a High-Density Infill Public Housing within a Mature Residential Neigh-bourhood

This housing development in Singapore successfully transforms the typical and staid experience of living in public housing through a sensitive urban and architectural design that addresses its surroundings while also rethinks the ideas of urban renewal, well-being as well as active lifestyles in a mature and aging neighborhood.

The Community Housing in Kallang Whampoa is a HDB built-to- order (HDB BTO) housing project located at Kallang Whampoa and consists of 3 blocks of 32-34 storey high-rise apartments, a multi-storey carpark, and a purpose built ‘Active Aging Hub’, which is the ﬁrst of its kind in a housing estate in Singapore. This project features a rich matrix of well-integrated shared spaces ﬁlled with a vibrancy and diversity that make a positive contribution to the experience of living in the heartlands. The project is sensitively designed to ﬁt in with the urban fabric, maintaining a high degree of porosity and openness in spite of the high density. This poros- ity is further enhanced with cycling paths that connect to the nearby Park Connector Network.

Green spaces ﬁll the common spaces of the estate and give a communal van- tage that enriches the experience of living in the city. This project tackles the challenge of a high-density infill public housing within a mature residential neigh-bourhood. It successfully relates to the urban scale and low-rise context of its surroundings. The residential towers are staggered to ensure pri- vacy for residents whilst maximising porosity and ventilation through the development, while their slim proﬁles maximise openness along the main arterial road that runs along the site.

The sensitive massing steps down to the multi-storey car park block at the corner, carefully engages with the low-rise shophouses adjacent to the development. A network of shared green spaces are woven through the development that stitch the mature neighborhood to the green space at the Park Connector Network along the wa- terfront, while providing a matrix of shared spaces that can be enjoyed not only by residents but also by resi- dents from the surrounding mature housing estates.

Use Of Technology

A mix of innovative construction tech- nology and sustainable green features to elevate the experience of living in public housing have been integrated into the project. The façade of the community housing utilises a 100% precast façade using creatively cast- in groove lines and painting strategy to create an interesting pixelated façade, which breaks away from the standard repetitive and mundane public housing façade, while injecting a new vibrancy and liveliness to the surrounding cityscape. The project also features extensive- ly vegetated bioswales and detention tanks as part of a sustainable storm water management strategy that is visually pleasing and enjoyable. Water sensitive features including water saving shower heads (SMART shower system) are also incorporated into the residential units.

Contextual Impact

The high-rise residential development represents a rethink of the typology of public housing in Singapore and Asia. It proposes high-density living as a multigenerational active lifestyle that addresses the growing challenge of an aging population in Asian cities. It is the ﬁrst of a new generation of HDB housing that integrates elderly care in a purpose-built active aging hub that is anchored at the heart of the development. The hub is woven with a network of shared and green spaces at the ground level that con- nect seamlessly from the main arrival to the Park Connector Network along the waterfront. This hub transforms the often times negative perception of elder care spaces, the ‘Not-in-my-Backyard’ phenomenon within neighborhoods, into a positive community experi-ence of ‘Good-in-my-Backyard’, that celebrates the possibilities of multigenerational living and interac- tion within the shared space of a community.

Project Information

Project Name: Community Housing in Kallang Whampoa

Architect: Look Architects Pte Ltd

Location: Singapore

Design Period: May 2014 – Nov 2018

Construction Period: 4 years

Completion: January 2019

Site Area: 18,680 sqm

Floor Area: 85,245 sqm

Photography: Joseph Goh