Controversy arose last week when residents opposed plans to convert a void deck in Woodlands into an elderly day-care centre. One reason the residents cited was that they would be deprived of a venue to hold functions like weddings and wakes.
(The humble void desk is gradually disappearing. Image courtesy of mailer_diablo.)
However, The Straits Times reported that the humble void deck is disappearing. In fact, newer residential estates like Punggol and Sengkang no longer have this public housing characteristic.
Newer Housing Development Board (HDB) flats in older estates like Kallang, Buona Vista and Ang Mo Kio have also shed this feature. Instead of large common spaces, they now have lift lobbies and spaces too small to hold gatherings.
The void deck was created in 1970 on the ground floors of HDB blocks to facilitate interaction among residents and provide a suitable area for activities.
Dover resident Yeo Kai Leng, 37, told The Straits Times that her previous home, a 30-year-old HDB flat, had a large void deck where she would often meet neighbours. Her current HDB unit in the same estate does not have this feature, so she does not see them anymore.
Yeo said, “I think they've stopped meeting for a chit-chat since there is no place for them to sit now.”
To cope with the need for bigger spaces in new blocks, HDB has constructed ‘precinct pavilions’. These pavilions are shared by several neighbouring blocks, and have an area of about 200 sq m—sufficient space for events. Some estates have multi-storey car parks with rooftop gardens that serve as gathering venues.
Meanwhile, new blocks that have retained a relatively large void deck area are increasingly becoming occupied by facilities like childcare centres, social service centres, and elderly rehabilitation day-care centres.
According to HDB, there are currently about 640 such facilities, run by voluntary welfare organisations and not-for-profit groups. As such, “there is a perception that the void deck has shrunk,” said Ashvinkumar Kantilai, president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, to The Straits Times.
An HDB spokesperson told The Straits Times that blocks in older estates usually have larger void deck spaces because the slab or rectangular block configuration allowed it. However the tower block configuration often found in newer HDBs does not allow for long corridors on each floor. This in turn means less space on the ground floor void deck.
Despite efforts to create an alternative space with the precinct pavilions, some residents are still dissatisfied. Said Kallang resident Garry Chern, 36, to The Straits Times, “When there are two or more events happening in a day, that pavilion is heavily used, and sometimes, one party has to pack up quickly to make way for the other.”
Some residents who grew up with large void decks bemoan the loss. Housewife Michelle Lee, 32, told The Straits Times her son is not able to ride his tricycle around the void deck like she did when she was a child because “there is no space”. Lee added that there is a pavilion near her Punggol home, but it was a distance away.
Other residents are indifferent to the disappearing void deck. “I don't use the void deck as, at the end of the day, I just want to get back to my flat. I'd rather have more lifts than empty void deck space,” said human resource consultant John Lee, 45, to The Straits Times.
MP for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC Hri Kumar Nair stated that smaller common areas in new HDB blocks means limited space to house permanent services like day-care centres. “Only some blocks would be eligible for such services,” he told The Straits Times.
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Related Categories: Buying, HDB
Tags: HDB, HDB facilities, HDB flats, Housing Development Board, limited land, newer estates, older estates, precinct pavilions, public housing market in Singapore, public housing trends in Singapore, void deck, void deck facilities
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