<
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-22/singapore-s-hdb-white-flats-give-public-housing-an-open-concept-makeover>
"For six decades, Singapore’s public housing system has delivered standardized,
affordable housing to millions of citizens. But in the face of changing social
trends and rising affluence, the country is now allowing homebuyers to have
more flexibility in their designs.
The Housing and Development Board will pilot a new layout in October with 310
units of three- and four-bedrooms apartments in central Singapore’s
Kallang-Whampoa district. The homes will have a contiguous living and bedroom
space, with structural columns rotated and tucked to the edges. There will also
be no internal partition walls.
The units are known as “White Flats,” from the term “White Site,” referring to
land where a range of uses are allowed. The traditional HDB, as public housing
units in Singapore are called, ranges from one- to four-bedrooms and up to
about 115 square meters (1,238 square feet) in size. Many apartments have a
store room, and in all apartments built since 1996, the space also functions as
a bomb shelter reinforced with concrete walls and a massive steel door.
The HDB housing scheme has made Singapore one of the countries with the highest
rates of home-ownership in the world, at nearly 90%. Over 80% of people live in
public housing. Now, as Singaporeans grow richer, more people want the freedom
to customize their living spaces, while social trends such as working from home
and shrinking family sizes have created the need for larger living rooms and
fewer bedrooms.
“HDB, being public housing, started as cookie-cutters and you just stay in a
basic place,” said Yong Sy Lyng, founder of design firm OWMF Architecture.
“Today it’s no longer like that, you want to best customize your flat.”
White flats will help homeowners avoid the financial and environmental costs of
knocking down walls that are sometimes brand new, she said, though some 80% of
her clients already want to tear them down, including one who knocked down
bedroom walls to create a dance studio. For some pre-fabricated apartments,
however, owners are not allowed to knock down walls due to regulatory and
safety concerns."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-singapore-public-housing-colorado-river/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
