoral Research Fellow & corresponding author, Department of Architecture,The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. **AssociateProfessor, Depanment of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. tCorresponding author. E-mail:grnmzaman@graduate.hku.hk
phenomenon common to both singledetached units and mass-produced housing units. Comparedwiththesingledetached housing unit, high-rise mass housing presents several difficultiesfor refurbishment and readjustment due to the physical layout and the construction limitations resulting from the repetitive design. There is less scope for domestic personalisation due to the prototype designs,a common dilemma for inhabitants of social housing in any part of the world. ?he demand to economise on construction costs in order to create a supply of affordable housing cannot be ignored. Mass production is one way to lower design and production costs and thus makes the price of housing units affordable. Moreover, prefabricationof mass housing elements results in the growth ofsocial mass housing in countries where labour shortages predominate.
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Figure I: New Cnrci/onn Block Source: (HongKong Housing Authori&l99@
Figure 2: New Modular Concord 1 Block Source: (Hong Kong Housing Autboriy, 1996)
Together with the concept of mass production, flexible design elemen6 have been adopted in several countriesin order to accommodate the changing needs of the population. Design strategy that can ~WX“lodatethe changing needs throughout the lifecycle of the design. The concept Of ~ C U P a produces n ~ the concept of flexibility is not new (31 and has been applied at the end of 19th Century in theofice buildingsoftheChicago Schooland in 1927by Le Corbusier
for the Weissenhofsiedlung competition. World War I1 brought along Further major advancements in the developmentof a dynamic housing system followed by John Habraken’s “Support-Infill”concept [4]. Flexible design proposes a solution to the inability to accommodate anonymous user-needs in the mass-produced housing design process [ 5 ] . Since the anonymity of the usen prevails in the mass housing the chances of difficultiesin acflexibility design
Figure 3:New Modular Concord 2 Block. Source: (Hong Kong Housing Autborig, 1996)
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commodating individual needs. However, identifying and classifying unknown users and providing them with a corresponding degree of flexibilityraise cenain problems (61,such as,the mismatch between the designer and user preference on fittings and finishes. Therefore, design managers, involved in the process of flexible design, cannot be expected to study housing with insufficient infomation about the end users [71.
In response totheabovechangingtrends, theHKHAhasintroducedthe 'Harmony' series [ 101of rental and home ownershipdesigns on the basis of 'modular' and 'dimensional'co-ordinates (Figure 4), the design objective and design management suategm are illustrated in Table 1.
Table 1:Design Management StrategiesofModular Housing Design [9]
2. Hong Kong Case of Customisation
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Several design strategies have been undertaken by the Hong Kong Housing Authority' (HKHA), consisting in the main three of major types of design. These are either 1)fitted flats for occupation,such as the New Crudorm Blocks (NCB) (Figure 1);2) Concord Blocks (Figure2 and 3); and 3) "shell" concept where much of the interior decoration and fitting out is cartied out by the purchaser, such as 'Harmony' series of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) (Figure 4) and Harmony Transfer [8].
3. Fitted Flats for Occupation This is a purposedesignedblock for HOS introduced in 1984.There are three types of flat produced,2-bedroomflat of 37 sq.rn., and two types of 3-bedroomsflat of 52 sq.m. and 59 sq. m. respectively. There are 10 flats per floor and a maximum of 40 domestic floors.
To solve the complex problems of flat layout, particularly the service areas of the kitchen, bathroom and balcony.
Flats were produced with larger bedroom and kitchen and seperate toilet with Water Closet for 3bedroom flat.
Public areas are To upgrade common intensified in terms service areas. of design elements and facilities.
3.2 ConcordBlocks
The first batch of flats has been out for occupation in 1999. The most significant pan of the Concord design process is the user participation. The user panicipation is the response to the complaints against poor or inefficient design specificationsof the mass housing, which is reflected in thekquentrefuhishmentorfittingout2worksandarefound inmost of the public housing estates.
Design Solutions
Solution for Flat mix recognising combination of 1multi-family bedroom, 2-bedroom structures. and 3-bedroom.
3.I New CruciformBlock WCB)
Concord blocks are the HOS design, having two standard flat types,a 2bedroom flat of 46 sq.m. and a 3-bedroom flat of 60sq. m. There are two standardblockdesigns,namely:Concord 1(Figure2)with8flatsperfloor and 40 domestic floors and Concord 2 with 6 flats per floor and 30 domestic floors ( F i r e 3).
Design Management Strategies
5. Open Building According to Habnken [ll], "Open Building is the tenn used to indicate a number of di&vnt, but related ideas about the making of environment. For instance:
The idea of distinct leveh of intervention in the built environment, such as those represented by 'support'and 'injll; or by urban design and architecture.
