Hdb Architects Should Be Shot!

[neubie 2]

Dawson Place

- Kitchen too small

- TV point located oddly

- No direct sun to dry laundry; three pole hanger provided

- Valuations of such flat drop 10% according to DWG

Shin Min 08/08/2010

[forgotten 1]

Sigh.. What to do? Our dear govt aims to squeeze at least 6.5millions people on this tiny red dot.

HDBs have become expensive pigeon holes.

Edited August 10, 2010 by forgotten

[leechaorui 2]

Sigh.. What to do? Our dear govt aims to squeeze at least 6.5millions people on this tiny red dot.

HDBs have become expensive pigeon holes.

Even then, I think there is no reason to build the building this way.

[gimz63251073 0]

People buying for Dawson would have already known that it was small, though no accurate floorplan.

No sun laundry? -- new homes are all built this way. One reason is that old style of using bamboo sticks are dangerous and always have incosiderate neighbours hang dripping wet mops or dripping bras.

smaller kitchen -- people cook less nowadays. clever design and less hoarding will solve it.

no sun -- get a dryer

tv point no good -- add it yourself

Be glad that you own a piece of the sky in a pretty good location. There are many that cannot afford or are not as lucky to get a queue number.

[yoongf 11]

Since when DWG become a valuer?

The ultimate test is... HDB buy back the flat at the price they sold.

U think there will be a flood of transections?

I am always curious about the motivation of such articles.

[calaislily 0]

We humans are hard to satisfy. If a flat is a bit old, we don't like... if flat is brand new but small, we also don't like. I've been thru this but since space is a the most major consideration for my family, we solve the problem by getting an older unit of flat. We can't have everything so just have to decide on what's best given the situation

[therat 18]

http://sgpropertypress.wordpress.com/2007/...own-architects/

My HDB flat’s a condo – Dawson Estate in Queenstown will be the new face of public housing – flats done condo-style by top homegrown architects

Filed under: About HDB Properties,Singapore Property News — aldurvale @ 5:20 am

GROUND-LEVEL parks extend to the doorsteps of residents’ homes and flats come with ceilings tall enough for lofts to be built.

These perks are not the latest offerings of swanky condo projects but new ideas for public housing in Queenstown.

Conceived by top local architects and unveiled at the Housing Board’s (HDB) ongoing Remaking Our Heartland exhibition, the new concepts also promise to bring high-rise communities closer and promote an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

At the heart of all this future action is Dawson Estate, a 60ha district in Queenstown bounded by Margaret Drive, Tanglin Road, Alexandra Road, Commonwealth Avenue and Queensway.

This former housing and entertainment hot spot was developed in the 1950s by the HDB’s predecessor, the Singapore Improvement Trust.

It now has just 3,000 flats and tracts of land ripe for redevelopment after blocks of flats were cleared in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is expected to house about 10,000 more apartments in the future.

To bring a fresh spin to public housing, the HDB took the unprecedented step of commissioning Surbana International Consultants, Woha Architects and SCDA Architects earlier this year to conceptualise three separate precincts comprising 3,100 homes.

The brief: to introduce flats with seamless access to greenery, waterscapes and surrounding facilities, and promote closer ties, all on a tight budget.

While the HDB was tight-lipped about the construction budget it gave the architects to work with, SCDA’s design principal Chan Soo Khian estimated that he had to design flats that could be built with roughly half of what it would cost to put up luxury condos fully fitted with items like wardrobes and cabinets.

Most HDB flats do not come with fittings.

The HDB said it will work closely with the private architects to develop a cost-effective design.

Each firm had its own ideas: Surbana extended a future linear park into a winding landscaped path around the blocks; SCDA gave the bigger flats enough vertical space for lofts; and Woha envisioned a block facade reflecting individual home owners’ tastes.

Said Mr Chan: ‘Doing a public-housing project means you have to work within tighter constraints. It means, in a modern way, your design is purer.

‘You don’t depend on embellishments to make it a good project. You’re not worried about the inside, what kind of fitting is going where. In some (private) projects, you spend so much time just worrying about the kitchens and fittings.’

But certain private-housing elements are likely to pop up in the Dawson projects.

Woha, which recently won a prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its private project 1 Moulmein Rise, wants to offer the monsoon window it introduced there as one of the options for Dawson home buyers.

