[Chiche_Guerra]

Taken from Michael Wolf's* "Architecture of Density". It shows the beautiful degradation -in my opinion- of the working class housing of Hong Kong.

Please go to the link for more info and credits:

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hongkongarchitecture/

* Wolf was born in Munich, Germany in 1954. He studied first at the North Toronto Collegiate Institute in Canada, then UC Berkeley and, in the mid 1970s, with Otto Steinert at the University of Essen, in Germany. Published monographs include Sitting in China (2002) and China im Wandel (China in Transition) (2001). Hong Kong: Front Door/Back Door will be published by Thames and Hudson in 2005.

 

[r2]

omg that is so depressing! i couldnt live like that! and to think those complexes look soooo cool from a distance. wow. are those free market apartments or are they social housing? is that the standard working class domicile in HK? wow ... very cool photo essay ... and whats that green shit hanging off the sides? egads ... give me suburbia any day.

 

[Dubai_Boy]

sorry , but YUCK.

 

[spyguy]

Is that the normal, average working family house or is this public housing for the poor?

 

[Worlds of Earth]

Hong Kong's buildable area is half that of Singapore's, even though they might be twice as large. Its no wonder they have to squeeze.

 

[hkskyline]

Is that the normal, average working family house or is this public housing for the poor?

Most of it is public housing. However, over half of Hong Kong's population live in public housing. There are many types. Some of the coloured ones are for lower-income families that really need the public housing, while some of the taller towers are for middle income families that pay a higher rent but they get more facilities and can furnish the interiors into very nice homes even though they don't look very pretty on the outside. In that sense, the notion of "public housing" isn't really true.

 

[spotila]

I think they all look really cool ;>

 

[Chad]

I love looking at those but well sure wont like it living there.

 

[vvill]

oh well.. 80% of them are public housing.

though i think it's quite misleading in a sense that it shows no context at all. i mean imagine replicating every building even in europe or the states ten times to achieve a certain height then take a picture of the middle bit without including the sky and the ground. it'd just look scary.

in fact, it's not that undesirable to live in those. the interiors are in fact very very nice! oh well. to make a fair judgement, i'll post some pictures which would show a wider context.

 

[vvill]

Public Housings:

Private Housings:
(Price generally ranging from USD400000 - USD800000)

 

[Chiche_Guerra]

......though i think it's quite misleading in a sense that it shows no context at all. i mean imagine replicating every building even in europe or the states ten times to achieve a certain height then take a picture of the middle bit without including the sky and the ground. it'd just look scary.....

You´re 100% right. That´s the artistic intention of the author. That´s why I recommended to go to the web page where there´s an explanation of his work. I'm copying an extract:

"Some of the structures in the series are photographed without reference to the context of sky or ground, and many buildings are seen in a state of repair or construction: their walls covered with a grid of scaffolding or the soft colored curtains that protect the streets below from falling debris. From a distance, such elements become a part of the photograph's intricate design."

Again, this is the web page:

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/hongkongarchitecture/

 

[spicytimothy]

thx vvill... justice is served...

That German photographer is quite biased and misleading... but then it's art so whatevers... glad that vvill cleared that up

 

[Gatis]

Very very impressive.
Btw. is it scaffolding???

 

[vvill]

Very very impressive.
Btw. is it scaffolding???

yes that's bamboo scaffolding.. a very hong kong way of construction.. environmental and quick! still used for construction of new multi-storey buildings.

 

[Gatis]

thanks! Jeez, China is unusual for us!

 

[Quezalcoatl26]

Seriously

Seriously how can human being lives in such conditions.

 

[shivtim]

I love looking at those but well sure wont like it living there.

Exactly. The pictures are beautiful, but I don't think I'd want to live in those buildings.

 

[satit28]

looks nice from an art view.........
but from an architectural view.....
depressing.....

 

[loz]

Port De Mer

Port de Mer, Longueuil
Québec. Canada

Port de Mer, Longueuil
Québec. Canada

Port de Mer, Longueuil
Québec. Canada

Port de Mer, Longueuil
Québec. Canada

Port de Mer, Longueuil
Québec. Canada

Port de Mer, Longueuil
Québec. Canada

 

[mrarchitecture]

none of these pictures are working