4 . S h e l l ~ ~ F i t t i n g O u t W ~ b The y idea ~ that usmlinhabitantsmay make designdecisionsas well. 4.1 The Emergence ofModular andDimionu1 Co-
ordination as a result of the Long Term Housing Strategy In general, the current ranges of designs of rental and HOS address solutions for today's changing social demands. In a detailed analysis,the overall design of these generations has limitations in answering the demands of the future. Some of the reasons are listed as below:
1.
design parameters are changing,
2.
families are getting smaller,
3. 4.
housing standards are improving3,and
The idea that, mgeneralh,designing isaprocess with multiple participants also including d @ i t kinds ofprofesionuls. The idea tbat the interjihce between technical y s t m allows the replacement of one ystem with anotherpetrfonningthe same/unction. (As with dijiientjtmt systems applied in a same base building.)
the aspiration of residents is rising'.
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The idea that built envinmment isin constant transformationand
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I BEDROOM
2- BEDROOM
I 0
3-BEDROOM
1 P UNlT _.
.am
I
F
100
1 P UNlT.
3- BEDROOM
Figure 4: Modular andLXmensiona1Co-ordinutesApplied to the ‘Harmony’Series of HOS Blocks Source: (Hong Kong H o w i n g Autborily, 1989)
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change must be recognized and understd. 8 The idea that built environment is the product of an ongoiqg never ending, &sign process in which environment tramfonnspart by part.
5.1 ‘Harmony’Series of HOS Blocks These HOS blocks follow rental-housing designs with upgraded finishesand fittingsinside flats and in
!!
public areas. Flats range from l-bedroom of 34 sq. m.,2-bedroomof43sq.m.to3-bedroomof52sq.m. ( F i r e 4).There are between 16to 18flats per flmr and up to 40 domestic floors depending upon the site-specificconditions.
r-
i 0 \o D
I
Y)
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5.2 ‘Harmony’TransjmBlock These are also designed for rental blocks but the design was later used for producing HOS flats. The range of flat types and the number of flats are similar to the ‘Harmony’ series of HOS but may also add 1persorln-person flats. These seriesalso allow adjustments to be made to address production or district shortfalls. The significant difference between ‘Harmony’seriesofHOSand’Harmony’Transferisin the fitting out works.
Figure 5: Open Housing Unit Before Rentinglselling
6.Iimitationsof Total Open Building, U~er-Need Gap and New Design Management paradigm According to Kendall and Teicher (2000) [121,residential open building is a new multidsciplinaryapproach to the design, financing, construction, fitting-out and long-term management processes of residential buildings. However,there are limitationsin applyingtotal open building in Hong Kong:
6.1Limitation 1: Furniture Fixation
common phenomenon as seen in many housing estates is that after several years of occupation in both rental and ownership, the tenant or owner initiates self-refurbishmentworks. A survey in 1995conducted by the M D R [13] concentrated on the economic, physical and needs/ Preference of the HKHAoccupants.The survey revealed that almost 80% of the respondents (23,483households) in ‘Harmony’rental housingand 82.2%of the respondents (6,749households) in HOS applied soft or hard refurbishment works amounting an average of HKt40,OM (vSS5,lSl) in rental and HK$90,000 (USS11,658)in HOS flats. This self-refurbishment works indicate two major issues: 1)occupants (tenant or home owners) cannot readjust the flat layout accodng to the individual household requirements; and 2) occupants desire to refurbish their flats after they accumulate savingsdue to the higher subsidy on price and rent given by
In HKHA, open building and customisation of mass housing flats is determined according to the furniture layout and the minimum dimensions required for a limited number of layout combination (Figure 5 and 6). This limitation is due to the small flat am derived from the limited space standard that HKHA can provide. Small apartment units demonstrate less flexibility of furniture layout and partition (Figure 6). Most of the apartments surveyed show typical furniture layout that do not respond to changing demography,life cycle changes and any potential new technology. Therefore, the Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE)mainly registers the soft changesin fittingsand finishesand structuraldefects,which requires quick rectification. Due to mass design standards with the fuced patution and consequentialfixed furniturelayout,POE cannot find any alternative spatial arrangement and design standards.
6.2Limitation 2: Rejhrbishment Worksdue to Substandard Fittings and Finishes To lower down the cost of construction, fittings and finishes, HKHA has to provide basic shell with minimum fittings that excludes, as a major element, floor tiles and partition wall. The
Figure 6: TypicalHousing Unit ConfigurationwhichAllows Less Flexibilityfor Furniture Layout
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sions, errors or discrepancies in drawingsand/or inappropriate details in the specifications; and 3) Defects, indicating building failures.
the HKHA.
7. Hong Kong Housing Authority’s User Participation Process 7.1
8. Conclusion: Need of a New Paradigm of Design Management
Design Approach:Mock-upDesign Method
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To ensure that the future public housing flats will meet user expectation, two ‘mock-up’flats of ‘Concord‘design have been constructed and displayed.Thepublicwasconsultedforaperidofthreemonthsonthese ‘mock-up’flats. A questionnaire survey was canied out to obtain the opinion of all the visitors to the ‘mock-up’design. The ‘mock-up’design functions clear and understandable tool for lay-people. The ‘Concord‘ design costs HKt4300 (USt557) per gross floor area during the design stage, compared to the average cost of the other HOS designs, at HK$3,700(USt480) per gross floor area in 19%.However, the HKHA expects that the new design process of user participation will remove any potential costs incurred by the user in post-purchase upgrading as Topdown PASSIVE PARnCIPATION Information f d a c k from p o a - o c n p a ~ ~ y 2ValllatiOa
PARTICIPATION “Mock-up“design
Drawing from Zeisel’sresearch and design ceoperation in the designprocess cycle [141, the design process of public housing in Hong Kong consists of a progression of simultaneous interaction from active and passive participation (Figure 7). Figure 7 shows the possible shift in the design management process from ‘unknownuserparticipation’toa more definite ‘knownuser participation’ process with the help of interaction through simultaneous active and passive panicipation processes [IS].
