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Singapore's public housing is far from what you would expecthttps://www.businessinsider.in/singapores-public-housing-is-far-from-what-you-would-expect/steinhauer-is-originally-from-america-and-grew-up-in-colorado-he-finished-art-school-in-1993-and-went-over-to-vietnam-for-a-trip-he-planned-to-be-no-longer-than-a-few-months-he-would-end-up-living-in-asia-for-more-than-20-years-/slidelist/49360073.cms2021-07-26T12:45:52+05:30

Singapore's public housing is far from what you would expect

Jul 26, 2021, 12:45 IST

Steinhauer is originally from America and grew up in Colorado. He finished art school in 1993 and went over to Vietnam for a trip he planned to be no longer than a few months. He would end up living in Asia for more than 20 years.

He originally traveled to Vietnam because his father had worked there as a doctor during the war and told Steinhauer many stories about what it was like. He would also take photos around the village he was stationed. Steinhauer's father later started a health organization that donates medical equipment to hospitals in Southeast Asia.

Steinhauer has lived in Vietnam, Singapore, and Hong Kong. But even after two decades of traveling Asia extensively, he has never seen buildings like the HDBs in Singapore.

The HDBs are very close together and compact. Giant numbers have been painted on many of them. This makes it easier for people to find their desired location within the massive complexes, which are made up of 20-story towers.

The fonts are varied in type treatment, including everything from a more funky Art Deco to a more plain Helvetica. Some fonts look like something a small child drew with his or her hand.

Of course, the colors are a big part (if not the biggest) of the bold look. Public housing units are usually set in more muted tones and don't look all that exciting, which makes Singapore's complexes stand out even more. The newer buildings tend to be even brighter than the older ones.

The HDBs have long walkways and balconies that form a grid with the windows and doors.

Inside, the units are pretty uniform. They are very blockish — just square and rectangle living rooms and kitchens. They have eight-foot ceilings and are fairly small overall. They're mostly three to four bedrooms, but some have five.

Since most of the population lives in the HDBs, it's more unusual to encounter someone who doesn't live in one. Steinhauer was not actually living in a government-subsidized apartment because you have to be either a permanent resident or the spouse of a Singaporean to buy one. The vast majority of those who live in public housing own their unit.

Singapore has very strict immigration laws. Unless you have the right visa or a Singapore ID, you can't turn the electricity on in your apartment or get a mobile phone number.

Steinhauer didn't have many problems photographing the buildings, though. Anyone can go into the buildings and walk up the stairs, as the property outside of and in front of the units are all considered public space. He would usually just get in his car and drive, stopping to photograph HDBs that stood out to him. Steinhauer said he would sometimes spend hours searching for the right angle for his shot.

Steinhauer ran into a lot of residents, who he all found were really nice — as he says Singaporeans generally are. They were curious as to what he was photographing and why.

He says his experience in Singapore was a relief compared to his experience in Hong Kong. Over there, residents and security officers would suspect that he was a foreign property developer posing as a photographer.

Singaporeans do have some reason to be paranoid, though. HDBs are being torn down in certain sections towards the center of town, where the business district is booming and becoming more expensive.

Since Steinhauer was just a guest standing in front of their homes, he didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable by getting into all of these issues too much. He says he generally didn't have any social or political agenda with taking photos of the buildings anyway — he was just fascinated with how they looked visually.

For now, he is back in the US, raising his three kids with his wife in San Francisco. Steinhauer is going to continue to shoot the buildings over a few more trips back to Singapore before he considers the series done. "I miss Asia tremendously," Steinhauer said. "So that's why I jump on airplanes now and go back over."

Steinhauer will be putting on a show at the Reduce Gallery in Singapore. It opens on November 18.

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