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Most people consider HDBs to be standard, cookie cutter moulds of public housing, but a short drive through Potong Pasir Avenue 1 would prove them wrong. Lined up beside the St Andrew’s school cluster, Blocks 140 to 146 Potong Pasir Ave form a small but striking row of public housing that doesn’t quite play by the usual rules.
Their steep, triangular red roofs break away from Singapore’s usual HDB silhouette of brutalist slabs and stacked boxes. Built in the mid-1980s, these blocks were part of a short-lived postmodern experiment in public housing design. The Housing & Development Board (HDB), normally obsessed with efficiency and repetition, was struck with sudden inspiration — borrowing from kampong houses, tweaking rooflines, and allowing form to flirt with meaning. These Potong Pasir blocks weren’t just housing; they were statements.
Potong Pasir's iconic sloping HDBs were completed in 1984.
Architectural Era & Style
These Potong Pasir blocks belong to the mid-1980s period of HDB design, a brief but significant era when the Housing & Development Board started exploring postmodern architecture. This was a deliberate shift away from the strict, utilitarian brutalism of earlier decades, embracing playful forms, historical references, and more human-scale touches.
Unlike the boxy, repetitive slab blocks, these sloping roof blocks were part of HDB’s experimental phase to create distinctive identities for neighborhoods. This meant borrowing from vernacular architecture (here, traditional Malay kampong house shapes) and adapting them for dense public housing.
HDB Design Team & Influence
Exact attribution for HDB block designs is often difficult, as many were developed by in-house architects at HDB or in collaboration with external consultants. The sloping roof blocks, for example, reflect the influence of global postmodernism and regional vernacular architecture — a design trend echoed in projects like the pyramidal blocks in Yishun.
However, rumour has it that veteran architect Ng Weng Pan was originally involved in the design of Potong Pasir’s housing estate, but was removed from the project after disagreeing with then-Cabinet Minister Chiam See Tong over the design direction. This incident illustrates how political considerations could directly impact the architectural outcome, and why authorship can be murky in public housing projects.
Why do Potong Pasir HDB block have slanted roofs?
Cultural Resonance: The steep, triangular red roofs recall the traditional kampong houses of Malay villages: a nod to local heritage and identity, softening the concrete jungle vibe. This helped create a stronger sense of place and belonging.
Climatic Response: Pitched roofs are a classic tropical architectural solution for shedding heavy rain quickly, though in this case, the sloping roof is more symbolic since the roofs are mostly concrete and flat underneath. Still, the form visually suggests shelter and protection.
Visual Identity & Scale: The chalet-like silhouette breaks the monotony of Singapore’s skyline and makes the blocks instantly recognizable. The sloped roofs give the block a more domestic, “homey” profile, like landed houses stacked vertically.
Experimentation: The 1980s saw HDB testing different forms to escape the boring repetitive slab block model, which was way to inject architectural interest and neighborhood character without sacrificing efficiency.
Rare Typology & Unusual Construction
These sloped-roof blocks are one of the few in Singapore’s HDB history that broke out of the flat-roofed, rectilinear template. While most HDBs from the era used standardised floorplans and prefabricated concrete components for efficiency, the steep, pitched roofs here posed a technical challenge since they were not easily mass-produced and not prefab-friendly.
To achieve the distinctive triangular silhouette, custom concrete moulds and on-site formwork were likely required, adding complexity and cost. This suggests a rare moment when aesthetics and architectural expression were prioritised — an anomaly in the otherwise pragmatic world of public housing.
Typologies like these were part of a short-lived architectural detour, quickly abandoned in favour of more efficient, high-rise solutions. That makes these Potong Pasir blocks a disappearing species, and one of the few surviving examples of postmodern experimentation in HDB history, before things returned to straight lines and right angles.
Urban and Historical Context
These unorthodox choices were likely swayed by Potong Pasir’s distinct ‘personality’ in the 1990s. From 1984 to 2011, it was famously represented by opposition MP Chiam See Tong, giving the area a distinct “outsider” vibe in Singapore’s political landscape. Whether or not the sloping roofs were planned as a quiet architectural rebellion, they definitely helped set Potong Pasir apart visually and culturally.
The mid-80s was a moment when HDB was pushing to move beyond the cookie-cutter slab blocks. Alongside experiments like Yishun’s pyramidal rooftops or Ang Mo Kio’s stepped terraces, Potong Pasir’s chalet-inspired blocks were part of this brief postmodern detour. It was a way to add identity, warmth, and a hint of tradition to mass housing.
The area’s layout, combined with the nearby St Andrew’s schools — whose chapel-like buildings add a serene, almost ecclesiastical backdrop — creates a surprisingly coherent and memorable streetscape. It’s a visual and social narrative that feels rooted, distinct, and quietly proud.
Market Snapshot & Resale
Potong Pasir’s sloping roof HDB blocks remain a solid choice for buyers who value character and community over cookie-cutter condos. According to 99.co and PropertyGuru:
- Average Resale Prices: Around $750 to $900 per square foot, depending on floor level and unit size.
- Unit Sizes: Typically range from 700 to 1,100 sq ft for 3- to 4-room flats.
- Recent Transactions: 4-room units have recently sold between $580,000 to $700,000.
Prices here generally trail newer estates, but the area’s unique architectural charm and established neighborhood feel keep demand steady. Plus, proximity to St Andrew’s schools and Upper Serangoon MRT adds practical appeal.
Units typically come in 3-, 4-, and 5-room flats, with sizes ranging from roughly 65 to 120 square meters (700 to 1,290 sq ft). Room sizes are modest but functional: master bedrooms average around 10–12 sqm, common bedrooms about 7–9 sqm, and living/dining areas between 20 and 30 sqm. It’s not mansion living, but the layouts suit families and keep the kampong vibe intact.
Today, those Potong Pasir HDB sloping roofs still carry weight beyond just architecture. For longtime residents, they’re a symbol of home and community — a reminder of the estate’s quieter, almost rebellious spirit. The “kampong feel” many talk about isn’t just nostalgia; it’s a real connection to a simpler, more close-knit way of living that feels rare in Singapore’s fast-paced urban jungle.
Even the visual contrast with St Andrew’s Village nearby, with its chapel-like design, adds layers to Potong Pasir’s identity, mixing tradition, faith, and working-class roots into one unique neighborhood vibe.