Living space in Hong Kong can be expensive, which isn't really compatible with a student lifestyle. Campus Hong Kong, however, provides affordable student accommodation by way of Tetris-like planning. Its rooms squeeze in four students, with beds, desks and communal facilities.
Campus is part of a wider current trend, that sees smaller and smaller spaces making use of innovative design to become workable places to live. Other examples include the clever use of a central unit in a German apartment and sliding furniture used to transform a French apartment. Campus makes a similarly efficient use of space.
Designed by LYCS Architecture, it is located in the lower three levels a former hotel in the Tsuen Wan district of the city. Having commandeered the building, it did away with the partition walls between adjoining rooms to create larger rooms of 27 sq m (291 sq ft).
There are 48 rooms in total, and each is designed with the student lifestyle in mind. There is a central table for studying, eating and socializing with roommates, along with raised bed units that each have a built-in desk underneath, a clothes rail, built-in shelves, lockable drawers and a separate luggage space.
Steel ladders provide access to the beds, which each have a curtain that can be drawn for privacy. Once drawn, the curtains provide a private enclosed space for each of the residents. The bed spaces have electrical wall sockets and reading lights.
Each room has a bathroom, kitchen and other shared facilities, while a blank ceiling can be drawn on to provide customization and ownership of the rooms. There is also a communal common room, gym, cafe, and swimming pool.
A bed at Campus Hong Kong can be rented from HK$6,000 (US$774) a month, which includes government rates, legal fees, management fees and utility costs. A twice-weekly cleaning service is also included, as well as complimentary shuttle bus services.
Campus Hong Kong opened earlier this year.
Sources: Campus Hong Kong, LYCS Architecture