Introduction
Thesis Statement
Research
Site Analysis
Concept
Development
Final Design:
1/F 2/F
3/F Apt
Epilogue
Introduction
Thesis Statement
Research
Site Analysis
Concept
Development
Final Design:
1/F 2/F
3/F Apt
Epilogue
Site Analysis
The geographical location of the site has pivotal importance towards the design of the project. Weather, sun-path, adjacent establishment and buildings, as well as culture, the local population, contribute towards the certain design choices.
Our site has selected to be in the neighborhood of Sham Shui Po
Hong Kong is seperated into four districts: New Territories, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and the outer islands. According to the 2016 population census, Sham Shui Po was the poorest neighborhood in Hong Kong.
New Territories
1. Islands District
2. Kwai Tsing District
3. North District
4. Sai Kung District
5. Sha Tin District
6. Tai Po District
7. Tsuen Wan District
8. Tuen Mun District
9. Yuen Long District
Kowloon
10. Kowloon City District
11. Kwun Tong District
12. Sham Shui Po District
13. Wong Tai Sin District
14. Yau Tsim Mong District
Hong Kong Island
15. Central & Western District
16. Eastern District
17. Southern District
18. Wan Chai District
Infrastructure
Public transports are extremely common in Hong Kong, and especially in city center (including Sham Shui Po). The Mass Transit Railway (MTR), Buses, taxis and minibuses are common forms of public transport.
Public infrastructures in the area includes public gymnasiums, sport centers, community centers,and libraries.
The wealth gap has worsened since the pandemic began. Having reached its tipping point, according to an Oxfam report, the city’s poorest citizen now makes 47 times less than its richest citizen.
The average monthly income fo the poorest households, a majority of which lives in SDFs, fell by 22.9% to HK$2700 (US$348). While that of the richest households rose by 6.3% to HK$127600 (US$127600).
The unemployment rate of people in poverty is eight times higher than that of those above the poverty line.
The housing Index has seen a downward trend since august 2021, decreasing from 185.16 points to 175.84 points in July 2022 (trading economics). Goldman Sachs predicts Home prices to decline 30% from last years trend. Which makes housing more affordable for the middle class, while remaining unaffordable to the grass root class.
The minimum wage in Hong Kong has been raised to $37.5 in 2019, and has remained unchanged for 4 years.
Climate
Sham Shui Po area is located closer towards the center of Hong Kong, experiencing more intense rainfall.
Hong Kong being a seaside city, is subjected to sub-tropical weathers. Inner cities reach a peak of 32C (90F) in the summer and a minimum of 8C (46F) in the winter.
It should be noted that theses differences are increasing due to climate change, with summers getting hotter and winters getting colder.
Humidity is also a huge part of the climate in Hong Kong, with a constant high humidity of 70% and above.
The end user will be current tenants of subdivided flats, selected base on their location and proximity to the site location, as the project aims to tear down pre-existing outdated buildings, that presents an opportunity to places near by residents into significantly better living situations. If the project were to be replicated elsewhere, the targeted end users are to be people in need within close proximity of the project site, ideally within a few cities blocks or within the same district to lower the disruption of their daily life.
A majority of tenants work nine-to-five jobs, children who live in SDFs typically follow a similar schedule with school as well, from 8am to 4pm. Older generations usually gather in near-by parks in order to kill time.
The domestic household size in SSP:
1 person household: 42 122
2 person household: 47 485
3 person household: 37 276
4 person household: 24 875
5 person household: 10 085
Hong Kong
68 Fuk Wa Street
Immediate adjacency:
Pei Ho Street
Nam Cheong Street
The area of Sham Shui Po is known to have ultra dense low-rise buildings – old builds have small footprints and are usually no taller than 15 floors.
There are no designated residential areas in Sham Shui Po, residences are interlaced with stores and office buildings. The center of Sham Shui Po is known to be an area for tech parts, fabrics and affordable restaurants.
late morning to evening sun blocked, enjoys a small window of direct sunlight in the morning.
