Thursday, April 29, 2010

REPOST: Livin' Large in Hong Kong

Simone's note: In case you missed it the first time, I'm reposting the entry I did on Gary Chang's amazing transforming Hong Kong apartment. Since I originally posted this over a month ago, Gary's place has hit the YouTubes and totally blown up. A lot of people have asked if I've seen it, so I thought I should bring this baby back for another round! (And this time, I'm including the YouTube embed.)

I've been entertaining a lot of out-of-town guests: first my mom with that whole helping-me-with-my-surgery thing, then one of my besties, fashionista Elena, and now my younger brother. I'm trying to keep posting in between squiring them around Los Angeles, but don't worry, I'll get back to a regular posting schedule soon!

(Originally posted March 24, 2010.)

I am typing this with my mouth still hanging open. I just watched a video tour of one of the smallest, most amazing apartments I have ever seen. Tiny Palace linked to this video by "The World's Greenest Homes" on Planet Green from the Discovery Channel.

Gary Chang is an architect in Hong Kong, which is easily one of the most densely-packed cities in the world. He lives in a 330 square-foot tenement apartment that once housed himself, his parents, his sisters, AND a tenant when he was younger. Now that he's got the place to himself, he's made a few changes...


You have to watch the video to get the full impact. Using moveable walls and hideaway furniture, Gary's apartment has 24 different configurations. Move a wall, bam, there's the kitchen. Move it back, drop down the sofa -- there's your living room. Flip up the couch and pull down the bed -- bedroom. They guy even has a SCREENING ROOM with a HAMMOCK. It's incredible.


The apartment's footprint is small even in terms of environmental impact. He installed floor-to-ceiling windows with an amber tint to bring warm light into his place, and mirrors and shiny metal further reflect the light to brighten up the whole space. He says he almost never has to turn on the electric lights.

I hope this guy brings his small-space skills to the U.S. I'd love to live in his "transformer domestic" apartment. It's the closest I've seen to the Fifth Element apartment!

Via Tiny Palace and Planet Green by Discovery.

1 comment:

  1. As weird as this is going to sound, I actually had a dream about living in a place like this the other night, though it was even smaller. It almost made me reconsider buying a house later this year because I had so many ideas in dreamland that could be implemented in a smaller space lol.

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