Singapore ‘Where passion and possibilities meet’
We were lucky enough to go to the national housing industry association awards 2018 that was held in Singapore this year. There were many talented nominees, congratulations to everyone that was nominated and those that won awards as well.
It was an amazing destination to have these awards at because it brought to light the differences in people’s living preferences while here in Australia we have space that allows us to peruse the Australia dream; nice house on a reasonable block allowing room for a front and backyard.
The amount of medium to high density that is present over in Singapore was astounding, the adoption of community based living was also surprising. A countries’ solution for housing a population of over 5 million where land is limited and ensuring that it can still offer affordable residence which is important as well.
During the awards we were lucky to get a bit of an understanding from two architects that work in Singapore to them this medium to high density living is the way of the future and needs to be seriously considered and implemented in other countries in the future. The use of innovative design and clever furniture to optimise the space and storage that is possible in these dwellings is inventive.
It became evident that strategic design and planning is necessary with these types of dwellings as the amount of space that is available to fit in peoples needs such as kitchens, bathrooms, living spaces and bedrooms.
When posed the question what the attraction to this type of living is other than the limited amount of land available to house the population it was more about the cultural significance this style of living affords. The architects positioned this almost mind set change down to the next generation coming through that living is more about the experiences life can offer rather than owning and getting into debt over a house.
It was extremely interesting to see this style of living, that the notion of community living comes together in the hustle and bustle of the city whilst trying to cultivate the feel of having greenery around. With a growing population and one that is aging is this the way of the future and if so how would you feel living in medium to high density housing?
Is this change in mindset from owning your own to sharing something that is relevant to the culture we have here in Australia?