United Court Transitional Housing

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

In the overall indoor layout, a total of 1800 units are designed for single, two, three, 4-5 people and barrier-free people, which can meet the needs of different families and people. All these 1800 nos. units are with 24 types of different colors and tied together via linked bridge as all-in-one community. This kind of relaxed and vibrant color design can make people feel a pleasant atmosphere during life. Every room has independent living room, bathroom and kitchen. Equipped with energy efficient LED lighting system, air conditioning unit, ventilation system and appliances. United Court is the first fully completed and commissioned transitional housing project in Hong Kong, and it took only 12 months from ground breaking to completion, compared with an average construction period of 4.1 years for public housing. By adopting the modular construction method, the construction time is greatly shortened and the housing problem is solved for grass-roots families.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

The overall design of the project has been innovative on the basis of construction efficiency and sustainability. The United Court transitional housing is modular building method off site with 90% completed decoration rating. The MEP, decoration and fixing furniture are all completed installation in the factory off site. The structure steel, bathroom pod and wood plastic panel are all DFMA (design for manufacturing and assembly) design. They can be removable, relocated, recyclable and rebuildable.

Cost Effectiveness

The Hong Kong Government is committed to using the transitional housing approach to improve the living environment of people living in sub-divided units (average floor area of 5.3 square meters). The average capita floor area of United Court is about 18 sqm, which greatly alleviates the cramped and depressed feeling of people living in cramped and small accommodation. The long-life cycle of United Court is 50 years, its durable and dismountable character make the cost lower than traditional housing. According to the local government plan, the United Court will be moved and relocated to another project place after five years. So, the DFMA design concept is fit for this purpose. It is recyclable and environmental. And the faster building method solves the problem of housing unaffordability quickly.