EXPLORING THE ALTERNATIVES TO HDB ROOFTOPS

Abstract

Over the years, public housing under the HDB has been successful in responding to and fulfilling the various needs of Singapore’s citizenry, and is today a cornerstone of the nation’s physical, social and political landscape. Yet, even as HDB buildings in their structural entirety continually redefine the interactions between people and spaces, a singular aspect of these buildings appear distinctly under-utilised: their rooftops. This paper studied 1,102 apartment blocks from the planning regions of Bedok, Clementi and Sembawang to determine whether the use of these HDB rooftops is indeed sub-optimal and, if so, how these rooftop spaces may be appropriated for more and better use – as such is the general principle in HDB’s building construction for a land-scarce Singapore. In this regard, the findings revealed that 89.8% of the reviewed HDB buildings each possess an unused surface area of more than 400 square metres – a large potential for greater utility, with particular economies of scale. There will be an examination of the feasibility of alternative uses, viz, roof gardens, agricultural green roofs, businesses, recreational facilities, penthouses and utility depots. The framework for this analysis is centred on the objectives of public housing, the planning position of authorities, the best value derived, and the demands of the public — the last criteria tested using a public survey. Among the uses considered, roof gardens and agricultural green roofs were established to be the most viable in the long run, while the other uses had varying degrees of viability. To this end, this paper unveils the possibility of HDB rooftop space transformation, and endeavours to inspire greater conversation about their potential, so HDB public housing continues to be the dynamic capital in today’s currency of changing relevance.