Modular & Inter-generational Community

Re-imagination of Affordable Housing and Building Regulations in Hong Kong

Competition:

Winner of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects Young Architect Award

Location:

Hong Kong

Year:

2020

Designed by:

Arnold Yok Fai Wong

Short Description:

Hong Kong Institute of Architects had announced the winning design of the HKIA Young Architect Award (HKIA YAA). The competition with the theme “Housing+ - Re-imagine affordable housing and better living", asked local architects aged 35 or below to propose innovative and unique design proposals for the local housing communities. The winning design, titled “Modular & Inter-generational Community” by Arnold Yok Fai Wong, re-imagines the adaptability, livability and buildability of affordable housing through using leftover Air Space in the city and Modular Construction Method.

Long Description:

Hong Kong is known as a densely populated city with very limited land supply to build upon. Learning from the Air Rights in the New York City, the proposal is strategically located at the end of the Island East Corridor (IEC) at Quarry Bay to make use of the unused air space beneath the highway. Through using “Air Space” as “Air Rights”, the limited “Land Space” in Hong Kong can be preserved. Therefore, the proposal anticipates the Government will promote Air Rights by giving bonus floor area and exemption of site area as an incentive for the developers. Assuming two storeys and 80% of the 2km long Air Space below Island East Corridor are suitable for construction, around 1,300 Residential Units can be built underneath.

Modular construction has not been very popular in Hong Kong until the Building Department officially announce in 2019 that 6% of the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) floor area of a new building may be disregarded from the Gross Floor Area (GFA) upon application. With such, this project fully explores the potential of the MiC together with the introduction of the first “Suspended Modular Integrated Construction” (SMiC) to work with the “Air Right” by suspending under the bridges. The construction will start by completing 3 main structural cores using slipform construction method before installing 320 nos. of MiC comprised of the following 6 programmatic modules:

1. Residential MiC

(One Bedroom MiC can be converted to Two Bedrooms MiC)

2. Sky Garden MiC

3. Library MiC

4. Shop MiC

5. Office MiC

6. Climbing Wall & Back of House MiC

While the project is vertically dense, it also provides a pedestrian-friendly horizontal streetscape for the community and human scale by creating The Social Valley, a central hub that promotes diverse social opportunities with various active and passive programs:

1. Library with amphitheatre seating area

2. A 10 wide walking & jogging lane for all generations users

3. Climbing facilities for sports enthusiasts

4. Shops and Restaurants operated by residents

5. Central plaza for events and weekend flea market

Further to SBD Guideline that almost all development in Hong Kong will comply with, this project proposes a Self-Sustainable Building Design Guideline (SSBD) to further promote environmentally and financially sustainable building features with the following measures:

1. The 10% GFA concessions as imposed in SBD Guideline will be relaxed to 15% if the development fulfill SSBD Guideline

2. SSBD Environmental Requirement:

- 25% of the energy consumption shall be derived from Renewable Energy such as PV Panels and Highway Gravitational Energy, data shows that around 250,000 cars use the two-way of the Island East Corridor every day.

3. SSBD Financial Requirement:

- All the Shops and Offices here must be operated by the Residents and Social Enterprises respectively

- Rental income shall be used for Building Management and Maintenance purposes only