Hong Kong Architect Designs Micro Home in Pipe|住不起高房價 香港出現"2.8坪水管屋"

Hong Kong has ranked first in the world in housing prices for the past seven years. Recently, a local architect designed a three-ping micro apartment in a giant concrete pipe. He has already received inquiries from all over the world. There is a full apartment inside this giant concrete pipe. Inside the micro home, the living room is in the middle of the pipe, while a wooden bench converts into a bed. Decorations can also be hung from the circular walls. At one end of the pipe is the bathroom, kitchen and a sink. The apartment also has an air conditioner and glass doors at either end. The interior is 2.8 pings in size, or a little bigger than Hong Kong's "snail homes," which are typically only one ping in size. This tubular structure was designed by Hong Kong architectural studio James Law Cybertecture. One day I happened to see some of these large concrete water tubes left, and I thought, wow, why are they being wasted? Whilst at the same time here in Hong Kong, we are facing a lot of the affordable housing issues that is making young people having difficulty to afford their own housing. So I thought, why not buy these concrete tubes at a very low cost and convert them into these really cute, micro living architecture? The cost of constructing one unit is US$15,000, or NT$438,000. New university graduates who are unable to afford purchasing homes will find it more economical to rent one of these micro apartments. For example, in Hong Kong now, in the prime areas, 100 square feet can cost you anything up to 15,000 Hong Kong dollars of rent. Here, with the OPod tube house, what we want to do is rent it out for 3,000 Hong Kong dollars. The tubes can be relocated with relative ease, and can also slot into narrow gaps, such as gaps between buildings or spaces under pedestrian bridges or highways. They can also be stacked on top of one another. The project is currently still a concept, although the architect has built a prototype. He has also already fielded calls from all over the world inquiring about these homes.