At a meeting room of an architecture firm, a team is presenting the design of its latest housing project.
"Housing prices are going through the roof and there is no end in sight. At the same time the demand for flats remains great. Everyone is asking 'How can we afford to own a home?' The good news is that we still can.
"With adults spending most of their time awake working and kids spending most of their time at school, doing homework or going to extracurricular classes, we must adopt our design to suit people lives better. With this in mind, we present the housing flat which fits the citizens' routine."
She passes the microphone to a second team member. "Ask yourself: do you prepare your own breakfast? Or do you just go the bakery on your way to school or work every morning? When was the last time you have a proper meal at home, with the entire family present? Did you prepare the meal in the kitchen or did you have it delivered?
"When was the last time your friends visited your home and watched a movie together? Did you sit on a big sofa, or did each of you just look at your phone or tablets?
"When you go back home after work, do you pick up a book from the shelf? Turn on your stereo? And your kids? Do they charge towards their toys with they return home? Or do you just fall on your bed, the floor maybe, face first?"
He pauses to start a video showing the features of the team's design flat, passing the microphone to another team member. "Our design perfectly suits the modern citizens' needs.
"Dining rooms and living rooms are outdated concepts. We are able to save a lot of space by removing them from our design. Since people rarely cook these days, the kitchen and the stove are discarded. People can use a portable electric cooker if they wish to cook at home. No, you don't have to sit on the floor to cook — we have incorporated a table which can be folded onto the wall.
"Who says one has to wash one's clothes at home? You won't find the washing machine in our flat. We have set up a laundry room for residents to wash their clothes. We have also surveyed the surrounding area and self-serve laundries are opening on every street. So residents need not worry about doing laundry." As he finishes the sentence, he passes the microphone back to the first speaker.
"Beds occupy a lot of space. Our solution: foldable beds. During the day, they are hidden behind the wall. When one goes to sleep, one can put the bed down with a push of a button. You can save more space by throwing the pillow and blanket into the wall cavity in the morning.
"People spend little time in toilets, so why devote space to something you don't use often. In our design, the bathroom is located outside the flat. If you worry about privacy, the shared toilets and showers are separated into soundproof compartments and the doors and walls are made of opaque material."
The second speaker picks up the microphone. "One may ask 'where can I store the essential items?' Well, the flat is not 'flat'. One can put the items into boxes and stack them as high as they wish. Without any non-essential features, one should be able to find the space to store everything they need.
"By removing all the unnecessary space, we have managed to reduce the size of the flats to 50 square feet. The flat is so small that the middle class should be able to afford them." At this time he stops speaking and the video concludes.
The team leader begins clapping and opens his mouth. "Excellent job, everyone. I am sure our client will be impressed with our design. Just remember to mention the flats can be sold at a higher price per square foot." He glanced at his watch. It's 11 PM. "Thanks for your hard work. See you at the presentation tomorrow."
Just as everyone begins to pack up and leave the room, an intern raises his hand and asks "the flats sure looks great, but can any of you afford one?"
There is a brief silence, then everyone in the room burst into laughter. After a few seconds, one of them stops laughing and says "Are you kidding? Maybe if I walk everywhere, stop eating and buying clothes for the next 20 years." He then walks to his desk, opens the drawer, pulls out a sleeping bag and falls asleep.