SW side:
morning to afternoon sun blocked, enjoys an even afternoon to evening sunlight.
The building is sandwiched between a 6 story building to the left and a 1 story tall dollar store. Which leave the south east facade empty and presents a potential opportunity to create balconies and moments of sunlight into the common area.
Said opportunities are equaled by the challenge that the NE side (back end) of the site experiences very little sunlight, as well as faces away from main traffic and faces a large back alley area, which is dim and not well ventilated. Additional care needs to be applied to ensure that area is well lit and ventilated.
While the dollar store is significantly shorter, the design should avoid creating extrusions that intrudes into the envelop of the store, to avoid potential obstruction in the case of development at the store location.
The building faces a street market, which operates from 9am to 6pm, and has moderate to high levels of traffic, and is subjected to loud noises.
The site location is situated between multiple bus stations as well as 5 minutes away from the Sham Shui Po train station.
The high density and high traffic nature of the SSP district cause high noise levels along.
Though the smaller streets are not car -accessible and strictly pedestrian, they are populated by street markets with moderate traffic. The site location is subjected to immediate noise.
Sound created by traffic from the main streets are low to moderate, and tend to rise in the afternoon near traffic hours.
A. Fuk Wa Mansion
B. Fuk On Building
C. Fuk Cheong Building
D. Wah On Mansion
E. Pei Ho Building
F. Nam Cheung Building
G. Shing Lam Building
H. Nong Sum Mansion
Stores and services
1. Dollar store
2. Grocery store
3. Hardware store
4. Chinese herbal tea
5. Hair salon
6. Clinic
7. Cantonese restaurant
8. Bakery
9. Super market
10. Drug store
Tight building footprint and possibly placed between two pre-exisiting buildings.
Close proximity between two sides of the streets.
The high density nature of the site calls for a well lit and ventilated environment. Public amenities are to be placed closer to street level, with acoustics as a high priority, allowing living quarters to be at a higher, quieter level.
Building construction type:
Type I: non-combustible fire resistive
Sprinklered building
Gross floor square footage:
2030 ft2
Number of floor:
3-4 floors dedicated to amenities and community space.
5 and above dedicated to living spaces.
HVAC:
Centralized heating with control panels
Elevators:
Two set of elevators placed adjacent to the emergency staircase.
Plumbing fixture analysis:
Irregularly placed plumbing wall
Occupancy load:
Amenities and public area:
Assembly without fixed seating:
3190 / 30gross = 106
Assembly:
1200 / 11gross = 109
Storage (bike storage):
250 / 300gross = 1
Residential spaces:
13750 ft2 / 200 Gross = 68
Total occupancy load = 284
Staircase:
One set of stairs, two access doors per level.
Number of exits on typical floor:
2 fire exits leading to one emergency staircase.
Arrangement of exits per the 1/2 or 1/3 rule:
The size of the plan allows for one exit per floor.
Public corridor space and egress for other tenants:
10 residents per floor can be easily evacuated via one escape door.
Previous floor square footage:
2030 ft2
Current floor square footage:
3200 ft2
Floor to Floor Height:
Typical Hong Kong ceiling heights typically situates at 2.6 m ( 8’ 6” ).
In order to create a space that feels bigger, this project with be designed with a 2.85m ( 9’ 4” )
1/3 diagonal distance:
90 ft 6 in
Egress door distance:
44 ft 5 in (exceeds 1/3 minimum)
Egress staircase:
An additional set of staircase will be added to meet Georgia building codes.
Elevators:
In consideration of the building footprint and occupancy load, one excess elevator will be removed as it exceeds the required quantity
Front approach to building only.
High ceiling height helps reduce visual tightness.
Position of egress staircases may limit programming of the dwelling units.
Irregular plumbing walls raises issues with programming and apartment placements.