Communal Work for a Community
In more ways than one, the void deck has come to be seen as a symbol representing community life in public housing in Singapore. However, this symbol has varied interpretations amongst a different demographic, where it means play space to kids, it is also a place of celebration and mourning to others. For some, it...
Sustainable Living Kampung – Changing Singapore’s landscape from the Ground Up
In recent years the rising power of community action and engagement in shaping the environment has become increasingly evident in Singapore. Many bottom-up initiatives have sprung up to encourage alternative approaches that seek to restore the connection between city dwellers and the land for the many universal values. Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)’s Sustainable Living Kampung in...
Neighbourhood #8 : Serangoon Gardens – The Ingredients of a Community
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives.” ― Oscar Wilde With its rustic charm and interesting character, Serangoon Gardens is home to a large cluster of private homes. However, what sets it apart from many other estates is what lies in the heart of it. Lining the Serangoon Gardens...
Whose void deck is it anyway? Not here then where?
Recently, the communal beauty that the void deck represented has been tainted with a case of ‘NIMBY’ or ‘Not in my Backyard’, a concern recently raised my our own Prime Minister. A couple of months ago, residents in Woodlands and Toh Yi petitioned against the construction of elder case facilities in their own estates, claiming that it was not that...
Community in a high rise environment
Enjoying the last few moments together before it walks into history – Block 9 Ghim Moh Road Appreciating the obstacles to its emergence, the need for community in high-rise residential housing estates has always been an important concern of planners and architects. Invariably, every architectural drawing of a single blocks of flats will provide...
Community gardening – Community ungardening
Clementi Makeshift Farm getting the boot, literally. Copyright © Matthew Allen, WSJ A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. ...
“Embedded memory” of the Blue House
Blue House Cluster Regeneration requires a comprehensive and integrated vision aimed at lasting improvement through measures that resolve a range of problems in the urban domain. The notion of ‘embedded memory’ is bound up with time, place and culture. Most remaining heritage buildings in Hong Kong have been re-branded with functions that are very different...
The Disappearing Voids
A void deck is an essential part of each an every HDB heart lander. The void deck, is the only other shared facility within HDB estates that promote spontaneous and Incidental happenings to happen. With the removal of the void deck, the residents living in this “pigeon-hole” configuration apartment blocks have one less...