Carleton master’s graduate Raymond Chu lived in a two-by-seven foot room to research his thesis on high-density, low-income housing in Hong Kong.
Chu’s thesis project, XXS (extra Extra SMALL!), proposes using “pre-fabrication architecture” techniques to divide small housing units in a functional way. Drawing inspiration from furniture companies like Ikea, the unit walls would be made up of furniture that is easy to assemble. It would not only consist of shelving, Chu said, but chairs, beds and other pieces of furniture.
Chu’s project was short-listed for the international Graduate Architecture Award, sponsored by Detail magazine.
High demand for low-cost housing in crowded Hong Kong has prompted private developers to bypass safety regulations and build unsafe “body-sized” units for prospective tenants, he said.
For research, Chu lived in a two-by-seven foot unit characteristic of low income housing in Hong Kong, which he described as “worse than living in a washroom stall.” He said he was charged about $20 (Canadian) each night. That amounts to $600 per month.
Chu sought not only to solve the housing crisis in Hong Kong, but the waste one as well. As a small but highly populated city, Hong Kong’s landfill is over capacity.
“I took advantage of that problem and am recycling all the plastic they have and using that as a building material,” Chu said.
He proposed that the government would be able to subsidize this dual solution to the absence of safe low-income housing and a waste management system.
Chu said his interest lies in architecture with a social focus. Architecture is about building things for people, he said.
“A lot of times architects are able to create something that is beautiful . . . when the client has billions of dollars to pay for it. But what about those who don’t even have money for food and clothing? What can an architect do for them? That was my inspiration,” he said.
Chu’s engagement with housing in Hong Kong stems from a childhood connection – he grew up in the city’s public housing. He said the experience inspired him to make a difference in his home country.
He said he became familiar with the issue noticing the headlines his parents were reading in Chinese-language papers.
“People [would be] trapped within the units because the corridor would be lesser than a body length. You can imagine if a fire breaks out . . . a lot of the time people open the doors and then they trap the others inside. It’s all drywall and wood and everything just burns down,” Chu said.
Dozens of people are dying every year in these apartment fires, Chu said, all from subdivided units. The government has refused to intervene, claiming that these private housing units are not a public responsibility, he said.
Chu completed both his undergraduate and master’s degree at Carleton. He said the close-knit architecture faculty at Carleton “feels like home.”
Right now, Chu said he is looking forward to real solutions to high density poverty housing like the one he has proposed. He’s aiming to make connections with government authorities in Hong Kong.
“I’m hoping that my thesis will actually come to life and help those that it is intended to help,” he said.
His ideas can apply not only to Hong Kong, but other crowded cities with housing needs, he said.
Chu hopes his work will “inspire a new generation of architecture,” one which addresses high density low-income housing needs in a safe, functional, and sustainable way.
