- 4 months ago
Singapore’s public housing journey is a remarkable story of innovation, planning, and community building. From solving a housing crisis to becoming a defining part of city life, HDB flats shape how Singaporeans live. But as society and priorities change, how do our homes reflect these evolving needs?
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00:00Did you know that HDB has been around since before Singapore gained independence?
00:04These blocks along Stirling Road were the first HDB blocks to be completed way back in 1960.
00:10So how did public housing evolve from these to the ones we are familiar with today?
00:30So what was Queenstown like before this?
00:35Queenstown was largely a rural area with swamps, rubber plantations and scattered kampongs.
00:40So one example is Bobekang village which is where Stirling is today.
00:44Oh okay, so why Queenstown?
00:46So in 1953 when the Singapore Improvement Trust developed Queenstown,
00:50they wanted to develop it as the first satellite town.
00:53Queenstown was chosen then because it was near the city centre,
00:56given the limitations and cost of transport back in the 1950s.
00:59It was also near industrial areas such as Tanglinghawk, Alexandria Road and the Harbour
01:03and these also provided employment opportunities for residents at that time.
01:08At the start, development was progressing slowly.
01:11By 1959, SIT had completed about 3,000 flats in Queenstown.
01:15By 1960, HDB took over the development, accelerated the building pace significantly
01:19and actually built 14,000 flats within just five years.
01:24So blocks 45, 48, 49, Stirling Road are one of the first few flats
01:29completed by HDB in the 1960s.
01:31So these flats have actually been here since before Singapore's independence.
01:33Yes, exactly.
01:34So as the first satellite town, how did Queenstown's development affect
01:39or influence the development of the other satellite towns?
01:42As the first satellite town, Queenstown pioneered key town planning principles
01:46that HDB still uses today.
01:47And one of these is the model of self-sufficiency where we provide comprehensive facilities
01:53to serve residents' needs within the town itself.
01:56I've got a better grasp of how HDB met earlier housing needs,
02:00but how are we meeting the demands of modern living?
02:04What are we looking at here?
02:06Right, so over here is our mesh fabrication area.
02:10It's actually where the start of the entire process of our free cars.
02:12We have coiled rebars that will be slowly uncoiled into straight segments
02:17where it will be transported into the machine over here
02:19where the cutting happens.
02:21So each individual cut segment will then be slowly pieced together
02:24by our welding machine here.
02:26It's all fully automated.
02:28So over here is our concreting station.
02:31Could you explain what pre-cast concrete is
02:33and how is it different from traditional concrete construction?
02:37For one, traditional concrete is done on-site.
02:39And it's very traditional in a sense that it's very labour-intensive, right?
02:42With pre-cast concrete, everything happens in an off-site factory environment
02:45like this place, right?
02:47So basically, we have valid website forms
02:50and these are all always reused.
02:52And then we are able to cast multiple components at a time,
02:55reducing the time and speed of actually building a building.
02:57So how has the technology for pre-cast concrete actually evolved over the years?
03:01Back in the 1980s, 1990s, you know, you have your more conventional components
03:05like your staircase slides, they are being produced, right?
03:08But fast forward 10 years, in 2000s, you actually have a bit more
03:11different types of components like your double-tier columns,
03:14your household shelters, etc. that are being produced.
03:18And then in the 2010s onwards, you know, you actually start having automated facilities
03:22reducing time to pass as well as increasing efficiencies.
03:29The slabs are coming out now.
03:31They've been cured for 12 hours.
03:32Yes, that's right.
03:33Typically, it takes about 12 hours for curing.
03:35Wow.
03:35This gigantic thing is an oven.
03:36Yeah.
03:37Wow.
03:38What components of an HB flat are actually produced in this factory?
03:42So typically in Singapore HB, it's about 70% of the total concrete are pre-cast components.
03:47Sustainability-wise, you are definitely having lesser workers on site, right?
03:51Noise-wise, also lesser construction noise because everything's produced off-site
03:55and you only create noise when you're assembling and piecing together your components on site.
03:59Efficiency also because of the automation, there are lesser workers required.
04:03We're able to reduce wastage of concrete as well because everything is calculated to the
04:08exact dimensions and requirements already.
04:12So over here, you have facade components.
04:14But because of the use of pre-cast, we're able to cater certain architectural designs to it.
04:18We can be a bit more creative with it.
04:20So with pre-cast, we can actually have more creativity and variety in our design of our homes?
04:24Yes, that's right.
04:25I mean, even in current technologies, you can actually add a colour concrete so that
04:29it actually reduces the need for painting.
04:32Now, at an ongoing project site, these pre-cast components are being put together.
