PUBLIC HOUSING

The development of public housing estates in Hong Kong began in December 1953 when a fire broke out in the wooden house area of Shek Kip Mei and the Hong Kong Government began to build simple and practical resettlement blocks at low rents to settle the victims. In the 1970s, the main type of public housing was the Twin Tower, which was a high-low tower with a balcony for each flat. It is commonly referred to as a 'twin tower' because it has a large patio in the centre of the block. The doors of each flat are facing each other, so if a burglary occurs, it will be easily detected and therefore the design has security features. In addition, the staircases and corridors have large ventilation windows, making the whole building very cool in summer. The earliest twin-tower blocks were located in Wah Fu Estate on Hong Kong Island South, followed by Oi Man Estate, Lai Yiu Estate, Cheung Ching Estate, Wo Che Estate, Choi Wan Estate, Cheung Shan Estate, Shun Lee Estate, Yau Oi Estate, Wu King Estate, Chuk Yuen South Estate, Shun Tin Estate, Kwong Fuk Estate, Lung Hang Estate, Sun Chui Estate and Sau Mau Ping Estate.