Housing development box

Abstract

Housing Development Box is an educational construction game, that uses architecture to foster children’s (aged 9-12) interests in Singapore’s past and present. It also hopes to encourage meaningful intergenerational exchange between child, parents and grandparents. The project includes historical research, identifying key architectural typologies within the context of Singapore’s History (from early 20th century up to the 1960s): Attap stilt houses, Black and White Bungalows, Shophouses and Housing Development Board (HDB) apartment blocks. The game is developed based on accurate reference to the four types of houses and is meant to have children learn about the transition from traditional to modern architecture through play. Each house type is designed to be modular and easily separated to be reassembled in different configurations. With the toy, children may choose to either reconstruct a traditional house or opt to use their creativity to create something entirely unique: a new architecture or, by combining multiple houses, to form and reimagine the city. An essential part of the design strategy is the creation of educational materials, consisting of both printed and augmented reality components to be used on IPads. These integrated components provide depth to the learning and enable children, parents and grandparents to explore memories and meaningful stories together.