Context and Identity in Singapore Public Housing
Lee Tat Haur
SINGAPORE HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD
Public housing is an indispensable context of Singapore's urban culture(Fig 1) as about 86 percent of the nation's population resides in public housing built and managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) of the Singapore government.
In "Political, Legitimacy and Housing- Stakeholding in Singapore", Chua Beng Huat
wrote "Singapore's successful national public-housing programme stands as a significant
exception to failures of social housing programmes in many other developed nations
around the world... The HDB and its housing estates are part of the public and
international relations showcase of the Singapore government..."*. Chua's statement
is to be addressed according to 2 aspects of the HDB Housing in this essay. Firstly,
HDB habitants' adaptation and use of housing public space in relation to the way
that it is being planned, and secondly, HDB's constant seeking of new ways to
develop new housing design and environment, as well as the upgrading of old HDB
housing to contemporary housing standards.
HOUSING COMPONENTS
It is by no surprise that with such a high percentage of the Singaporean population residing in HDB housing, there are different variations to the design of HDB housing. While housing design varies from different surface treatments and design of the housing blocks to their general layout plans, the components of HDB housing remain largely similar. These components can be generally categorized into composition of housing space within housing block and between housing blocks. The earlier consists of common corridor(Fig 2), lift lobbies, lift, void deck(Fig 3) and in some cases, shops and facilities on ground level (Fig 4) especially in the older HDB housing blocks. The latter refers to town centre(Fig 5), neighborhood centre(Fig 6), parks, playground etc.
Each of the component of the housing space depicts the habitant's interpretation
of space against the order of planned space in HDB Housing. The common corridor
is a semi-public space whereby residents extend their private territory beyond
their dwelling units; often used as a space for putting flower pots, setting up
of chairs for friendly conversation, housewives' chitchatting corner etc. The
void deck, situated at the ground level of the housing block, is a space "for
occasional rituals that cannot be accommodated within the flat- such as Chinese
funerals and Malay wedding receptions(Fig
7)..."*. The flexibility of void deck space also extends to the accommodation
of many other activities such as daily gathering of residents, kiosks, retail
space and nursury etc.
The town centre is normally located at the geographical centre of a HDB housing town and its facilities consist of shopping mall, recreational facilities, library, restaurants and transportation stations. It is the heart of the HDB housing town. Neighborhood centres are sub-town centres which provide sufficient daily needs for the housing residents, such as supermarket and eating places.
HOUSING CONTEXT & IDENTITY
HDB housing could not have been successful if Singaporeans have not learned to
accept high-rise public housing as a way of life. Chua wrote "The most basic necessary
condition for successful high-rise living is acceptance of such living as a way...
"*. Over an extensive period of time, HDB Housing has also evolved gradually to
meet the changing needs and living conditions of the HDB residents. Hence today,
each HDB Housing precinct has distinctive characteristics which are shaped according
to the residents' usage of HDB Housing space, as well as their relationship with
the surrounding context.
Therefore, housing identity is very much about the interaction of housing community and activities with the housing space, as well as the usage of housing space by non-residents. As such, the context in which HDB housing is located constitutes a significant determinant for housing identity. Similar, HDB housing of different urban setting such as those in downtown(Fig 8) and suburban context(Fig 9) are also important determinants to shape the identity of housing. Another determinant for housing identity is the age of housing; the use of public space in old HDB housing often reflect the comfort of each HDB resident with his dwelling unit.
The hierarchy of housing space differs between a HDB housing in downtown context and newer HDB housing towns. For instance, the restaurants and shops beneath and around the HDB housing in Chinatown are popular among both foreign and local visitors, hence distinguished itself from other HDB housing. Residents in Chinatown housing experience a different sequence of hierarchy of housing space as they walk out of their private dwelling units to the 'very public' commercial space at the ground level.
HOUSING UPGRADING
Since the early 90s, HDB initiated a nation-wide upgrading programme(Fig
10) of old estates to the standard of new estates, "lest these old estates
become undesirable and the residents' investment in their flats be devalued..."*.
The upgrading programme can be seen as form of exercise in which how each housing
context or environment can be preserved, defined and enhanced to re-address the
built environment for the next generation.
Upgrading programme takes place in the forms of Interim Upgrading Programme, Main Upgrading Programme and Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme. Interim Upgrading Programme refers to upgrading of the external aspects of the housing blocks as well as the environment as well as the environment within the housing precinct. Main Upgrading Programme improves both the interior of the housing units as well as the housing environment. En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme refers to demolition and recontruction of the entire housing block.
The significant question would therefore be, how upgrading of public housing changes the residents' lifestyle, the appearance and functions within blocks, as well as the relationship between blocks. In general, upgrading re-organises, inserts and enhances housing elements, components and environment. For instance, the insertion of space adding item(Fig 11) to increase the gross floor area of dwelling unit does not just affect the appearance of the interior but changes the facade of the entire upgraded block as well. The construction of new communal activity space in the form of an independent shed also re-allocate activities such as Chinese funerals and Malay wedding which use to take place at the void deck. Other aspects of housing upgrading also include the improvement of public facilities and public space within the housing precinct, such as addition of covered linkways(Fig 12) connecting the housing blocks, vehicle drop-off pouch, jogging track, fitness corner, multi-storey carpark etc. The list of components to be inserted and subtracted in HDB upgrading is inexhaustible as each housing context varies.
CONCLUSION
The different characteristics of HDB housing are representation of continuous molding and shaping between the planned housing space and their users. The staging of public housing for a nation certain requires the full collaboration based on understanding between the housing authority and residents. The results are imprinted as scripts of unending dramas that take place in the everyday life of housing residents in this nation.
* Chua Beng Huat, Political, Legitimacy and Housing: Stakeholding in Singapore,
Routedge, 1997, London
profile
Lee Tat Haur
1971 Born in Singapore
1993-1997 Bachelor of Architecture (Honours),
Department of Architecture,
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
1999-2001 Masters of Engineering (Architecture),
Associate Professor Yoshiharu Tsukamoto Laboratory, Graduate School of Architecture and Building Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2001- Architect, Urban Studies Section, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore
Thesis: Tokyo Toei (Metropolitan) Housing Recycling Projects
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