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‘Domestic Transformer’: Tiny apartment transforms into 24 rooms

Small spaces can be incredible ones in the hands of those who know what they're doing.

From a professional organizer's 90-square-foot space in New York to an eco-friendly Cube, we've seen some fascinating uses of barely-there spaces.

Gary Chang's Hong Kong apartment takes space-innovation to an entirely new level.

Chang, the architect behind Edge Design Institute in Hong Kong, transfigured his 344-square-foot apartment into what he calls the "Domestic Transformer."

For three years now, Chang has been living large in his tiny apartment. His custom space can be configured into 24 unique room combinations, thanks to a strategic series of sliding panels and walls.

Watch the stunning transformations below.


The renovation took place in 2008, but Chang has called the small space home since he was 14. Chang, his parents and his three younger sisters squeezed into the apartment — then divided into tiny rooms — and still managed to share it with a tenant.

In those days, Chang slept on a sofa bed in the hallway.

Chang stayed when his family moved out in 1988. He purchased the place for just $45,000 (USD) and has renovated the apartment four times since.

The most recent renovation took a year and cost just over $218,000.

He hopes his innovative designs will help improve domestic life in densely-populated Hong Kong. The shortage of space — caused by a population boom between 2003 and 2007 — has contributed to an increase in stress.

"People feel trapped," Change told The New York Times. "We have to find ways to live together in very small spaces."

The architect aims to see his ideas implemented in multi-unit buildings, encouraging developers to check out his tiny abode.

He chronicled his apartment's many changes in his book, "My 32m2 Apartment, a 30 Year Transformation."

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