Earliest Point Blocks

Before point blocks were built in HDB Estates, all residential blocks conformed to a standard slab design where as many as more than 10 units were served by a common corridor. The point blocks first started in 1970 when two blocks of 20-storey flats were built in Mei Ling Street at Queenstown with a mixture of 3-room and 4-room units. However, these blocks were designed with an eye to reduce homogeneity in public housing which accommodated four units on every floor so as to provide more privacy for the residents compared to slab blocks. Following the success of the pilot project at Mei Ling Street, the HDB went on to build more similar high-rise point blocks at Kallang Basin and also across the country with more 4-room and 5-room units being built over the next decade.
The first point blocks at Mei Ling Street under construction, 1969
Bendemeer Road point blocks similar to the ones at Mei Ling Street, 1970
20-storey point blocks at Moulemin Road, 1972
New point block at Tew Chew Street, 1972
25-storey 4-room point blocks at Bukit Merah View, 1973
The first Toa Payoh point blocks, 1973
Whampoa Drive point blocks, 1973

For more information on 5-room point blocks, click on the following link below:

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