Hong Kong is a city of seven million people bounded by a tiny patch of land and an island. For millions of its inhabitants, small apartments are the norm for housing because land space is at a premium. Inspired by this need for space, a Hong Kong based architect decided to revamp his tiny corridor of his apartment so that he could maximize the amount of usable space. How does he accomplish this? He makes everything movable so that he could have a kitchen, a bathtub, a bed, a TV and virtually everything that he needs to live with, including a hammock.
Looking back on my comments regarding the West Point Bridge Design program for NCSU Engineering Camp, I mentioned micromanagement. Well, this Hong Kong architect does exactly that. Micromanagement. Depending on context being used, maximizing space could be a very important strategy if human population growth and urban development continues to increase at high rates. Even if efficiency isn't an absolute necessity in places like the US, this concept could be helpful for families who cannot afford to pay the huge lot fees that comes with houses. Usually lots are amongst the most expensive portions of a house. Using this method, a family could squeeze alot of things into just a small amount of space. Of course, the constant moving and pushing could become a negative factor for families. As of now, there isn't a practical way of putting this concept en masse. Even if it isn't viable to apply this commercially, the concept of dual tasking is important when designing houses because, again of huge lot fees and heating/cooling spaces in homes. One of the problems associated with many homes is that the dining room is almost never used, and it takes up unnecessary space. Perhaps, if people think like this Hong Kong man does, we could eliminate alot of waste.
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