They share their principles behind the groundbreaking design and their favourite features.

Synopsis: The Straits Times speaks with experts to discuss how public housing design has evolved in Singapore.

Public housing is all around us. They are in older towns such as Queenstown and Toa Payoh, and in newer ones like Punggol and Bidadari. Eight in ten Singaporeans live in HDB flats.

How has the design of HDB blocks evolved over the decades? What has worked out and what hasn't?

ST's housing correspondent Michelle Ng speaks with architects Khoo Peng Beng and his wife Belinda Huang, founders and directors of Arc Studio Architecture + Urbanism.

They are the design duo behind the groundbreaking Pinnacle@Duxton in Cantonment Road, the first 50-storey public housing project in Singapore, and also the first one in the world to have two sky bridges linking the seven towers that it comprises of.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:50 How the Pinnacle@Duxton was part of evolution in HDB public flat design

3:03 Background to the design features of the Pinnacle, including its "Sky Gardens"

10:15 Peaceful "bridges in the sky": But can the sky garden on the 50th floor be turned into a more active space for people?

12:45 How Mr Khoo and Ms Huang are regularly invited to talks overseas to talk about this special high-rise and high-density public housing model

15:19 Their favourite feature of the Pinnacle; can things be improved? For eg, a music studio, art centre, elderly care, communal areas opened up for evolution

25:23 Is there life beyond a 99-year leasehold HDB flat? Sustainability, adaptive reuse 

Listen to Dr Liu Thai Ker on being the "architect of modern Singapore": https://str.sg/iYZF

Discover ST's interactive graphic article of this topic: https://str.sg/JXMGj

Produced by: Michelle Ng (ngmich@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Teo Tong Kai and Fa'izah Sani

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai

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