Top-down PASSIVE PARTICIPATION Information f d b a c k hom post-occupancy evaluation
PARTICIPATION
PARTICIPATION
Figure 7:New Design Management Approach
frequently occurs in the ‘Harmony’series of HOS as in the other rental blocks.
List of Abbreviation:
7.2Non-DesignApproach:Post Occupancy UserFeedback Process
hY&X Hong Kong Houn’ng Autbority
The objectivesof the feedback system,as stated under the Design and Standard Design Manual, are modest in terms of the procedures and the outcome thesystem issupposed to offer.Theseobjectives are to improve designs, to meet more closely user needs, to improve construction efficiency, and to improve the quality of buildings and of estate facilities. The feedback system includes: receipt of feedback; the development of resmnses to the feedback, and a change, if necessary, to an approved design, spedication, design guidelink or procedures. The feedback system covers three major areas ofdesign defectsofconcernto the users, as follows: 1) User feedback, indicating where design fails or appears to fail to meet user needs; 2) Information feedback, indicating any omis-
HOS: HOW ownership scheme N C - :N~ cnrcifo,,,, -lWk
POE: Post Occupancy Evaluation
Acknowledgement: Authors of this paper would like to acknowledge the University Grants Committeeof Hong Kong forthe support (UGC Research No.: 102035W 06080/01100/323/01).
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References:
Footnotes
1 Riernus,H.(1993, FlexibleHousing:FundamentalsandBackgrounds, Open Hourefnternational,Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 19. 2 Lifson, M. W. and Shaifer,E. (1992),DecisionandRisk Analysisfor ConstructionManagement,John Wiley and Sons, New York. 3 Kami, E. (1995), Enhancing User's Flexibility in Adaptable Dwelling Units in High-rise Public Housing, Open H o w lntemational,Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 39. 4 Habraken, N. J. (1971), suppolt,Architectural Press, bndon.
2 Fitting out works is a term used by the HKHA to indicate the selfrehhishment works for interior finishes and fittings in the mass housing and public housing in particular.
5 Habraken, N. J. (1976), Variations:7%e Systematic Deszgn ofsup pmzr, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA. 6 Friedman,A. (1994), Developing Design and ImplementationStrategies for Flexible Building Systems in North American Housing, Opm Housefntemational,Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 3-12.
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1 The Hong Kong HousingAuthority is astatutoty body responsiblefor implementing Hong Kong's public housing programme within the objectivesof the Government's Long Term Housing Strategy. Evolving from previous organizations set up in earlier years to deal with housing and resettlement matters, the HousingAuthority was estab lished in April 1973under the HousingOrdinance. It was reorganized into its present structure in April 1988,with its distinct identity and financial autonomy [ 161.
7 Zeisel, J. (1974), Fundamental Values in Planning with the Nonpaying Client, in Iang, J. (ed.),Lk$@ for Human Behaviour: Architecture and the Behaviourd Sciences, Dowden, Hutchison and Ross Inc., Pennsylvania, USA 8 Hong Kong Housing Authority (1996),Hong Kong HousingAuthoriiy Annual Report, Hong Kong HousingAuthority, Hong Kong.
9 Zaman, Q.M. M. (1999),Public Housing in Hong Kong: Enhancing Privathtion Through Design Management,Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 10 Hong Kong HousingAuthority (1989),Desi@ConceptandArchitecturd Comkkratimof Harmony Design, Chapter 3, Construction Branch, Housing Department, Hong Kong HousingAuthority, Hong Kong. 11 Habraken, N. J, What is Open Building?,http:/h.habraken.com/ john/default.htm
12 Kendall, S.and Teicher,J. (2000),Residentialopen Budding,E & FN Spon, New York. 13 MDR (1999, Suwq on Fitting Out Works Done ly Tenants in Domestic Flats,for the Hong Kong Housing Authority, M.2114/ March 1995/CY Unpublished Report, Hong Kong.
v),
14 Zeisel,J. (1984),fnquity by Lksign: Tookfor Envimnment-Behaviour Research, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 32-37. 15 2aman, Q.M. M. and Ganesan, S. (1998), User Participation in Public Housing Design with Special Reference to Hong Kong, OpenHorn International, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 5-16. 16 Hong Kong Housing Authority (2000),Hong Kong Houn'ngAuthority, Hong Kong, http:/h.info.gov.hk/hd/eng/hahndex.htm.
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3 The scale of refurbishment, addition and alteration works on the original flat measures housing standardsby the tenanthomeowners.
4 Rising aspiration level is measured by the increasing home-ownership ratio and the hlure of "Selling of Public Rental Flats to Sitting Tenants".