This contraption is a bay window with a horizontal opening that lets the breeze in but keeps out the rain.

Woha’s founding director Richard Hassell said: ‘It’s not going to be expensive housing, just smarter in design.’

Work on the first of these Dawson flats is expected to begin in the next three to four years.

The upcoming estates will give new families a higher chance of living near the city centre, said head of HDB’s urban design unit Kathleen Goh.

Currently, new flats near the central areas tend to be built only when existing residents in the vicinity are being resettled, leaving a limited number for newcomers.

The upcoming 3,100 homes in Dawson are likely to be fully available to new families.

Ms Goh revealed that families buying separate homes in the same housing estate would be able to buy adjoining units.

These units could also be combined sideways or even vertically to encourage different generations to live together. Their layouts will be flexible so that families can make adjustments if their needs change.

So far, the exhibition has drawn 62,000 visitors. One of them is architect Khoo Peng Beng, who designed the first 50-storey public-housing blocks here, now under construction in Tanjong Pagar.

Back in 2002, when his firm ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism proposed having high-rise gardens and sky bridges link seven towers for the international design competition for that project, such ideas were still relatively novel.

He said: ‘HDB has come a long way. For a long time, the evolution of HDB design was very functional. This time, I think there is a more emotional and integrated approach to how we look at public housing.’

If the Dawson proposals are well-received, the HDB will consider inviting private architects again to conceptualise future public-housing projects.

Source: The Straits Times 29 Sept 07

[therat 18]

http://sites.google.com/site/sgpropertynew...yterrace-dawson

SkyVille & SkyTerrace @ Dawson

from the floor plan, it already can see.. the kitchen is block by sun

[Warrior88 0]

There are good designs as mention too. By the way, I love small kitchen. So easy to maintain. Big kitchen are old design liao, where family dining are smack within.

I would mind buying from those who wanna back out at their buying price

[bepgof 20]

- Why still got ppl buy these?

- Some chinese papers, I noticed, write a lot, but when try to zoom in to locate for vital info , always cannot find or just mentioned "the authories concerned", editors pls wake up be more daring and speak right in front.

- Always pay "small" to get "small".

Edited August 11, 2010 by bepgof

[neubie 2]

- Why still got ppl buy these?

- Some chinese papers, I noticed, write a lot, but when try to zoom in to locate for vital info , always cannot find or just mentioned "the authories concerned", editors pls wake up be more daring and speak right in front.

- Always pay "small" to get "small".

location wor, near tanglin area, where popiah king and tommy goh's zonda, ferrari enzo is located...

[Jgal 0]

location wor, near tanglin area, where popiah king and tommy goh's zonda, ferrari enzo is located...

Yo.. the hawker centre will be closed by then.. saw the papers the other day. Anyway, found the location quite weird, neither here nor there..

Not near mrt, have to walk at least 10-15 mins / take bus. No good primary school nearby. Limited buses to places. Got super mkt but no wet market.

Would still prefer boon tiong or redhill if want a centralise location. At least, no need to drive to work. Save on transport to "pay" for the house.

just to make you jealous.. i remember boon tiong and redhill were selling like <300k for 100sqm 4-rm in 2005.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Jgal

[gimz63251073 0]

There are good designs as mention too. By the way, I love small kitchen. So easy to maintain. Big kitchen are old design liao, where family dining are smack within.

I would mind buying from those who wanna back out at their buying price

yes in the good old days, kitchens are huge...to put dining table...end up family never eat there....

now small kitchen, only can put breakfast table or bar counter...end up also no one eat there....

so big for what?

bedroom big then got use...more walking space...

looks wise really chio.. from outside la.... good for foreigners...come here admire and go "wah"...

for SG govt to show to the world.

[salavanun 0]

older units although have old fashioned big kitchen but they have something new flats rarely match. That is squarish layout. U wil only knw the diffculty when doing reno and placing of furnitures. new flats have many odd spaces(wastage) al this add up to the floor area which is already small. compare a old 4NG 91 sqm and new 4A 91sqm u will be surprised by the difference.

Edited August 11, 2010 by salavanun

[davidbslee 1]

I feel that old type of house design is better as more privacy. My friend that stay in sengkang 700 series, the kitchen to their neighour kitchen is so near less than 5m. You can see their kitchen so clearly, no privacy at all. But what to do, now can get a flat in BTO already consider very lucky, so LL.