Nicholas is an architectural designer that investigates the potentiality of the way we live through the existing expressions and identity a city has to offer. Using its own policies and guidelines that forms our behaviours as the basis for reevaluating the way we construct our identity and expression across the city, from individual to civic. Through the lens of the facade, the very face that showcases the very impression and image of the diverse cultures and moments within, with attempts to breaking the monotony of a modernised model of construction.
Nicholas Jun Hao Ng
Everyone has a home regardless of race and religion based on standardisation of construction and eligibility policies. A positive intent and provision for all in Singapore, however, to achieve this, the state sets out strict regulations that imposes a specific way of living and requirements to achieve and build a standardised form of living for all in the housing blocks. The reality we live in is dictated by policies.
The buildings we live in adhere to a ‘law of dressing’. These laws set out strict guidelines in town planning policies and building acts for the construction of our cities. In turn its facade gives us a unified image. In Singapore, 75% of the housing stock belongs to the Housing Development Board (HDB). Typically, high rise apartments are built from individual housing units stacked over each other. These housing units normally range between 2 room to 5 room apartments to house the different size groups. With strict adherence to its manufacturing and construction rulings set by the government and board, and its strict economy of means. Although there is a variation of types within each building, the floor plans of the units generate a uniformed façade, and its seriation in the city, render them to be an emblem of the nation’s identity. The uniformity of its façade and the impossibility for individual expression, conceals and homogenises not only types but occupants and ethnicity within a block through a consistent single skin, further controlled by state demarcations on eligibility schemes, the occupants of each block are as much as the buildings materials and image, strictly planned, and organised by state’s plan on diversifying a block through its policy regimes. Over the years, the HDB has engaged architects and developers to rethink its schemes, aiming to revitalise the way we live to create a positive impact for housing the mass population, however, still very much adhering to the guidelines that predates the new builds.
Diving into the typologies of HDB blocks and constant evolution over the years for quality of life and quantity of homes, through the imposition of a homogenised model for housing, it regulates a regime for living with structured opportunities to explore our spaces in and out. Individuality is weakened as well as the loss of culture and history of different ethnicities are now surfacing as the country is constantly replacing block after block, reduced diversity of ownership due to specific requirements in ownership eligibility. The project looks to expose and critique the effects of these conditions, and affect the housing typology and its life within, through the experimentation with facade systems, in line with the government’s need for reinvigoration, could also enable the diversification of its typology, spatial opportunities within and around, allowing the possibility of a revised image and identity of Singapore’s housing stock.
STUDIO EXTENSION –
Introducing a protrusion of the facade wall, allows us the ability to break down a 4 bedroom into 2 individual studios with shared amenities and 1 bedroom unit. This looks at opening up the issues of individuals having the inability to purchase a home unless over the age of 35, to be given a chance of their own personal space outside of living with parents.
WINDSHIELD, 1 BEDROOM –
The extension of a balcony and bamboo windshields, could provide additional space to new 1 bedroom units whilst battling prevailing winds. Trimmed bamboo pipes are able to absorb moisture due to its porosity, by means of watering plants over the balustrade itself to keep it wet or residual rain water collected on it, allowing evaporation to occur via the ‘heat’ from the ambient air. The method is to combat the need for mechanical ventilation as much as possible due to annual temperature rise and humidity.
2 BEDROOM UNIT –
Doubling up on balconies, creates a 2 bedroom unit via a stair access, which alters the above 4 bed into 3 bed unit. Now the intention of this is to break the monotony of construction. Under HDB’s precast guidelines, a minimal repetition of a 100 panels is required to allow for construction, also a reason for economic measures, reducing cost in effect. With a standardised regime, it results in standardised housing formats. Offering opportunities of ownership for couples or families away from the 4 bed unit.
FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKER LIVING QUARTERS –
Under the ministry of manpower, migrant domestic workers are meant to reside with their employers, typically employed for caregiving and house chores. Nucleus families may have the option to own a unit type that has an attached worker quarters, sitting outside of the living room space between the balcony and unit above. Providing adequate living spaces for foreign domestic workers to have a sleeping arrangement that is away from the employers and their family, fostering better well being and relationships.
COLLECTIVE GARDEN SPACE –
In attempts to bridge a new form of collectivity, a communal garden space, with vines running down, provides for a core that allows residents to come together and form a community without having to go the distance. A new way of circulating the block itself.
VERTICAL HERB GARDEN –
A herb garden on its facade, to encourage a self-sustaining culture running in line with HDB’s upgrading scheme of sustainable and smart homes. A strategy to open up opportunities for spatial appropriation, spaces that allow connectivity further to the qualities of a void deck under the blocks of HDB's reconditioning the way we move in and around the block as a result of its mono construction.
SHADING, STANDARD 4 BEDROOM UNITS –
For the original units that remain the same, with little to no eaves or overhang to allow for shading on the 4 bed units, a sunscreen mechanism introduced which, we manually crank to lower the screens to the desired height at the edge of the scaffold, creating ample space, for hot air to escape and still receive shade to prevent overheating of internal space.
ROOF ACCESS –
What the scaffold also opens up, is the affordance to occupy the roof space, and this could be accessed by residents 3 - 4 storeys in the upper floors, rather than circulating through the building to one of the garden spaces on the lower floors.
First Impressions is about reshaping the face of Singapore’s high rise housing stock by the Housing Development Board, revising its skin as a project for the city embracing the standardisation and homogeneity defined by strict guidelines and policies hereby critiquing the institutionalised framework that does not think beyond technocratic measures. As such the project aims at designing facade systems to allow for a larger flexibility of homes to more user groups, freedom of spatial appropriation and new forms of collectivity whilst adopting climate change as a vector to further enable these opportunities.
The design itself encompasses a 3m extension of bamboo scaffolding from its existing structure, which is a build-to-order typology, an evolution of its predecessors, a scheme that has been done with typically with 4 bed unit apartments, targeted primarily Singaporean couples looking to get married and family growth for ownership of a new flat, with circulation only from lift to door, and dictated ratio of ethnic groups per block. Adopting something which is used as a temporary measure in construction as something permanent, from which allowing further additions where necessary.
The design of facade systems looks to break the technocracy and authoritative construction of the generic city which renders a sterile urban living condition by transforming these 4 bedroom units within a build-to-order buildinginto diversified typologies, ranging from studios, 1, 2, 3 bed units as well as a revision of 4 bed units with migrant domestic workers living quarters. The scaffold facilitates the addition of facade systems that will manipulate the internal living conditions of its occupants by creating new circulation patterns, unit type variants, new spaces of appropriation, climatic regulations and social connectivity. The extensions through the facade manipulates the very image of the typical HDB facade with a system designed to augment domestic moments and collectivity working in line with Singapore’s upgrading schemes for the future of living as advertised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), built with understanding to the existing streetscape and boundary lines.
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