Taking Initiative
He’d spent months building the house of his dreams. He’d do his best not to end up on the streets. The process was long and arduous, but he completed it and successfully moved in.
Then one night, everything changed. What he thought a simple visit from a curious passerby would change his life forever.
Living In Beijing
Kim Liu was your average twenty-nine-year-old architect living in Beijing, China. He’d spent most of his twenties trying to set up for the rest of his adult life so he wouldn’t suffer.
But as he was reaching thirty, he quickly realized that adult life was more challenging than he’d earlier anticipated. An idea that started as a way to prevent him from being homeless would be the big break he always wanted in life.
New To The City
Kim hadn’t always been a Beijing native. He’d moved to the city right after clearing his master’s in architecture and had hoped to start his career on a high note.
But although his career would take off immediately, a massive problem would crop up for Kim, threatening to destroy all he’d worked to achieve thus far.
A Good Career
Kim’s career was steadily growing, but he’d realized something about Beijing that made him wish he lived elsewhere. For every good that the city had done for him, it was about to leave him homeless.
This was because almost every house, hotel, and apartment in the city and its outskirts was costly. Although Kim was no stranger to high rent, he’d never encountered anything like Beijing’s rates. He had to do something about his situation or end up on the streets.
What To Do
Kim raked his mind on what to do. He’d found the job of his dreams and knew he wouldn’t give it up because of living conditions. He also couldn’t work from home, given his position was rarely remote.
To make matters worse, he’d already received an eviction notice from his landlord and knew he didn’t have much time to figure everything out. He then had a brilliant idea that would turn everything around.
Architecture and Engineering Expos
For years now, Kim has attended architecture and engineering expos all over China. He’d seen some impressive house designs in these expos and knew he could replicate one of them.
Among the many designs he’d encountered, he settled on an egged-shaped house that would be the perfect start to solving his housing problem. He had no idea how this endeavor would change his life.
He Begins
When Kim began his passion project of creating an egged-shaped home, he’d only wished to avoid the harsh reality of living on the streets.
He started by gathering everything he could about the house he wished to build, and soon after, he consolidated his funds to buy the needed materials. His ambitions would result in one of the most fascinating homes the city of Beijing ever saw.
Looking At Design
The design for the house was simple enough. Its exterior was egged-shaped, and its interior was one ample space that Kim would decorate after he finished building. The house would be two meters tall with wooden chips providing the needed insulation against the elements.
Kim would also plant grass seeds around the pod’s exterior so that after a few months, a warm blanket of grass would eat the entire structure, blending it into his neighborhood’s environment. With the plans set, he set to building.
Building The House
Kim began building the house, but halfway through erecting the structure, he realized he could do much more with the plan. He reviewed additional designs seeing he could add a sewage system to the house with ease.
Additionally, he could expand the house more, adding an extra room he hadn’t planned on before. To make things even more interesting, a lot of what Kim was adding wouldn’t demand any more resources. Would he change his earlier plans for a bigger house?
Making The Changes
Bigger isn’t always better, Kim thought as he revised the changes. But he realized he could still divide the house and install the sewage system as planned. He could also add a windows for some natural light and a solar panel for power.
With these sound decisions, Kim began building. He spent the next five months giving the house form until it was finished. But did it live up to what he had in mind?
Hard Work
What Kim was left with when he put his tools down was more than perfect. He’d spent the last few months turning this dream into a reality, and now that it was done, all he could do was wipe away his tears and enjoy the view.
Kim had been living at his friend’s house while building his house. Now that he was finished, he moved all he had into the home and settled in. But something unexplainable would happen, changing his life forever.
A Night Of New Beginnings
Kim was in his house one night when he heard a commotion outside. Naturally, he dropped everything he was doing and rushed to see what was happening.
He was met with bright headlights from a convoy that had stopped before his house. Men in suits stood outside the cars before an older man hopped out of one of the vehicles and walked to Kim.
A Big Name
After a few greetings, the man introduced himself as a business mogul and architect. But of course, Kim knew that. He couldn’t put his finger on why the man had come to his little corner at such a time of day.
“I heard about your glorious project,” the man said. He informed Kim that his work had taken the city by storm, and he was interested in buying the home.
The Deal Of A Lifetime
Kim’s brows drew up. He’d spent all this time building a home, and now this man wanted to buy it. “Of course,” said the man, “I’ll make it worth your time.”
He also added that he was one of the silent partners of the architecture company Kim worked for. He’d pull some strings to see Kim given a position at work that would focus on building such egg houses as a new form of environmentally friendly homes. So, what was Kim’s answer?
Changing Lives
Kim agreed to the offer and was speechless at the amount the man gave him. As part of their deal, the man also called in favors at work, and a new department was opened, with Kim being promoted to one of the heads.
When he started, Kim only wanted to have a roof over his head. But his passion landed him an even better job than what he had and a chance to change other people’s lives. It was indeed more than Kim had projected.