The Chinese Tenement as a Contested Built Form in Colonial Hong Kong and Singapore

Abstract

This paper traces the transformation of the “Chinese tenement” in colonial Hong Kong and Singapore between the 1890s and early 1920s, a period that witnessed a series of speculative land booms, rapid influx of working class migrants, and emergent debates over housing and social reform amongst colonial administrations across the British Empire. Although the tenements in the two territories have long been associated as a distinct “Chinese building type” that originated from South China due to their peculiar configuration governed by the use of standard Chinese timber, their actual forms were significantly shaped by colonial building policies and investment practices that involved the participation of many agents. These include European and Chinese builders, who capitalised on the lucrative housing market under the colonial capitalist system by engaging with profitable speculative building activities. The ongoing demand for tenements also benefited the so-called “rentier-lords,” who made profits by subdividing the tenement floors and renting them to a large number of labourers. While the crowded conditions of these dwellings became a concern for colonial officials who saw them as potential hotbeds for epidemic outbreaks, efforts to regulate their construction did not always succeed due to resistance by property owners, who argued that these rules would lead to a reduction of floor spaces and concomitant displacement of many poor labourers. Despite these contentions, ongoing negotiations between the parties did result in incremental improvements and modifications of the tenements. They also prompted local architects to derive alternative tenement designs that were adapted to specific conditions. It is argued that revisiting the contested rationales behind these developments can enable a better understanding of the role and significance of the tenements as well as the transnational exchange of knowledge, investment practices and political exigencies that shaped urban forms in the two colonial territories.