From the enhancement of building efficiency, reduction of production costs, accurate prediction of the interplay between works and the environment, improvement of the work environment, to the protection of construction workers’ safety, the assistance of technology plays an indispensable part.

The Housing Department team has begun studying and applying the Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) since early 2000. After many years of trial and modification, they have evolved into the new Project Information Management and Analytics Platform launched in 2023. With the assistance of digital information technology, project teams can easily grasp the site conditions, monitor the construction progress and prevent accidents. To reduce the chance of construction site workers working at heights or in dangerous environments, automatic robots, drones, etc. have become important ancillary tools.
In addition, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) introduced the use of Modular Integrated Construction (MIC) in works for the first time in 2023, whereby the contractor produces large prefabricated modules in a factory and then transport them to the construction site for installation. “Factory assembly followed by on-site installation” greatly alleviates the burden of construction workers and MIC will be the key research and development project of HA in the future.

Building homes while being people-oriented has always been the concept of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA). Therefore, during the development process, the team of architects would not just focus on buildings. Great importance is also attached to the respect for natural ecology, the protection of traditional culture, as well as the care for neighbourhood community. “Symbiosis and co-existence” has become an important motto in the development blueprint for public housing.

In recent years, many public housing estates have been constructed in the New Territories. It is not too difficult to find many environmental protection facilities in the housing estates. From waste reduction, material recycling, energy saving to greening and other aspects, the Housing Department team duly retains natural materials and incorporates them into the design of the housing estates, so as to create a healthy and comfortable living space that is in harmony with the countryside environment.

Furthermore, the HA devotes much effort to preserve and pass on the historical and cultural legacies surrounding the development areas. Through cooperation with artists as well as communication and coordination with different stakeholders in the community, the architects have incorporated considerations for heritage conservation and humanity during the design process. Building a new community does not mean that the old traditional culture must be destroyed. A balance can be struck between preservation and destruction.

At present, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) manages a total of 193 public housing estates with over 810 000 public rental housing (PRH) flats, serving 2.1 million Hong Kong people. Since the 1980s, HA has implemented the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme involving the large-scale demolition and redevelopment of old PRH blocks between 1987 and 2012. To this day, with social development and the increased aspiration for better living environment, public housing redevelopment projects remain to be implemented in a timely and orderly manner. Among the ten redevelopment projects being planned and implemented at present, the largest project is Wah Fu Estate, which was built over 50 years ago in the Southern District on Hong Kong Island. In this redevelopment project, 9 200 flats of Wah Fu Estate will be demolished in three phases and the residents will be rehoused in situ in five newly-built reception estates nearby. It is anticipated that 12 200 PRH flats can be provided upon the completion of the whole project.

With such a large redevelopment and rehousing project, how do the staff of the Housing Department communicate with the residents of the district to facilitate their understanding of the rehousing arrangement and principles behind, and to formulate a “people-oriented” redevelopment and rehousing strategy that invites the participation of residents in designing community facilities, so as to take into full account their views and needs? How can the original style of Wah Fu Estate, with rich architectural characteristics and historical significance, be preserved in the new building cluster? On the other hand, in an era where the society increasingly emphasises environmental protection and conservation, the Administration, apart from considering “redevelopment”, also has to keep environmental protection and conservation principles in mind, and pursue the principle of “more conservation and less demolition” as far as possible. The Housing Department has implemented the “Total Maintenance Scheme” (“TMS”) since 2006 to proactively provide on-site inspection and repair services for PRH flats to improve the living environment, lengthen the lifespan of public housing estates and enhance economic efficiency by preempting problems. In recent years, the TMS model has been extended to cover the “Responsive In-flat Maintenance Services” with simplified maintenance procedures to facilitate reporting by residents.

Times Change – Public Housing Design in Evolution
Various types of public housing reflect the change of times. From resettlement blocks to different architectural design, including landmarks such as “H” shape blocks, twin towers, trident and harmony blocks, has been adopted taking into account people’s livelihood needs, with a view to resolving the housing problems and improving residents’ quality of life.

