Project Overview
Chung Yuet Lau is the first elderly housing project built with Steel Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) under the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS). The targeted residents are the elderly under-occupation (UO) households across HKHS rental estates.
The objective is promoting ‘ageing in place’ and optimising the use of existing housing resources. ‘Chung Yuet Lau’ is developed with the residual plot ratio of Jat Min Chuen, a housing estate with over 40 years of history, aiming to encourage the elderly UO households to make a transfer to the new flats. The UO units surrendered will then be reallocated to other families in need. Such an initiative is indeed an exemplar of optimising the use of housing resources.
In addition to optimising the use of housing resources, age-friendly designs are adopted for all the units with the provision of various facilities such as low door curbs, handrails and more, achieving the HKHS’s objective to promote ageing in place. Lifetime full rent and rates exemption will be offered to eligible ‘Chung Yuet Lau’ residents as an incentive of transfer.
With a relatively congested site location inside Jat Min Chuen, Chung Yuet Lau is built with Steel MiC, which is an environmentally-friendly and time-saving construction approach. This allows for efficient assembly and installation of prefabricated modules, reducing on-site construction activities and associated noise and inconvenience, which helps to minimize disturbance to the existing residents during the construction process.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Project Manager : Hong Kong Housing Society
Contact Person Name & Position: Mr. Franco Cheung/ Director (Projects)
Tel. No. (852) 2839 7888
Email: francocheung@hkhs.com
Architect : P&T Architect Limited
Contact Person Name & Position: Mr. Hung Chim / Senior Associate
Tel. No. (852) 2832 3016
Email: jimhung@p-t-group.com
Structural Engineer: P&T Engineers Limited
Contact Person Name & Position: Mr. Arthur Siaw / Director
Tel. No. (852) 2832 3520
Email: arthursiaw@p-t-group.com
Geotechnical Engineer: David S.K. Au & Associates Ltd.
Contact Person Name & Position: Mr. Thomas Tse / Director
Tel. No. (852) 2170 7334
Email: thomastse@daal.com.hk
Building Services Engineer: P&T (M&E) Ltd
Contact Person Name & Position: Mr. Andrew Lai /Director
Tel. No. (852) 28323429
Email: andrewlai@p-t-group.com
Quantity Surveyor: Currie & Brown (China) Ltd.
Contact Person Name & Position: Ms. Jill Kennedy /Director
Tel. No. (852) 3166 9152
Email: Jill.Kennedy@curriebrown.com
Landscape Consultant: Team 73 Ltd.
Contact Person Name & Position: Ms. Yeva Yeung / Landscape Designer
Tel. No. (852) 2865 5713
Email: Yevayeung@team-73.com
Main Contractor: Chevalier (Construction) Company Limited
Contact Person Name & Position: HK Lau / Operations Director
Tel. No. (852) 2318 1818
Email: hk_lau@chevalier.com
Project Brief
Chung Yuet Lau is situated at Jat Min Chuen, Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Meticulously, this gem is introduced at the heart of Jat Min Chuen - a housing estate with over 40 years of history, surrounded by existing building blocks, a market, a carpark, a playground, and a link bridge.
It consists of one 10-storey building, connecting to an existing building block (Ming Yiu Lau), providing 64 age-friendly units of studio design for accommodation of one to two persons, with an internal floor area of about 21m2. A lounge is provided on the ground level to facilitate intergenerational social and recreational activities. The first floor of the tower is connected to an existing footbridge system in Jat Min Chuen for senior residents’ easy access to the market and other community facilities in the estate, so as to strengthen their bonding with the community.
All the 64 units, with eight units on each floor, are well equipped with double door viewers, low door curbs, bathrooms with sliding doors, user-friendly faucets, low-height kitchen cabinets, bathroom handrails, and more. The corridor on each floor is specially designed with thematic color for easy identification of different flats and with curved wall corners for safety concerns.
The whole structure of the building above the first floor including flat units, lift core, corridor slab, staircase, façade, and lift machine room are constructed with MiC or prefabricated elements. As a result, the utilization rate of pre-fabrication exceeds 90% for these floors.
Project Innovation/Need
Hybrid Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) System:
Hybrid MiC System takes advantage of both concrete MiC and steel MiC systems. Using high-performance lightweight concrete panels and structural framework could highly reduce the total weight of each module compared with traditional concrete MiC modules for efficient transportation and installation. The development also includes good performance in waterproofing and fire protection systems to comply with the Hong Kong requirements.
Different from traditional Steel MiC modules with drywall panels, lightweight concrete panels can counterpart with sufficient compressive strength for supporting furniture such as kitchen cabinets. In addition, it can also enhance the flexibility for end-user’s needs, eg. for wall-mount furniture and additional grab rail.
Modulization rate exceeds 90% for residential floors:
From the flat units, corridor slabs, end walls, and staircases on residential floors to the lift shaft and lift machine room, the development is constructed by means of precast modules manufactured in a factory and transported to the construction site for installation.
Moreover, Chung Yuet Lau is the first project in Hong Kong to combine MiC modules with Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MiMEP) technology for the construction of the lift machine room (LMR). Mechanical and engineering (M&E) equipment is pre-assembled in the factory for the installation of the entire LMR on-site in one go.
Furthermore, MiMEP technology is also fully utilized in the flat units’ and plant rooms’ design, like water supply and drainage system, electrical installation, and fire service installation are also pre-assembled and tested before installation on-site.
Design Challenge
Coherence with the existing
The new building maintains a similar scale and preserves the existing connection from the footbridge to the neighboring building block (Chung Yuet Lau), ensuring the continuity of the existing spatial quality for the residents. The vibrant color scheme chosen for the new development stands out at the heart of the estate while still maintaining coherence with the existing colour palette and urban fabric.
Adoption of new technology
The first adoption of the new technology of Hybrid MiC and MiMEP system in a housing project poses a significant challenge to the entire team, say addressing construction details, developing a method statement, and even ensuring the readiness of the factory for materials fabrication. BIM coordination is adopted to accelerate the construction process. The Covid-19 pandemic also affected the material manufacturing and delivery from the mainland and other parts of the world.
Site limitation
No direct vehicular access or storage area is provided at this tight construction site. Therefore, nearby car parking spaces must be reserved as the only lifting space for transporting materials. To minimize the impacts and nuisances onto the high-population density existing estate during construction, such as traffic disruptions and interference with estate operations, daily construction hours have been shortened. Additionally, the installation and transportation of heavy units, such as MiC and precast elements, are avoided during peak hours.
Sustainability
i. Implementation of MiC and MiMEP Construction to achieve the following in sustainability:
a. Reducing dust and noise nuisance to the surrounding environment during construction.
b. Minimizing construction waste.
c. Improving construction waste management.
d. Improving construction accuracy and quality.
e. Minimizing errors in construction on site.
ii. A New Lounge is provided on the ground floor as a new amenity to the estate.
iii. First-floor corridor of the building to connect the existing residential block to the main pedestrian deck of the estate to maintain the accessibility of the existing building.
iv. The ground floor corridor provides a covered connection with the existing building block and the main pedestrian walkway of the estate.
v. The vibrant colors of the building façade allow this new building block to stand as a gem, yet meticulously harmonize and embed within the urban fabric of the existing estate. It provides flexibility to the estate for easily matching the façade colors of existing buildings in the future.
Architecture - Residential - Constructed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
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