Micro-apartments are an emerging trend in Western cities, where some people choose smaller homes as a status symbol. In Asia, small apartments are often a way of life rather than a trend. As Faiza Elmasry reports, homes in Hong Kong—frequently ranked among the world’s most expensive housing markets—are becoming smaller still.

An apartment building in the heart of Hong Kong might appear ideal for young professionals.

Donny Chan disagrees, partly because his apartment measures only about 18 m².

“I feel as if I’m coming back to this box. I have to spend another ten or eleven hours here, including sleeping. Every time I return, I feel like a cat confined in a box.”

The rent is $1,300 a month, approximately one-third of his monthly salary.

Across Hong Kong, apartments are becoming smaller and more expensive.

These constraints can also lead to inventive solutions. After Andy Knight and his wife bought a 28.7 m² one-bedroom apartment, they transformed it.

“For me, one of my favourite features is the sophisticated entertainment system. For my wife, it is probably the kitchen and the bathtub, where she can watch her favourite television programmes.”

Architects Yannis Chan and Derek Lau designed “The Pit Stop” as a multifunctional home. Walls act as bookshelves and can move to create more living space. Steps leading to a sleeping platform above the bathroom also store personal belongings. A table folds into the wall.

“My favourite feature of this apartment is the open bookshelf, which can also serve as a movable partition.”

In the year covered by this report, 30 per cent of more than 17,000 apartments expected to be completed in Hong Kong would measure less than 30 m². That share was projected to rise to 43 per cent the following year. /KOHA.net