Places Change – Public Housing Development in New Towns
With the growing population in Hong Kong in the 1970s’, and the shortage of land available for development in urban area, a large amount of building land was required for alleviating the housing problems. At that time, the Government implemented the Ten-year Housing Programme for the development of new towns.
Sha Tin District is one of the first generation new town development areas. With comprehensive ancillary transport facilities and formation of land by reclamation along Shing Mun River, it had more development edges. The first public housing estate in Sha Tin District – Lek Yuen Estate was completed in 1976. With the rapid development of housing estates in the District, a complementary livelihood network was formed, giving the fullest play to the community connection edge, and laying a foundation for the synergy effect of public housing and community development.
With the gradually saturated development on both sides of Shing Mun River, alternative development sites had to be identified. The former Assistant Director of Housing, Mr. KONG Churk-fan, Joseph, perfectly combined housing construction with the geographical location, and developed the unique Kwong Yuen Estate on the hillside, which was an exemplary model for site-specific construction.

Homes Remain – Continue Pursuance for Ideal Homes
In 2017, the Government promulgated the planning report of Hong Kong 2030+ to establish a framework for the overall spatial planning, land and infrastructural development of Hong Kong, so as to alleviate the housing problem. The Northern Metropolis is the major development project. New area development is a great challenge, and the Government aims at enhancing the speed, quantity, efficiency and quality in terms of public housing construction, so as to enhance the well-being of residents, and continue to build ideal homes for the public.

Over the years, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has been providing a robust housing ladder to the public that does not only offer a safety net for the grassroots and low-income households to address their housing needs, but also allows those who are relatively well-off to move up the housing ladder and gradually improve their living environment. To achieve this goal, the HA has launched various subsidised home ownership schemes through the years, making people’s home-buying dreams come true while expediting the turnover of public rental housing units and shortening the average waiting time. Since its launch in 1978, the Home Ownership Scheme has been well received by people with an income insufficient to purchase private flats. Other subsidised home ownership schemes, such as the White Form Secondary Market Scheme, the Tenants Purchase Scheme and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme, provide opportunities for home ownership to people in different situations.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) implemented the Quality Housing Reform in 2000. One of the important changes was adopting non-standardised design for public housing instead of standardised design, so as to introduce more people-oriented and site-specific design concepts. For buildings newly completed in those years, such as Yau Lai Estate, emphasis was placed on microclimate studies with more greening and sustainable development elements. For old buildings such as So Uk Estate, comprehensive redevelopment was carried out, and the new So Uk Estate has transformed into a modern housing estate attaching importance to both development and conservation. Besides, for the design and operation of Domain, the large shopping centre in Yau Tong, apart from commercial operations, the provision of community facilities was also considered important in motivating community participation. In 2023, HA leveraged on its experiences accumulated over the years, and conducted Residents Surveys in a number of housing estates. The Well-being Design Guide has been formulated for public housing construction in the future, so that apart from the quantity, speed and efficiency of public housing supply, the quality of public housing development will also be enhanced to continue creating better living environment for the residents.

With the growing population in Hong Kong and shortage of land available for development in urban area, the Government decided to construct public housing estates in remote areas. Wah Fu Estate was the first public housing estate to incorporate this concept. It was a self-contained community providing various essential services, such as shops, car parks and a bus terminus, as well as community and recreational facilities. In early 1970s, the Government announced the Ten-year Housing Programme, which provided flats with a complete range of facilities and a decent living environment for 1.8 million Hong Kong citizens. In 1973, in order to support the Ten-year Housing Programme, the Government re-structured the existing housing organisations. The Hong Kong Housing Authority was established for coordination, and the Resettlement Department and Housing Division of the Urban Services Department were amalgamated into the Housing Department as the executive arm of the Housing Authority. In 1976, the Government decided to launch the Home Ownership Scheme, and formulated the Long Term Housing Strategy in 1987, so that better-off public housing tenants and low to middle-income families could buy their own flats. In this episode, Dr LIAO Poon-huai, Donald, former Secretary for Housing, is invited to have a dialogue with HO Wing-yin, Winnie, the Secretary for Housing, to tell the stories of public housing.

On Christmas Day 1953, a huge fire swept the Shek Kip Mei squatter area and made some 50 000 people homeless. To rehouse squatter residents, the first batch of eight blocks of six-storey resettlement buildings were completed in Shek Kip Mei at the end of 1954 which marked the beginning of Hong Kong’s public housing development. In 1954, the Resettlement Department was established to manage the multi-storey resettlement estates arising from the fire in Shek Kip Mei in 1953. In April 1954, the Hong Kong Housing Authority was established. It was tasked to provide housing units of a better quality at a lower rent for “the low-paid among the white-collar class”. In 1964, the Government released the white paper, “Review of Policies for Squatter Control, Resettlement and Government Low-cost Housing”, which decided to accelerate the construction of resettlement and low-cost housing, develop large-scale resettlement estates and build taller buildings in order to meet the huge demand for housing.