TIong Bahru Estate: A brief history and aim

An example of a post-war flat, note the rounded stair-balcony, at the rear of the building

An example of a pre-war flat, notice the three levels of housing and shops below

The Tiong Bahru area bears lots of significance to many Singaporeans because of its rich history, culture and unique and queer looking architecture. The Tiong Bahru estate is one of Singapore's oldest housing estates. The pre-war blocks, built in the 1936-1941, are part of the first project to be undertaken by the Singapore Improvement Trust, which was ran by the British during the colonial rule. What makes these estates unique, is their spiral staircases, front and backdoors, back alleys, flat roofs, internal airwells, presence of shops on the first level and its underground bomb shelter. Also, its streets are all named after chinese pioneers, such as, I noticed, Guan Chuan, Eu Chin, Kim Cheng, etc. Whereas the second phase of  post-war blocks were built in 1948-1953, to address housing problems then, with unique features such as rounded stair-balconies strategically placed at the rear of the blocks, which have become incorporated into part of the identity in the Tiong Bahru Estate , flats rooftops, and both front and backdoors, etc.

My friend, Celine and I set off to Tiong Bahru with the aim in mind to compare the older pre-war flats (Blocks 55 to 78), the ones with the shops, and newer post-war flats (Blocks 17 to 50), the ones with the rounded stair-balcony, in terms of both tangible and intangible elements of community, which I define as how close-knitted the residents are to each other and the intensity of the sense of belonging, and seek out the nodes of community within the estate.