HDB Flats = Swanky Apartments?

With the advent of sleeker exterior structures and well-planned interior layouts, and a growing numbers of young families which appreciate design in general as well as the services of interior designers, HDB living has managed to shook off quite a bit of its poorer-cousin-of-private-housing image for a number of years now.

In fact, today, it is entirely possible to fashion a perfectly chic apartment out of a typical HDB flat, be it old or new, so long as one has a generous-enough renovation budget and a good sense of style - or the assistance of a brilliant interior designer and contractor.

And it is all going to get even better in a few years' time.

At the National Day Rally this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had unveiled plans to transform new, middle-aged and old HDB estates into more vibrant homes for Singaporeans.

After reading a report on one of the projects in this "Remaking Our Heartland" endeavour in last Saturday's papers, it seems to me that "vibrant homes" is an understatement..."swanky apartments" is probably a more fitting description.

In about 3 to 4 years' time, work is going to commence on "Dawson Estate", which will be located in Queenstown, one of Singapore's more matured housing estates.

Three top home-grown architect firms were commissioned to to conceptualise three separate precincts for this new estate; an unprecedented move in the history of HDB.

The results? Flats done condo-style and very nearly every bit as sophisticated and sleek as their richer cousins, from the facades to the interior structures.

Some of the flats designed by SCDA Architects, one of the three firms involved in the Dawson Estate project, will feature tall ceilings with space for lofts - and gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows, of course (see "artist's impression" below).

It is really pretty exhilarating to imagine that one day, many years down the down, whenever "HDB flats" are mentioned, our minds would automatically visualise an image like the ones above, instead of the "typical HDB flats" that most of us grew up in. (That doesn't mean I am not grateful and appreciative of the public housing that we get to enjoy all these years throughout our nation-building history - it has been great all these time, it's just that I am thrilled it is going to be even better than great in time to come.)

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the government decided to come up with a snazzier replacement name for "HDB" to go with this new era in public housing for Singapore.

I can't wait to see all these changes taking shape. The only downer is, as it will be a few years before work will even commence on the first of these new flats, and many more years following that before they become a regular part of the Singapore lifestyle instead of a novelty,
I will practically be an ancient old lady by then.