been used for adult education in the evenings.
(d) Shopping Facilities:
Shopping facilities have been pro- vided in all the neighbourhoods at the ratio of approximately 50 to 100 flats per shop depending on the locality. type of accommodation and purchasing power of tenants.
The shops provided in the neigh- bourhood are sub-divided along the ratio of provision shops, eating- houses, Chinese and other types of dispensaries and other service shops such as barbers and hair-dressers. The majority of the shops are located within the neighbourhood centre around the market which sells fresh foods.
However, some of the shops are also scattered around the neighbour- hocd to provide additional conveni- ence for the people. The size of the shops varies from 600 sq. ft. for the service shops to about 2,000 sq. ft. for the eating-houses. Most of the shops are provided with living quar- ters on the first floor.
(e) Design of Flats:
The following are the various types of flats provided in our housing
estates:-
(i) One-room emergency flat con- sisting of one bed-sitting room, kit- chen, bathroom and W.C. combined and a balcony. The flat has a nett floor area of 230 sq. ft. The rental is S$20 p.m.
(ii) One-room improved flat con- sisting of one bed-sitting room, kit- chen, bathroom, W.C. and a balcony. The flat has a nett floor area of 310 sq. ft. Rental is S$30 p.m.
(iii) Two-room flat consisting of living room, bedroom, kitchen, bath- room & W.C. combined and a bal- cony. The flat has a nett floor area of 425 sq. ft. Rental is S$40 p.m.
MacPherson Road 16-storey flats.
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Redhill Estate 16-storey flats. These are of three-room standard type, 550 sq. ft. each, and are rented out at $$60 per month
and the selling price is $4,900 per unit.
(iv) Two-room improved flat con- sisting of living froom, bed-room, large kitchen, bathroom. W.C. and a balcony. The flat has a total area of 505 sq. ft. The type of flat is sold to the public at S$6,000 per unit.
(v) Three-room flat consisting of living room, two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom & W.C. combined and a balcony. The flat has a nett floor area of 550 sq. ft. Rental is S$60 p.m. and the selling price is $6,200 per flat.
(vi) Three-room improved flat consisting of living room, two bed- rooms, kitchen, bathroom, W.C. and a balcony. The flat has a nett floor
These are of the two-room type, 430 sq. ft. each,
and are rented out at S$40 each per month
area of 630 sq. ft. This type of flat is sold to the public at S$7,500 per
unit.
(vii) Four-room flat consisting of living room, three bedrooms, kitchen. bathroom, W.C. and a large balcony. The flat has a nett floor area of 780 sq. ft.
The Board builds a small number of these four-room flats to accommodate large families. These flats are rented out at S$100 p.m.
In our housing estates the ratio for one-room flats is 40 per cent, two- room 30 per cent and three-room 30 per cent. This ratio has been adopted as a result of a survey and in ac- cordance with the demand of the ap- plicants for public housing. The ratio can be varied in accordance with changes in demand.
The sizes of the living room range from 140 sq. ft. to 170 sq. ft. while the sizes of the bedroom range from 120 sq. ft. to 140 sq. ft.
Each habitable room is considered to be able to accommodate a max- imum of four persons. However, the average occupancy rate in our housing estates is about 2.5 persons per habitable room. All the flats are provided with piped water supply, electricity for both light and power. gas for cooking and heating and water-borne sewerage system.
The construction of most of the flats ranges from 10 to 20 storeys in height and the majority of the build- ings are 10-storey. From our experi- ence the 10-storey building is the most suitable from the point of view of the construction cost, construction time, land use and maintenance.
Singapore has very favourable climatic conditions where there is no earthquake or typhoon and there is no seasonal change of severe summer or winter. Therefore, we are able to arrive at a very light and economical structure for the 10-storey buildings.
Usually, this type of building can
Far East Architect & Builder December, 1967
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