Study of flexibility in Hong Kong private housing

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Title

Proceedings - 3rd International Postgraduate Conference on Infrastructure and Environment, IPC 2011

Abstract

Since last three decades Hong Kong Government is steadily encouraging to enable a sustained and healthy development of private housing property market. With Hong Kong economy on the rise, and fertility rate one of the lowest in the world, more people are looking for improved space standards. Combining these factors together, added with the reduced responsibility of government as the major suppliers, private developers are coming more and more, and there is an opportunity for them to explore varieties in housing supply. However, it is observed that private flats, in highrise housing estates do not come as open shell like public housing, hence offers less flexibility. Thus, the main objective of this study is to find out whether they give similar opportunities for users in terms of flexibility if there is need for transforming internal layout. The significance lies in the fact that, if users need more space, and varieties need to be accommodated, are the contemporary private flats equipped with that kind of flexibility? With increased concerns over sustainability, these current bunch of tall highrise private housing estates may not be subject to demolition as the easiest solution for that. So, may be this is the time to think about the future of the layouts of highrise private housing flats. Through an extensive study of 104 flats of contemporary private housing a typology has been initiated and the flexibility has been assessed. The study concludes that flexibility in recent private flats is gradually reducing, but a positive note, they are offering more variety in size and layout design.

First Page

661

Last Page

668

Publication Date

1-1-2011

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS