According to Society for Community Organization (SoCO), more than 40,000 Hong Kong children from low-income families are living in undesirable housing such as subdivided flats and cubicle apartments. It is found out that the home environment of these housing is not ideal for children to live, which can be detrimental to their physical health and development. Since home is the primary environment for children to learn and develop when return from school so it is important to provide personal space and facilities for children to study.
Problems in everyday life...
However, most of the children in subdivided flats don't have their own table and suitable place for studying due to the lack of space, most of them often work on dining table and lie on the bed to do homework and study, some of them even have to do homework on small chairs.
More...
- Lack of storage space
- Lack of personal space
- Conflict of space and resource
Target User
The target user is 3-4 person families with children who live in undesirable housing including subdivided flats and cubicle apartments.
1. For parents, they worried about the living condition affects their children to study and do homework every day. Also, they hopes to improve the living environment and the quality of life.
2. For children, they want to study and do homework at home with basic facilities such as working desk and a personal space for study with less distraction.
Design Idea
The design idea is to provide a space- saving solution to improve their quality of life and provide table for study and do homework. A bunk bed is an essential furniture for them and we can redesign a bunk especially for families in these cramped and small housing.
Functions & Features
- Lift-Up Table
The lift-up table allows students to study and do homework on the bed with better sitting position rather than lying on the bed. The metal rail system allows users to adjust the distance of table easily for better comfort. When they need to rest, or go to toilet during doing homework, they can easily push forward and leave. When the user want to rest, they can push the table to the end of the rail and lift it up.
- Eraser Dust Container
For students who use pencil a lot, there is a container on left side of table and it can be used as an eraser dust container or cup holders. When they want to clean up the table, they can sweep the eraser dust to the container, pick up the container and pour the dust. Thus, students use pencils can clean the eraser dust easily after finishing their work.
- Power Socket
To make their daily life more convenient, the bunk bed features two power sockets, which can prove power for different electric devices. Each power socket features three USB ports which allow user to charge their phones, USB light or fan. Since the subdivided flat is very hot in summer, user can connect USB fans, clip them on the bed board or put it on the shelf and enjoy the coolness in a more safe and tidy way. Also, there is one Type-G port on each power socket, which can provide power to laptop.
- Storage Units
Lack of storage place is common issue in subdivided flats, there are built-in storage units in the bunk bed frame to maximize the storage space, such as two shelf for lower bunk bed and two shelfs for upper bed. Also, there is a big storage unit under the bed with gas lifting mechanism, which allow users to access the storage easily.
- Modular Bed Size
The lower bunk bed is constructed by two modular storage boxes which prove more flexibility based on the amount of user. For
example, when a 4-person family live in a subdivided flat, the lower bed should be double size which more people to sleep. When they move to public housing, the bunk bed can be modified for 2 children who share a bedroom. Then the storage boxes can be used as a cabinet at home in future.
example, when a 4-person family live in a subdivided flat, the lower bed should be double size which more people to sleep. When they move to public housing, the bunk bed can be modified for 2 children who share a bedroom. Then the storage boxes can be used as a cabinet at home in future.
- Hanging Rails
It is common that people in subdivided flats hang some bags and clothes on the bed board and construct a hanging rail with rope. Thus, there are three hanging rails design for users to hang their bags, clothes and hangers.
