Shek Kip Mei Estate is the first public housing estate in Hong Kong. Its history can be traced back to the devastating fire in the Shek Kip Mei squatter area on the Christmas Day of 1953 which rendered a lot of people homeless. The Government promptly embarked on the construction of multi-storey buildings to rehouse the victims. The first eight "Mark I" resettlement blocks were completed in Shek Kip Mei in the end of 1954, marking the humble birth of Hong Kong's proud public housing programme.
Against a background of thriving economy and growing aspirations for better living conditions, the estate has undergone an impressive transformation. The original six- or seven-storey blocks, where residents had to cook in the common corridor and share communal toilets and bathrooms, were either converted or rebuilt in the 1970's before they evolved into the well-equipped high-rise blocks of today. The process is a vivid reflection of the economic and social changes of Hong Kong in the past five decades.
The Past -- The old estate was composed of primitive Mark I resettlement blocks, most of which were built in "H" shape. Each domestic block was characterised by two wings connected by a bridge where communal sanitary and washing facilities were situated. Because of site constraints, some Mark I blocks were constructed in "I" shape with similar facilities.
Mei Ho House, built in 1954, is now the only remaining six-storey H-shaped resettlement block. It has been granted a Grade 2 historic building status by the Antiquities Advisory Board and is expected to be rejuvenated into a youth hostel.
The Changes ¡V In an attempt to improve the living conditions in resettlement estates, the Resettlement Department began to convert the early Mark I and Mark II blocks, connecting adjacent units and putting in private kitchens and toilets. This conversion exercise which took place in the late 60's and early 70's was however found to be uneconomical. After its set-up in 1973, the Housing Authority (HA) took over and decided to tear down the old buildings and rebuild them into 13-storey blocks with self-contained units. This redevelopment programme was completed in 1984.
The Present ¡V To further improve the living environment, the HA embarked on another phased redevelopment of Shek Kip Mei Estate in 2000. So far, two modern public housing buildings have been built and the remaining three phases are expected to complete in 2014. By then, the estate will have 19 domestic blocks, providing a total of 10 300 units.
The new Shek Kip Mei Estate is the first estate to comprehensively adopt the Universal Design, which aims to provide a barrier-free environment such that people of different ages and physical abilities can all live in a mutually-inclusive and harmonious community. This also helps to fulfill the "ageing in the community" principle.
If you wish to learn more about the old Shek Kip Mei Estate, you may visit the "Light and Shade: life passˆm in old estates" Photo and Video Exhibition. It will be held from 11 to 16 August at Sha Tin Town Hall. For further details, please browse the HA's website (http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en).
