It wouldn’t be possible to understand post-war Hong Kong without recognising the profound impact of the city’s public housing programme. Mark I, Hong Kong’s public housing prototype, did more than just provide basic shelter for those in need of housing in 1954. It was also a design deserving of architectural merit.



But Mark I raieses many questions: What was the housing situation like in Hong Kong before the 1950s? Was the Shek Kip Mei fire on Christmas Day 1953 the sole instigator of the colonial government’s public housing programme? If the decision was purely to meet resettlement needs, why did the public housing programme continue? In terms of design, why did the Mark I Block bear no resemblance to the tong lau or composite buildings popular in Hong Kong at the time? Where did Mark I’s design originate from?



This book is the result of Rosman C.C. Wai’s ten years of investigation into the history, professional accounts, and design development of Hong Kong’s public housing prototype, and is dedicated to all who have contributed to public housing in Hong Kong.