We spend a lot of time talking about concept ideas here at grapethevine, but this is one that’s made it off the drawing board and into practice. Mr Gary Chang is an architect who lives in a 344 square ft apartment in the centre of Hong Kong and he decided that his cramped living conditions could do with a re-style.
The Pearl of the Orient is renowned for the sheer size of it’s population, and it’s not uncommon to find several people living in a space you or I might consider meagre for one. Mr Chang mentions the fact that he’s had to live and sleep in a hallway in the past – I’m not sure about you, but I sleep in a double bed. I’ve slept in much less comfortable places in my life, but always with the knowledge that home was still there. My room is still a place in the world.
Not one to grumble about his situation, Mr Chang sat down to find a way to turn his hamster cage into a luxurious living space. Against all expectations he managed to pull it off.. a chamelapartmentmen.
In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. He calls this the “Domestic Transformer.”
Now this whole thing isn’t exactly new – the video’s been on youtube for a good few months and the story itself is over a year old from what I can gather, but I’d like to pay tribute to this ridiculous achievement. From a shoebox comes an open plan apartment that’s bang up to date, complete with all the furniture you’d expect: widescreen TV, fully fitted kitchen, a funky sofa, a double bed, the list goes on and on. It’s a really impressive feat.
Be warned, the video is one of those that’s been cut by a child with short term memory problems – you’ll see the same footage over and over with a slightly different commentary. I think the content of the this video is genius, but I’ll apologise in advance for how poorly produced it is… sorry.
