Book Project "HDB: Homes of Singapore"
Singapore's Housing Development Board (HDB) has built one of the world's best and fascinating public housing solutions. "HDB:
Homes of Singapore" is a pictorial journey of photographs taken over a
period of three years that portray the diversity, culture,
individuality, colours and creativity within HDB homes. This project is
the brainchild of the artist duo Eitaro Ogawa and Tamae Iwasaki of KEYAKISMOS, with architect Tomohisa Miyauchi.
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HDB: Homes Of Singapore (above) by Keyakismos and Tomohisa Miyauchi. PHOTO: DON WONG
The
photographs of this book are currently exhibited at the 15th
International Architecture Exhibition, titled REPORTING FROM THE FRONT,
curated by Alejandro Aravena and organised by La Biennale di Venezia
(Venice Biennale). They are on view until 27 November 2016.
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Join our journey
Our journey began in 2008 when we considered purchasing a HDB flat. To tell the truth, we were a little concerned about living in what seemed like rigid and uniformed units at the time, but that changed completely after visiting friends' homes, namely flats that were renovated so uniquely. Since then we toyed with the idea of making a book about HDBs. This materialised when we met and shared the idea with Tomo in 2013. We immediately got to work, taking photos that very weekend! We got in touch with as many people in our address books as we possible in a bid to search and capture interesting flats. We even knocked on the doors of strangers who, to our surprise and delight, welcomed and even fed us well on many occasions! Throughout this project, what touched us the most was the kindness of people's hearts, the lives they live and the generosity that enabled such rich story-sharing. Singaporeans often speak of the lack of culture in Singapore yet we found this to be quite the contradiction because we discovered much culture residing in the topic of the HDB flat alone! Culture was evident in each home. Culture was lived. At the end of the project, we gathered plenty of photos. But more importantly, we got to know Singapore a lot more through uncovering the multifarious and personal way of living beyond the exteriors of the HDB flat-- and this was something we wanted the photographs to capture.
At the end of project, we gathered many photos but moreover we got to know Singapore a lot more through HDB flats.
You are the Impact
The photographs trace our three-year journey of visiting various HDB flats chronologically. We hope to publish them as a book that would be accessible to many. You can join in this amazing discovery of Singaporean culture by supporting the project and getting a copy.
- We need to raise a total of US$38,000 in funds to print 2,000 copies of this book. Funding received will also be channelled towards the videography, as well as the book's translation, design and layout which we have begun.
- Please support us by ordering a copy of this book which will be published and start shipping out in Dec 2016.
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Our Challenges
The hardcover book of 588 pages (30 x 30 cm) will contain images of over a hundred homes in Singapore in full colour images. We wish to make this book as affordable as possible by printing more copies and reaching the community in Singapore, as well as the wider community worldwide. Your support will bring us closer to our goal in sharing the Singapore story.
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Share the Good News
Any support from you, big or
small, means a lot to us. Please share this project with your friends
and families. Good news always
gets around.
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100 Limited Edition book cover.