SPACE MANAGEMENT OF HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD'S BRANCH OFFICE : A CASE STUDY OF CHOA CHU KANG BRANCH OFFICE

Abstract

In land scarce Singapore with a huge buildings stock, it is of paramount importance that we take stock of what we have and how they have benefited the owners, occupants and visitors alike in term of needs and wants. It is now very crucial how buildings have served them and therefore the field of facilities management and in the context of space management and utility play an important role in our cosmopolitan city state, especially when the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has, in its revised concept plan 2001, projected a population of 5.5 millions in the next 40 to 50 years. It is in this light that the author does a case study of a government agency office to gauge how it has serves its occupants as well as its visitors best. The result of which will serve as a platform for the agency to plan future space requirements to suit the needs and wants of the users and visitors. The selection of a government agency has become necessary because it offers a relevant model to various government institutions in their effective and efficient space planning and management. Furthermore, it helps to illustrate the importance of facilities management that has gained widespread use in North America, United Kingdom (UK), progressively adopted in Europe, and, most recently, in Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. Singapore, no doubt, has to do so as it will benefit a country with scarce land resources.