SINGAPORE \u2013 An iconic eight-block public housing project in Tampines with a distinctive brick-faced facade will be painted a colour that matches the blocks\u2019 original paintwork.<\/p>\n
The decision was made after more than three-quarters of the residents of the eight blocks \u2013 497A to D, 497F to H and 497J Tampines Street 45 \u2013 had cast their votes for one of three proposed colour schemes in the planned Repairs and Redecoration (R&R) exercise to fix water seepage issues.<\/p>\n
The second colour option largely retains the original colour palette but introduces some variations. The third is a complete overhaul of the blocks\u2019 look.<\/p>\n A family looking at the different colour schemes pasted at the void deck of Block 497A Tampines Street 45 on Sept 19.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The result of the poll, conducted between Aug 31 and Sept 13, was announced by Tampines GRC MP David Neo, who oversees the Tampines North ward, at a Kopitalk X Precinct Dialogue held on Sept 19 at a nearby multipurpose hall.<\/p>\n Over 80 residents from the neighbourhood attended the dialogue where Neo, who is also Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, spoke about housing upgrades, estate maintenance and rodents, said a resident who gave his name only as Wai.<\/p>\n Civil servant Justin Quek, 28, said he is not surprised by residents\u2019 choice.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody wants these colours because that\u2019s the estate\u2019s identity,\u201d said Quek, who has lived at Block 497A since he was born.<\/p>\n Civil servant Justin Quek, 28, resident of Block 497A Tampines Street 45 on Sept 19.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Wai, a 66-year-old retiree, said Neo had asked residents whether they wanted the blocks\u2019 distinctive brick-clad facade painted over, or preserved with a clear, water-resistant coat to prevent seepage.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of us prefer the original bricks, but some of the blocks in the 498 series have already been painted over,\u201d Wai noted. \u201cThere\u2019s no changing that now.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to The Straits Times on Sept 8, Tampines Town Council<\/span><\/a> said residents had expressed various views on how the\u00a0works should be carried out for the blocks.<\/p>\n \u201cSome would like a more colourful paint scheme and a move away from the brick facade, while others feel that the exposed brick facades should be preserved because of their distinctive character and heritage value,\u201d said\u00a0the town council.<\/p>\n It added that it considered residents\u2019 feedback during the last R&R cycle from 2017 to 2019, and painted areas of the walls affected by water seepage using a colour that closely matched the original brickwork.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, as the brickwork has aged since, further seepage has affected residents\u2019 homes,\u201d the town council said.<\/p>\n Wai, 66, speaking to the reporter after Kopitalk X Precinct Dialogue with MP David Neo at Block 498N Multi-purpose Hall @ Tampines Street 45 on Sept 19.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n To highlight the estate\u2019s heritage, Neo invited architectural photographer Darren Soh, 50, to speak about the historical significance of the 497 series blocks. These blocks were the first flats designed by private architects under the HDB Design and Build scheme.<\/p>\n Soh said that the layout of the three massive community courtyards enclosed by the blocks was revolutionary when it was built in 1994.<\/p>\n \u201cThis estate is one of the last remaining HDB precincts from the 1990s that still retain their original colours.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of the others have been painted over, some several times,\u201d said Soh.<\/p>\n Longtime resident Razali Talib, 64, agreed that the earthy tones and unpainted brickwork give the precinct a unique charm.<\/p>\n \u201cThe estate is busier now but looking at the blocks relaxes me,\u201d said Razali, who has lived there for over two decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 An iconic eight-block public housing project in Tampines with a distinctive brick-faced facade will be painted a colour that matches the blocks\u2019 original…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/86342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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