No_5_1955 — Page 52

NEW HOSTEL

IN KOWLOON

Architect: Mr. T. C. Yuen

Early in 1954 a building United Apartments

was completed at Causeway Bay for the accommoda- tion of male white-collar workers. The great success of this scheme in Hong Kong has prompted the initia- tion of a similar project in Kowloon and plans have been prepared by the same architect Mr. T. C. Yuen. Construction is at present progress- ing satisfactorily.

Although much has been done to ease the shortage of housing accom- modation in the Colony, a large and important section of the community has not received as much attention as it deserves; this includes clerks, students, technicians and the like. who are single and with limited means. Student and Y.M.C.A. hostels are either too full to take any more boarders or too expensive for this type of person, with the consequence that members of this group usually have to resort to either ill-lighted, badly ventilated and overcrowded tenements or to cheap hotels and boarding houses.

Bearing this fact in mind, the pro- moters of "United Apartments" de-

16

5

LAV

SH

S HO

A

24

E

LAV

40FT

LOBBY

(Above) Ground floor plan (Below) Typical hostel floor plan

2

6

FLAT

7

13

STORE

OR R

1

R

15

ROOF

息

9

10

"

12

cided to provide suitable accommoda- for non-domestic purposes, such as a tion by erecting a good sized build- billiard hall, restaurant, night club ing with decent, healthy and inex- or other entertainments. pensive living quarters for this sec- tion of the community. For the con- venience of management, accommoda- tion is restricted to one sex.

The main entrance to the upper floors will be from Tonkin Street in- to a lobby containing two lifts and leading to the main staircase. The This new project in Kowloon will Schindler lifts will be supplied and fulfil an urgent need in the Sham- installed by The Jardine Engineer- shuipo District, close to the many ing Corporation, Ltd. A secondary new factories and other commercial staircase will be provided from an enterprises erected nearby in recent entrance on Un Chau Street. years. The district has become ex- tremely crowded, so that a building of this kind will certainly be we comed, especially when it is borne in mind that the location is so conven- ient to the main bus routes.

the

The site is located just off Castle Peak Road. near the Apollo Theatre and Shek Kip Mei Village, on corner of Tonkin Street and Un Chau Street. The lot has an area of about 4.250 square feet.

When completed, the new building will be 11 storeys high. A total of 105 bachelor rooms will be provided on the top seven floors. Each floor will contain centralized sanitary ar- rangements and a large store room.

The ground floor will be reserved for one or more shops. The first. second and third floors will be used

50

The owners and general contrac- Con- Tai Cheung tors are Messrs. struction Company, and the architect

is Mr. T. C. Yuen.

STREET

AVHS

[E]

200

NKIL.2661

SEC'

TONKIN

STREET

Site plan

CASTLE

PEAK

ROAD