Hobbyist photographer Koh Kim Chay feels deeply rooted in Singapore's public housing estates. For almost three decades, using an analogue film camera, he has documented thousands of homes before they were demolished.
Mr Koh hopes to publish a photo book of 27 old estates, titled Singapore's Vanished Public Housing Estates. Working with him is photographer and former teacher Eugene Ong, 39, who helped to curate the pictures and did research for the accompanying text.
Last month, they started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise US$10,000 (S$14,000) to cover the design and printing cost of 500 copies.
The book is designed by Do Not Design, a creative agency specialising in work for art, culture and commerce. So far, the duo have raised about 86 per cent of their target. The campaign will end on May 10. Go to igg.me/at/svphe to support the crowdfunding campaign.
Photo: A field in Seletar West Farmway 6 in March 2004. The estate, which comprised seven blocks of four-storey flats, was completed by the HDB in 1979 and located in an area of pig and poultry farms. Small self-contained public housing estates were built to resettle rural dwellers displaced by land acquisition. After residents were relocated in 2004, the blocks were converted into a foreign workers’ dormitory.
Princess Elizabeth Park Estate in July 1992. Developed by SIT, this lush public housing estate was situated along a quiet stretch of Upper Bukit Timah Road. Construction was funded in part from money donated to the Princess Elizabeth Wedding Celebration Fund and street names such as Princess Elizabeth Drive, Princess Anne Hill and Philip Walk very much reflected the royal connection. The grounds now house several condominiums.
Blocks at the old Stamford Estate in March 1999. The estate was sandwiched between Short Street and Prinsep Street and built by the SIT in 1952. Though the estate no longer exists, having given way to La Salle College of the Arts, four of the seven blocks of flats were retained and are now part of Singapore Management University residences.
Neo Tiew Estate in May 1999. The military now uses it for urban warfare training, but in the 1980s, the estate was a small enclave tucked away in Lim Chu Kang and surrounded by chicken and vegetable farms. The estate was named after Neo Tiew, who died in 1975 and was a community leader and businessman who is credited with much of the development in Lim Chu Kang.
Outram Park in January 2000. In 1970, Outram Prison, an old jail with 900 cells, was transformed into Outram Park, HDB’s first large-scale integrated residential and shopping complex. It was a landmark with its 12 rainbow-hued blocks of more than 1,200 units, and a thriving commercial centre with 450 businesses and restaurants.
Tiong Bahru Estate in September 2000. Completed by the SIT in 1951, the C-shaped four-storey blocks 30 and 39 had shops on the ground floor and dwellings above. The two blocks in Kim Pong Road were demolished in 2002. The road was named after wealthy businessman and philanthropist Low Kim Pong.
Duchess Estate town square in November 2000. The SIT’s construction of Duchess Estate in Queenstown began in 1954 and was subsequently completed by HDB in the mid-1970s. In the commercial centre, Duchess Market was the first to open in 1960, followed by the Queenstown Combined Clinic in 1963. Today, the stylish build-to-order projects Skyterrace@Dawson and Skyville@Dawson are the new face of this mature estate.
The Lee To Beauty Parlour in Kallang Airport Estate in August 2001. The estate, developed by SIT, was opened on July 23, 1958. By the end of that year, it had a market, 68 shops and 3,000 flats spread over an area stretching from Dakota Crescent to Jalan Satu. All the blocks in Jalan Satu and Jalan Dua have been demolished.
Kampong Silat Estate in September 2001. The layout of the estate mimicked a close-knit traditional Asian village. First came the single-storey artisan quarters and shops, built by SIT in 1948, followed by low-rise blocks of flats. In all, 21 blocks were built, their simple but elegant forms well balanced against the undulating terrain.
Winstedt Court Estate in September 2001. There were just three blocks of different heights in the estate, named after Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, an influential adviser to the Johor royal family. Hidden from the busy Bukit Timah Road and Scotts Road, the estate was built by SIT in 1957 on the site of old waterworks-filter beds.
Nine-storey “skyscraper” flats at the junction of Prinsep Street and Short Street in October 2001. Block 13, with 196 two-room flats and eight maisonettes, had one of the largest number of units in a single block. The block had a shopping arcade with 34 shops. The estate was demolished in 2006.
Taman Jurong in Yung Kuang Road in February 2007. Taman Jurong had its beginnings in 1963, when quarters were built to house workers of the newly created Jurong Industrial Estate. From the beginning, the estate was designed to be self-contained with wet markets, shops and food centres. The quadrangle of the town centre was where workers would gather to chat at the end of the day.
Written by Neo Xiaobin, adapted from The Straits Times