“Towards Dignified Living” is Samuel Lee’s final MArch thesis project, set in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong. The project explores how transitional housing can reclaim space, care, and visibility for vulnerable communities living in ageing “three-nil” buildings - dense, unmanaged tenements where over 200,000 residents face unsafe and undignified conditions.
Rather than designing spaces that simply impress or innovate for those already in comfort, Samuel’s work positions architecture as a social responsibility - a means of shaping how we live, relate, and feel. His project seeks to reimagine the relationship between public and private space, using modular design and feminist spatial thinking to restore care and agency to those long marginalised.
Designing for dignity in this context means going beyond minimum standards. The project prioritises lived experience as a form of design intelligence, creating environments that support privacy, autonomy, and safety while enabling moments of shared life through courtyards, kitchens, workshops, and gardens.
Samuel’s work challenges conventional architectural priorities, proposing that good design must belong to everyone. “Towards Dignified Living” offers a model that listens to the quiet needs of everyday life, making those needs visible within the built environment.
