Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies

Center for Housing Innovations

About

Under the guidance and support of the Science and Technology Committee (STC) of the Ministry of Construction (MOC, it is now known as Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, MOHURD), PRC, the Center for Housing Innovations (CHI) was established in 1998 at the Conference Room 301 of the Ministry building in Beijing, which was highly recognized and upheld by the leadership of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. CHI’s management and development is advised by the senior colleagues of Ministry, and is operating on a self-financed base. Long before her establishment in 1998, CHI has started her research to optimize human habitat with computer-aided planning and design since 1993. CHI has long been dedicated to the nation in conducting various prominent research projects, for example, the simulation of air transmitting in buildings for public hygiene concerns during SARS, China urban housing studies, China green building code development, etc. CHI engages not only in research, but also in connecting the professional development and exchange on related domains in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, as well as educational careers to foster young generations in environmental simulations, sustainable planning, and green building in the Cross-Straits areas, overseas institutions and agencies — efforts that have been fully recognized by academics and industry parties home and abroad.

The Center’s objective is to achieve high quality and affordable urban housing under high density development, as well as to improve the livability and efficiency of future urban housing in China through design and technology integration. Specific goals are to improve:

1.	Livability in high density urban housing;

2.	Health of the urban environment;

3.	Energy efficiency and thermal comfort;

4.	Building construction efficiency and quality;

5.	Dissemination of information on housing for high density habitation.

People

Interim Director:	Prof. Anthony Y.H. FUNG, JP
Advisor:	Prof. Jin-yeu TSOU
Honorary Research Fellow:	Dr. Yuanzhi ZHANG

Contact

Tel.:	(852) 2994 0495
Fax:	(852) 2603 6515
Email:	innovations@cuhk.edu.hk
Website:	http://www.chi1993.cuhk.edu.hk/

Research

The Center serves as a hub that bridges the academic exchanges in the Cross-Straits areas as well as between domestic and overseas. We have long been committed to a wide range of research on habitable environment optimization, including China urban housing, sustainable urban planning and design, green building, etc.

Supported by the STC, MOHURD, PRC, the Center established the China Urban Housing Conference (CUHC) in 1998 in the Conference Room 301 of MOC, which was thereafter launched every 1.5 to 2 years in different places. To date, the Center has successfully run 11 sessions of the CUHC in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shaoxing, Chongqing, Hefei, Shanghai and Qingdao. Witnessing the 20-year development of China urban housing, the CUHC organized by the Center has been widely regarded as one of the key international academic activities in the China housing research domain.

The Center highlights the research in green building evaluation. Based on the long-term research accumulation in housing and computer aided architectural design (CAAD), we, with the support of MOHURD, PRC, has been engaging in a mass of research about green building that covers the comparison research of green building evaluation schemes that applied in different regions of the world and the applications of China Green Building Evaluation System to mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

Since establishment, the Center has led and participated in a series of research and consulting projects on eco-cities, green buildings, urban planning, environmental analysis, and other aspects of urban living. In 2003, the Director, Prof. Jin-yeu TSOU, supported the Hong Kong government in conducting the studies of “Transmitting Route of SARS in Amoy Gardens” and “Quickly-isolated Hospital Design”, which were submitted to the World Health Organisation as important component to support Hong Kong to exclude from the suspected epidemic areas during SARS. The Center has also established a strategic partnership with the Housing Department on a mass of public housing projects in Hong Kong, which to apply scientific methods to evaluate and optimize the environmental design of public housing estates. In 2010, the Center took a major part in China’s first low-carbon city solution center-the Sanshan New Town in Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong. Meanwhile, the Center contributed efforts to plan national energy strategy, draw up technical guidelines on the performance of residential buildings, and develop regulations on housing facilities (e.g., wind tunnels, elevators), and so on.

To bridge the academic exchange in Cross-Straits areas, the Center has long been devoted to organize programs that led researchers and professionals from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong scholarly exchange to each other to investigate joint potentials in eco-city planning, green buildings, smart city and sustainable transportation etc. Under the invitation of Prof. TSOU, the Center successfully organized the academic visit of senior leadership in China to Taiwan and Hong Kong to exchange on the low carbon eco-city planning and implementation. The Center also organizes annual spring green building exchange programs that enable professional delegations from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau to investigate green building innovations in mainland China, and winter green building training and exchange program in Taiwan and Hong Kong to facilitate the experience sharing of green building development.

Viewing the integration of research and teaching as one of the most important research methodologies, the Center established two self-financed taught Master Programmes titled MSc. in Advanced Environmental Planning Technologies (APT) and MSSc. in Housing Studies (HSS), under the supports of MOHURD, PRC. For more details, please refer to our website, http://www.chi1993.cuhk.edu.hk/CHT/edu_MSC.aspl.

In the future, the Center will continue to develop the application of super-computer aided analysis, thermal infrared technologies and others to consolidate studies on urban housing, green buildings, as well as the planning and design for sustainable livable and smart cities. We will continuously dedicate to the joint development of sustainable human habitation in the Cross-Straits areas by promoting academic exchange and cooperation opportunities.