Sunday, May 31, 2009

Public Housing

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This is Rochor Centre, a public housing complex in Singapore built in the 70s. Over 80% of Singaporean live in public housing like this and we call them HDB flats. HDB stands for Housing and Development Board. Rochor Centre is unique with its location near the city area with four slab towers above a few floors of shops, eateries and offices plus a huge basement carpark. I signed up for music lessons this afternoon at a music school above the coffee shop on the left and I did this sketch while enjoying a cup of local black coffee sitting along the corridor. The colouring was done on location too.

Can you spot the laundry above? People staying in the public flats hang their laundry on the bamboo sticks outside the kitchen windows to dry. It is a common scene for our public housing estates. Some say these are our "national flags"!