Cities in Mind
Cities in Mind
Episode 06 - Behind the Block: Reinventing Public Housing in Singapore and Vietnam
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Episode 06 - Behind the Block: Reinventing Public Housing in Singapore and Vietnam

🏙 Cities in Mind is your go-to destination to learn about cities, technology, innovation and the people behind them. All that through an Asian perspective.

About me: 👋🏻 I am Fabien, an urban planner based in Singapore since 2015. I write this regular newsletter and host a podcast series, that you can find on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Punggol Waterway Terraces, Public Housing Complex in Singapore; Credits: G8A Architects

In this episode, we’ll discuss about innovations in public housing design in Southeast Asia, looking at the examples of Singapore and Vietnam.

“Many future generations of Singaporeans will continue to grow up in HDB (Housing Development Board) townships, and their collective experiences will continue to be a major part of our national identity”

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

I meet with Manuel der Hagopian, a Swiss architect, partner at G8A Architects, a design and architecture firm operating in Geneva, Singapore, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Manuel der Hagopian. Credits: G8A Architects

From the pergola of G8A Architects’s agency set in the trendy neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru, we explore the interlinkages between public housing production, architectural breakthroughs and collective identity building and discuss the iconic Punggol Waterway Terraces, a public housing complex in Singapore that Manuel and his team delivered in 2015.

Enjoy!

Some resources that I have used to prepare for this episode:

Discussion about this podcast

Cities in Mind
Cities in Mind
Cities in Mind is your go-to destination to learn about cities, technology, innovation and the people behind them. All that through an Asian perspective. My name is Fabien and I am an urbanist who has been living in Singapore since 2015. Welcome!