Tall, charming and sensible : the history of HDB design from 1960s-1980s

Abstract

By examining the rich and complex history of Singapore’s public housing and situating design thinking, processes and influences of the HDB flats between the 1960s and 1980s with a historical and global context, I argue that while every effort has been made to assure a distinctive design to HDB flats across various estates on the island, the homogeneity of the Singaporean public landscape is a testament to the rigorous standardisation that guarantees the quantitative and qualitative efficiency demanded of a nation emerging out of an acute housing shortage inherited from the British colonial government. I also argue that despite starting out as means of providing immediate shelter, designs of the HDB flats over the decades have become a fundamental driver in nurturing a sense of community among residents and it is this continuous emphasis on how the state, through the Board, has been central in confering a sense of nationhood through the building of modern new towns, that which is constantly made known to the public through state-sponsored publications like the ‘Our Home’ magazine for instance, in order to drive home feelings of pride, belonging and one-of-a-kind excellence.