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1963- Official Opening of the Selegie house
Officially opened during Housing Development Board’s (HDB) second five-year-plan (1960-1965), the Selegie House consists of three blocks, two 10-storey tall and the other 20-storey tall. With a total of 505 housing units fitted with fast lifts, electricity, water and gas supplies, it was the most successful public development during the time. Phone lines were also installed. The public housing complex offers residents community spaces like sitting areas, an outdoor badminton court and exercise corner. approximate 40 shops on the ground floor range from provision shop to hair salon to printing services.

2002- Main upgrading programme (MUP) of Selegie House
In 2002, Selegie House underwent MUP which was a heavily subsidized upgrading policy implemented by HDB to enhance the social and economic value of public housing in Singapore. It benefited Selegie house in terms of an enhanced asset value of household units as well as a quality living environment. Repainted with a red and white color scheme, the improved Selegie House projects a bold, forward-looking image that complemented the distinctively rectilinear black stone facade of its neighbor - the LaSalle School of the Arts. The cantilevered laundry boxes constructed with perforated red metal sheets conceals the unsightliness associated with hanging laundry and adds a delightful layer of texture and rhythm to the facades of the old housing block.

Symbol
Selegie House set a precedent as a successful early HDB project. The 20 storey block was the tallest mixed development building in Singapore comprising of both residential units and commercial shops. In comparison to its previous counterparts such as the HDBs in Queenstown, which went up to only 16 storeys, the Selegie house superseded the sixties’ standards and was a housing project so impressive that it drew bystander crowds on its opening. At its height, Selegie House gave the residents an expansive view of the city. Shops at the void deck also used to be bustling with business. The complex’s completion represented HDB's first foray into the construction of high-rise housing to accommodate a large number of residents in modern housing conditions during the post-war period.

Spectacle
Despite no longer being as popular as before, Selegie House is now appreciated for the tessellation of concrete and steel on its corridors, and its striking patriotic colour scheme of red and white. This makes the block the epitome of patriotism, especially when the corridors are donned with the national flags in celebration of national day. Selegie House is also seen as a symbol of progress transforming the once cluttered streets of slums into an orderly modern development.

Decluttering the city
Due to the increasing population of people residing in the central city district of Singapore, the Singapore government made the decision to demolish the low-rise shop houses which were the existing housing typology and replace them with high rise HDB developments. The dilapidated shophouses, especially in the Central Business District (CBD) area, were considered slums and eyesores. Throughout the sixties and seventies, several hundreds were pulled down by the Urban Renewal Department; their sites redeveloped and replaced by new commercial buildings, shopping malls and residential complexes. People living in these shophouses were displaced from their homes and relocated elsewhere till the newer developments were built on site and the residents had no options but to move back into their new “homes”. This made way for the construction of Selegie House, located near Little India where many shophouses used to be.

Instilling Discipline
Then- Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew created Singapore’s Workers’ Brigade to provide meaningful jobs for unemployed youths, who were deployed to do menial laborious work such as the building of HDB flats. In a May 26, 1960 article, Australian daily The Age described the novel concept of the Workers' Brigade as Singapore's "army without guns", galvanising the spirit of the Singapore youth. Enduring the harsh working conditions of building the flats, workers of the Singapore Work Brigade were only paid $1.50 daily. The tireless efforts of these workers were what made the tackling of our housing crisis possible.

A Hidden Narrative
As we celebrate HDBs as icons of our National Identity, we are often glorifying the abilities of our one-man state led by Mr Lee Kuan Yew in successfully resolving the housing shortage in Singapore. However, hidden behind the success of the government, lies the sacrifices of groups of people who had been displaced from their homes as well as the workers’ brigade tireless efforts in the efficient construction of HDB flats like the Selegie House. Hence, to recognize the sacrifices of these people is putting forth a more transparent and fair narrative.