I Block

Public housing design in Hong Kong

Mei Fung House of Mei Lam Estate. Sun Tin Wai Estate.

I Blocks (Chinese: I型大廈)[1] are a design of public housing in Hong Kong. It is mainly divided into three variants: Single I, Double I, and Triple I. Only a few estates currently have I blocks as of today. The existing blocks were built between 1981 and 1983.

## Variants

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The I block can be divided into three variants: Single I, Double I, and Triple I.

## Etymology

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The building looks like the letter I. There are three wings - two long and one at the middle. It can be modular by connecting another or two more I blocks. This gave birth of Double I and Triple I.

### Naming

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Unlike other blocks, Double I blocks are only given one name. Such examples include Mei Fung House in Mei Lam Estate and Shek To House in Shek Wai Kok Estate.

## History

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The first I blocks was completed in 1981, located at Sun Tin Wai Estate. (Shing Wai House, Foo Wai House, Yan Wai House, Fung Wai House, Wing Wai House) The first Double I buildings are located at Shun Tin Estate, completed about the same as shown above. The last I blocks to be built are located at Chak On Estate, completed in 1983.

## Overview

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Usually, the height of I blocks may vary. (14-21 stories) Only medium and large units are provided inside the block. (32-39 sqm) Therefore, in public housing estates, it is built with Old Slab to balance the size of units.

Due to the I block taking a lot of space and units focusing on only one size, the I block was stopped being built in future projects. Therefore, few currently have I blocks as of today.

* Single I: Single I block contains 27 units per floor.
* Double I: Double I block contains 54 units per floor.
* Triple I: Triple I block contains 81 units per floor.

## List of blocks

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The I blocks take up a large amount of space. Therefore, most are found in the new towns of Sha Tin, Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, and Tsuen Wan.

District | Estate | Stories | Units per floor | Completed | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Sham Shui Po  | Chak On Estate | 14  | 27  | 1983  | Last I block in Hong Kong.
Lai Kok Estate | 14  | 81（27x3 blocks）  | 1981  | Triple I (given one name)
Kwun Tong  | Kai Yip Estate | 14
Shun Tin Estate | 21  | 54（27x2）  | Double I block (one name)
Tsuen Wan  | Shek Wai Kok Estate | 21  | 54  | 1982  |
Sha Tin  | Mei Lam Estate | 1981  | First Double I block in Hong Kong.
Sun Tin Wai Estate | 21×5  | 27×5  | Location of the first I blocks in Hong Kong.
Total：12 houses (18 blocks)

## See also

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* Types of public housing estate blocks in Hong Kong
* H Block (Hong Kong)

## References

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1. ^ "公務員事務局 - 搜尋政府部門常用辭彙". www.csb.gov.hk. Retrieved 2021-08-27.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to I blocks.

* Single I Floor Plan