04:41That looks like a bomb shelter.
04:43What's about to happen here?
04:44Now, we are preparing to do the hoisting for this household shelter.
04:48So it's actually pre-cast off-site and then it's brought here to be assembled, installed?
04:54Yes, yes.
04:55So you expedite the work progress for the whole work site with all this pre-cast installation.
05:02It's so much faster.
05:05It's so surreal to see it like this on its own.
05:08You know, seeing it earlier on and then it's going to be installed directly into the unit.
05:13Yes, yes, all right.
05:14Wow.
05:22So the bomb shelter is being lifted up.
05:25It's so strange to see a bomb shelter floating.
05:28It's really quite incredible to see.
05:31I've never seen something like this in my life.
05:33Now we are going up to the block 39A.
05:36We are going to 36 storey.
05:39So this is the entry at the point.
05:41Okay.
05:43We are very high up.
05:54I'm a bit nervous.
05:55So this is the bomb shelter that we saw being hoisted up just now.
06:23It's now being installed on the 36th floor.
06:27This is the top level of someone's house.
06:29So it's really interesting to see it being installed piece by piece.
06:32And just to think that people will be living here not too far from now is really quite incredible.
06:37They have to make sure that the four corners are aligned properly.
06:39So now they're communicating and ensuring that, you know, it's all in the right place.
06:43So between them and the crane operator as well.
06:45It does not look easy at all.
06:47I think we don't think a lot about the amount of technology and manpower and, of course, engineering that goes into, you know, building our homes.
06:56And I think a lot of the time we take it for granted.
06:58So it really is a treat to see this today and to see how all this is being installed and how it's all being constructed in real time.
07:05Using precast technology reduces HDB's dependence on manual and unskilled labour, leading to safer worksites and better quality control.
07:16Here at another worksite, HDB is going to show me how they've adopted another form of automation.
07:21Okay, so here you are seeing two painting robots, which is deployed to paint this dwelling unit.
07:28Cover both the walls, the ceilings, and even paint around openings without a windscreen out of the window.
07:37Right, so it's very precise.
07:38Very precise.
07:39So now I'm just watching the robot paint the ceiling, which I think is a very laborious task for a person to do.
07:46So it's pretty cool to see the robot doing it.
07:47My impression of the use of robots is that, you know, they want to save time, as we know in Singapore.
07:56There's always demand for houses, so I think it helps to speed up the process a little bit by having one person operate two robots.
08:04So this is a fully painted unit.
08:07Yes, indeed.
08:08So this unit is painted by robots.
08:10It's very, very evenly painted and super clean looking.
08:14So why robots?
08:15At HDB, we have been studying how to harness the power of robotics and automation to make our construction processes more efficient and safer while delivering better homes for Singaporeans.
08:27Since August 2023, we have been working with our contractors on how to use surface finishing robots at our construction sites.
08:34A two-year trial for robots was initiated at a site in Bishun, where we use robots to automate and speed up labor-intensive tasks, such as the painting of interior surfaces.
08:44So how did this trial go?
08:45The use of these robots has helped improve trade productivity by up to 30%.
08:50Oh, so that means they can do more in the same amount of time.
08:53So how is the robot able to do that?
08:55Equipped with sensors, robots with planned routes are able to navigate themselves within the unit to apply finishing works for walls.
09:01And because robots are able to achieve consistency in their finishing works, thereby maintaining quality standards of our flats.
09:09So are robots being implemented across all BTO sites right now?
09:13HDB will be implementing robots for painting works, starting with half of our new BTO project sites this year.
09:19So we will work closely with industry partners and relevant agencies like BCA to see how we can bring down the cost of implementation, which is a key concern for some contractors.
09:29The next place we are headed to is where we can find one of the largest 3D printers in the whole of Southeast Asia.
09:36And it's where HDB has been printing some of the components that we can see around our estates.
09:41All right, so where are we at?
09:44We are at one of the largest 3D printing facilities in the Centre of Building Research.
09:49These are the specially customized 3D printing materials.
09:53So they are actually pre-packed in powder form.
09:56And then this is where the water dosage will happen.
09:59And then when the water starts to dose to the powder, it will start to become in a slurry form.
10:04So now I'm actually checking the condition of the print material to see whether it's hard enough for printing.
10:09So right now, as you can see, it's still slightly wet.
10:12So we still need to wait for a few minutes for it to become harder before we start the print.
10:18So right now, what I'm going to do is I'll just start executing the print.
10:23So from this panel, I'm also able to control the print speed.
10:27This is a prototype design that we are trying out for a small cylindrical printer with very unique curved shapes on the sides.
