High rise apartments are the most common type of housing in Hong Kong. This is due to the fact that, to the lack of land to house such a high population, therefore developing vertically is the only answer for the time being. I cannot record spending a week in other types of housing, other than an apartment. However, if I had the chance to choose which type of housing to live in, I would still prefer to live in an apartment. Elements such as culture, background, financial have influenced my chose. On the other hand, I could say Americans tends to prefer single family housing over the multi family housings. As a study by William Michelson in the Gifford Book (p.246) suggests, over 50 percent of people were satisfied in single family housing, where as less than 25 percent were satisfied in multifamily housing. There are many results to why people would prefer living in single family housing than in multi storey apartments; this might be due to some physical or psychological concerns related to multi family living.
Spaces are very limited in some of the apartments I have lived in. Designers are continuously finding new ways to generate multi functional spaces within small compartments. Performance should not be limited than small spaces, therefore, having multi functional spaces are very essential inside the small apartments. (fig.1) is an example of multi functional space, where different functional spaces are hidden behind those movable walls.
Noise is a major problem in multifamily housing. All the units are separated by a partition walls and ceilings; usually they are very thin and without any acoustical treatment (fig.2). It can be quite disturbing at times to hear what our neighbors are doing. I remember from some time ago, I was living in a unit under a family with two kids. Almost every Saturday morning, I used to get woken up by crying noises, ball bouncing, or moping floor. I used to get really upset, as that was the only morning that I could sleep in. If only the walls and ceiling could be treated with acoustic materials, then all those unwanted noises wouldn’t be a problem in multifamily housing.
Privacy could be another concern in some apartments. As the units are so closely put together, privacy could be hard to come by. For example, balconies are so closely placed or something they could be linked together only separated by a thin partition (fig.3). If ones were to step out onto the balcony they would have to be careful of what they wear or what they do, as other tendencies might see. Furthermore, the location of windows could also provide concerns to ones privacy. From the apartment I live in back in Hong Kong, I remember I could see my neighbors of the next block through the windows of my living room. Architects should pay more attention to the direction of each unit facing before placing the windows.
Nature tends to be very limited in multi story housing. All the living units are elevated above ground therefore people would be disconnected to nature. Bring nature together with our built environment is very essential to our well being. In multi story housing, plants or other means of nature could be incorporated into the public space such as lift lobbies and staircase or even a designated floor could to be used as an outdoor garden (fig.4).
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