I, like most Singaporean kids, grew up in one of those, and I am living in one of them now with Mum. They weren’t quite so fancy back then, but they were (and still are) built extremely well. Singaporean public housing has more in common with luxury apartment housing in other nations, than the semi-slums most people associate with the term.
There are a couple more posts coming up that may give you a bit more insight to this strange, overcrowded, apartment-housed tropical country.
Being Scandinavian, tiny apartments in cities would not be too alien to you, no?
“Being Scandinavian, tiny apartments in cities would not be too alien to you, no?”
My flat is like 29 square metres, so yes, it’s not too strange. But these houses …. I’ve seen similar pictures, where the houses are so big that you can’t see the top or the bottom as if they were termite hills a kilometre high. My house is three floors.
But they are nice on the inside, you mean? The pictures you link to look like modern Scandinavian design! :) Simpicity and lots of white, white, white …
Scandinavian aesthetic is popular everywhere it would seem :)
Yes public housing here is pretty decent on the inside. Generally in a suburb you would find shops, facilities and food (lots of food. Eating is a national past time) aplenty. Exercise areas, parks, playgrounds, game courts (basketball, badminton, soccer etc) all around. There is always a space constraint but in general, Singapore is good at squeezing a lot into little spaces. There is a move towards enhancing the quality of life, I guess it’s necessary when you squeeze the population of Denmark into a little island.
On life in general in one of these (I guess that’s what you meant the first time?), I guess, having lived in a sprawling place like Perth, privacy is something you learn to live more or less without inside the house. You find other ways to get it. Aside from that, people adapt I suppose. Society is more anxious and competitive than a lot of other cities, but it’s not the worst place in the world to live, depending on the individual.
I think it’s more that culturally, to ignore an elder when you are in the same space with them, is rude (it is much more complex than this simple statement, but I can’t unpack it enough to explain it). Because of restrictions on singles owning their own property (you have to be 35 and above if you’re unmarried and want to buy your own flat), many of these homes house several generations. So there’s usually always an elder at home.
No, it’s most definitely not grey and drab. I have as yet, to make a decent wide angle shot, but I’ll keep working on it to see if I can get you one!
In a society of this type, I guess I wouldn’t even get some peace’n quiet in my grave. When I get there, all my family will be there before me, chattering and complaining.
Your picture above also makes me want to go out and see more of the world.
charlene winfred
These houses look like a nightmare to me. What’s it like living inside one of them?
Better than you would think. See this: http://sglivingpod.com/home-decor/hdb-interior-design/
The furnishings might be a little fancy, but that sort of fit out would not be particularly outstanding in one of those flats when they’re completed.
Also, an idea of what some people do to their tiny apartments: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/13-small-homes-beautiful-wont-101800613.html
I, like most Singaporean kids, grew up in one of those, and I am living in one of them now with Mum. They weren’t quite so fancy back then, but they were (and still are) built extremely well. Singaporean public housing has more in common with luxury apartment housing in other nations, than the semi-slums most people associate with the term.
There are a couple more posts coming up that may give you a bit more insight to this strange, overcrowded, apartment-housed tropical country.
Being Scandinavian, tiny apartments in cities would not be too alien to you, no?
“Being Scandinavian, tiny apartments in cities would not be too alien to you, no?”
My flat is like 29 square metres, so yes, it’s not too strange. But these houses …. I’ve seen similar pictures, where the houses are so big that you can’t see the top or the bottom as if they were termite hills a kilometre high. My house is three floors.
But they are nice on the inside, you mean? The pictures you link to look like modern Scandinavian design! :) Simpicity and lots of white, white, white …
Scandinavian aesthetic is popular everywhere it would seem :)
Yes public housing here is pretty decent on the inside. Generally in a suburb you would find shops, facilities and food (lots of food. Eating is a national past time) aplenty. Exercise areas, parks, playgrounds, game courts (basketball, badminton, soccer etc) all around. There is always a space constraint but in general, Singapore is good at squeezing a lot into little spaces. There is a move towards enhancing the quality of life, I guess it’s necessary when you squeeze the population of Denmark into a little island.
On life in general in one of these (I guess that’s what you meant the first time?), I guess, having lived in a sprawling place like Perth, privacy is something you learn to live more or less without inside the house. You find other ways to get it. Aside from that, people adapt I suppose. Society is more anxious and competitive than a lot of other cities, but it’s not the worst place in the world to live, depending on the individual.
“privacy is something you learn to live more or less without inside the house”
It’s noisy? Parks and food sounds nice. So it’s not all grey, then? American/Australian sprawl would make me depressed as well.
“There are a couple more posts coming up that may give you a bit more insight to this strange, overcrowded, apartment-housed tropical country.”
Yes please, more Singapore pictures and stories!
I think it’s more that culturally, to ignore an elder when you are in the same space with them, is rude (it is much more complex than this simple statement, but I can’t unpack it enough to explain it). Because of restrictions on singles owning their own property (you have to be 35 and above if you’re unmarried and want to buy your own flat), many of these homes house several generations. So there’s usually always an elder at home.
No, it’s most definitely not grey and drab. I have as yet, to make a decent wide angle shot, but I’ll keep working on it to see if I can get you one!
“So there’s usually always an elder at home.”
Gah, never alone for a moment! :)
It takes getting used to if you have hermit tendencies!
In a society of this type, I guess I wouldn’t even get some peace’n quiet in my grave. When I get there, all my family will be there before me, chattering and complaining.
Your picture above also makes me want to go out and see more of the world.
Real estate is fabulously expensive here, so graves are for the wealthy. The rest of us get cremated!
So you could float away on the winds across the seas :)
“Your picture above also makes me want to go out and see more of the world.”
That is wonderful :)
“Real estate is fabulously expensive here, so graves are for the wealthy. The rest of us get cremated!”
Ha ha!
Great sense of framing and composition. Love this one!
Thanks :)