A QUALITATIVE APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF SUPER HIGH-RISE LIVING

Abstract

As part of the urban renewal strategy to inject more public housing into the city and attract new households to rejuvenate the Tanjong Pagar area, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will redevelop a 2.5 hectare site at Duxton Plain, including Blocks 1 and 2 Cantonment Road. Today, HDB generally builds at a density of 2.8 plot ratio and no more than 30 storeys. More recently, some developments have already been built up to a 4.0 plot ratio and up to 40 storeys at selected locations, such as Toa Payoh. To meet the Concept Plan 2001 objectives, the density and height for the Duxton Plain site will be increased further to between 7.4 and 8.4 plot ratio and up to 50 storeys. The new development will therefore be a landmark - the tallest public housing in Singapore. The market for such developments has yet to be tested in the qualitative aspect till now. The research conducted is to test the attitudes of potential buyers towards super high rise living and propose factors taken into consideration when they choose to live in a high rise. Subsequently, the proposals are made for future works into this topic.