Bamboo Micro Houses To Cater For Hong Kong’s Population

These bamboo micro-housing units have been designed by the architecture studio, AFFECT-T. The units have been created as a possible solution to Hong Kong’s growing demand for suitable housing. Each micro-house is approximately 3 meters wide (9.8 feet), by 2.5 meters long (8.2 feet) and stands 3.7 meters high (12.1 feet).

The prototype shown in the pictures is able to accommodate a single resident with areas dedicated to cooking, sleeping, and sitting. The units are designed to be assembled in groups to create a community. The community complexes would also have areas designed to function for social activities (games, education etc) and communal dining.

The larger community assemblies can be serviced through a common utility line that provides water, electricity, and sewage disposal to the individual units. The bamboo micro houses are designed to be standalone structures placed within existing industrial buildings, which would provide for the occupants heating and cooling needs.

Due to their size and lightweight construction, the arrangement of the units can be modified to suit the needs of the community as its population changes. The overall aim is to create a “simple [and] inexpensive structural system to service many different demographics of people.”

There are currently 280,000 people living in Hong Kong without any form of permanent housing. The lack of suitable housing has led individuals to create their own form of temporary housing, something which AFFECT-T alludes to a being New Walled City: “Not constrained to a single geography or architectural type, these inhabitants of illegal structures exist at the fringe of society, constrained by income and isolated in homes that are undocumented and unaccounted for.”

The Bamboo Mirco House proposal seeks to provide a means of transitional housing that takes advantage of Hong Kong’s industrial buildings, and while in the eyes of some it may not be a feasible solution to the problem, it is a step in the right direction.

For more tiny houses check out the Barrel Top Wagons from Devon in the UK, which can be towed by a car to your desired site. Or Alek & Anjali’s completed tiny house from The Tiny Project. See all tiny houses.

Via ArchDaily
Photos: AFFECT-T