10:37Yeah, I can see it's starting to take shape.
10:39In the traditional method, it's very difficult to use a steel mold to achieve such curved structures.
10:46So it's only with 3D printing that we are able to do this.
10:50This is really cool.
10:50Actually, it reminds me of baking a bit.
10:53It's like when you're, you know, when people are piping the cake.
10:56Yeah, so it reminds me of that a little bit.
10:57But it's cool to see all the layers come together.
11:00And I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks when it's done.
11:01It's very different from what I had in mind because in my head, a 3D printer, I associate it more with plastic and like kind of like a scanning kind of motion.
11:10But this one is obviously so different because it reminds me of more of like a pen.
11:13You know how it's like, it's pointing down and it's doing like layer by layer.
11:16So it's definitely not what I imagined it to look like.
11:19And it's also really, really big.
11:20Why is HDB venturing into 3D printing?
11:27So HDB has been putting a lot of efforts in advancing our construction and design technologies.
11:333D concrete printing is one of these efforts that we are exploring.
11:36It eliminates the need for us to build complicated steel molds, which can be quite costly.
11:40With this in mind, we have set up a 3D printer in CBR.
11:43So this 3D printer can print up to a print area of 9 meters by 3.5 meters and up to 3.8 meters high.
11:52So that's about the size of a SPS single deck bus.
11:56I see, okay.
11:57And so what else has HDB been using the 3D printer for?
12:00So we have printed some featured facade walls in Tenga.
12:05And we also printed architectural landscape benches at Bidadari.
12:09So these designs are customized and unique, and it helps to enhance the identity of these areas.
12:17Oh, I see, okay.
12:19So I'm going to ask a question that I think will be on everyone's minds, which is,
12:23are 3D printed rooms a possibility in the near future?
12:27As of now, we are not using it for high-rise buildings,
12:30but we are constantly doing more studies to ensure the structural integrity and performance
12:35of such 3D printed components before we consider putting it into high-rise.
12:41So this is a 3D printed room.
12:44Who knows, maybe one day we'll be sleeping in one of these in our future home.
12:51Well, there seems to be a lot going on here, like balloon sculpting, I think.
12:54As you can see, everybody of all ages are having fun.
12:56They are going through a balloon sculpting lesson now.
12:59And I think it's important that we have community notes like this to bring everyone together.
13:02And by the way, do you know the name of this structure?
13:04Actually, we're at Block 40 Market Drive, and this place is called Appley.
13:08Come for tea la.
13:10It's a play on the words, come to Block 40 la.
13:13And we are extremely proud of this name because this was selected out of 70 resident submissions
13:17for this particular, very colourful and nifty space in the community.
13:22I love that the residents are involved in it.
13:24You know, it gives them like a sense of belonging and also a stake in this facility.
13:28And a sense of ownership.
13:28We hope that through notes like this, we can get the community rallying together
13:32to be socially engaged, to be socially connected.
13:34And there is like a goal for this to be rolled out to other estates as well.
13:37Well, Queenstown is kind of like a microcosm of the larger Singapore population.
13:42Because today, we already have one in four residents who are 65 years and above.
13:46And we have about 30% of residents who are 60 and above.
13:48In October 2021, Queenstown was designated as a pilot health district.
13:52And we want to really pilot integrated solutions to see how we can enhance the health and well-being
13:57of our residents throughout the life course.
14:00At the same time, we are also trying to see whether we can implement more dementia way-finding murals,
14:05community art pieces of familiar favourites like Pengkwe, Angkukwe, and Chetokwe, and Kuitpaiti.
14:11All this to help our seniors who have dementia find their way around in the community.
14:16And of course, at the same time, implement more dementia go-to points.
14:19Because dementia affects about one amongst 11 seniors in our midst today.
14:23So we want to see what lessons we can draw from Queenstown.
14:25And after that, apply and maybe replicate across Singapore.
14:30Right.
14:30So what are some of your favourite spots in Queenstown?
14:33Well, there's a lot.
14:35Coincidentally, many of them start with the letter H.
14:37I have a lot of hawker centres in Queenstown.
14:39Great hawker food.
14:40I have also plenty of heritage that's packing in Queenstown.
14:43So hawker food-wise, we have Meiling Food Centre.
14:46We have Alexandra Village Food Centre.
14:48We have ABC Hawker Centre.
14:50As well as Market Drive, which is just right in this neighbourhood.
14:53A home is more than just its walls and roofs.
14:56It's the familiar parks, shops and shared spaces around the estate
15:00which all come together to make a place truly feel like home.
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