HDB, HDB, HDB and Reality

I have been working for only 2 weeks but I am constantly hit by reality, the transition between education and working is harder then I initially thought. It does not feel as hard, but it becomes an annoying habit to revert back to student mode. Working in the UK is very different to Singapore, it is true for any country for that matter, but the design culture shock where Singapore highly believes in efficiency, rules and regulation, design becomes really difficult. I know UK has its rules and regulation, especially on ancient buildings, but I believe it is not as strict to how it is done in Singapore. Maybe I was never made aware, due to the limited responsibilities I was given during my year out, concentrating alot more on rendering, elevations, concepts etc.

I am currently involve in a private/government project, which HDB is concern. HDB means Housing and Development Board, which existed due to the housing shortages Singapore is facing. HDB right now occupies about 80% of the housing population, which is especially build for the local communities. The other 20% would be landed property, which means houses that are terrace, semi detached, detached houses etc, which are normally occupied by the rich. HDB are normally government projects, but mine is a hybrid, combination of private and government. It just means that the flats are developed by a private contractor which is later sold back to the government. It still has all the standard design a normal HDB would have but at a higher standard to try and make HDB look more appealing.

I am trying design a flat to the best efficiency possible at my own time but I need to spend more time on it, obviously, with some of the design rules consideration I was made aware off today by a colleague, which I know makes just a fraction of the whole list of books I need to read through. I always thought a private project would be exciting, or any project for that matter, but it really does seem to be the case for Starchitects only or if you join competitions regularly. I used to question my colleagues during my year out, why not join competitions at any given time? The obvious answer would be, it takes alot of your time and it can be wasteful. I never really understood that implication until I started working here. I am already involved with many responsibilities and that amount would go up drastically in 2 weeks when my colleague would be away for 1 month on private matter.

I can hear unpaid OT echoing in my head which is actually a common thing in my office. My previous colleague would weep and cry if they are ask to work here. I would be waiting for the time to come when I get to run my own project and I would be weeping along side my colleagues trying to finish up for tender submission.

Here are just some images of the HDB in Singapore.

Standard, rules and regulation does not mean it restricts the design potential but it merely gives you more of a challenge to meet the requirement of a site. The pinnacle is a 50 storey HDB and it has been selected as Building of the Year for 2010 at the WAF, World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. It is just a matter of creativity, push it to the limit and expand your potential.