MUNICIPALITY OF SINGAPORE
Standard Type of Two-Storied Labourers' Lines
Lorong Lalat
View of typical building as described in the article.
In spite of continued representations the Government of Hong Kong maintains that it is unable to embark on a scheme of cheap housing for the work people of the Colony.
As a consequence, thousands of artisans and labourers and their families have been living in squatters encampments which have been and will be a source of continuous trouble
It is therefore of special interest to learn that the Muni- cipality of Singapore has been building houses for its working classes for many years now and in these pages we present a brief description of the latest buildings being erected accord. ing to programme.
In the main, the standard type of provision of quar- ters for Municipal labourers is by single-storied blocks of 10 rooms, each in a fairly open type of layout with, if possible, a children's playground near the centre of each development.
The area of each room is 140 sq. ft., in accordance with the Municipal Building By-laws, and the Municipal Commissioners have accepted allocation of such rooms on the following basis:—
(a) One single room for two bachelors,
(b) One single room for a married couple with one
child,
(e) Two rooms for a married couple with more than
one child.
A separate "dapor" (small kitchen) is provided to each room, but latrines and bath-houses are communal in detached blocks a short distance away from the living
rooms.
There are sites, however, where land values and demand for accommodation near the centre of work, create a necessity for a greater degree of density than can be obtained by one-storied construction. For such cases, the Municipal Commissioners have approved a standard type of two-storied quarters. There is a natural reluctance to build more than two stories for a number of reasons, one of the most important being that the floor area of the quarters gives little room for play by the considerable number of children usually in evidence.
The translation of the single-storied type to two stories presented some difficulty, particularly the siting of the communal latrines and bath-houses and planning to avoid the penetration of the acrid smoke from the logs used in the dapors into the living rooms,
The latrine and bathhouses have been planned under the main roof adjoining the entrances, and have been broken down into the smallest units possible to comply with the Municipal Building By-law requirements, i.e. a minimum of one W.C. to three rooms. Situated on each corner of the block, they combine easy access with maxi- mum cross-ventilation.
L
Loan. 16
Zoom 17
Com 18
Lam Ə
Laun se
Bangla a
E43 643 643
Typical floor plan of the 24-room type of building designed to accommodate two per- sons per TOOM. Note the arrangement which provides ample light and air to each room, the economical group- ing of the Kitchen units and the baths
and lavatories, and the
ample staircases at each end for easy circulation.
Liam 20
Room 2
Room 12
Leon 23
Loom 14
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19