A “point block” refers to a type of architectural design seen in public housing in Singapore. Not sure if this term is commonly used in architecture, or just one of the unique terms that Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HBD) has come up with. Such designs are prevalent among flats built in the late 60s up till the late 70s (correct me if I’m wrong!). There are typically 4 units per level… These ones look to me like 4-room apartment units.
I spotted this apartment block in Lavender while out for a quick bite in January… Public housing is an interesting phenomenon in Singapore; likewise in Hong Kong. The success of public housing in Singapore is quite unlike seen in anywhere else in the world. Us islanders do take it pretty much for granted how things are here and we don’t resist much when HDB offers to en-bloc and replace us with bland, tiny (but modern!) units in newer estates. Well, not like there’s any stopping HDB if a majority of homeowners refuse to take up their offer. Things are pretty much one-way street here when dealing with the authorities.
However, I do hope that HDB would consider conserving some of these older flats for posterity’s sake as they did with shophouses in the downtown core and the eastern side of the island. The older flats in Singapore are part of our unique architectural landscape. But if we continue with the pursuit of mindlessly demolishing them off for whatever reason, we will persist in our sterile self-identity as a country (or as a minister once said, a “state”, not country).
We do not know what good we have until they’re all gone and lost. Perhaps it’s a powerless fight to hold on to the island’s past… But should we just give up?