SINGAPORE - Residents and visitors to Punggol can now learn about the Housing Board town at a new visitors' centre, as well as on a location-based mobile app that displays facts about local landmarks.
Located near Punggol MRT and Waterway Point mall, the three-storey, 400sqm Punggol Discovery Cube officially opens this Sunday (Jan 15).
The ground floor features an interactive model of the town, including upcoming projects. Touchscreens display information on green areas, notable public housing projects, the waterway and more - with the relevant parts of the model lighting up accordingly.
On the second floor, visitors can learn about Punggol's history as a fishing village, its development as an HDB town and its future, with smart initiatives such as the use of digital modelling to plan town layouts with optimal wind flow.
Located next to the new Punggol Town Square, the visitor's centre also overlooks the greenery-lined My Waterway @ Punggol, with views from the third storey.
The Punggol Discovery Cube is open daily except Mondays, from 10am to 8pm. Its outdoor viewing deck on the third storey is open around the clock.
Also being launched on Sunday is a new mobile app called Our Heartland Trails - not just for Punggol, but also for the town of Bedok.
Available for both iOS and Android, the free app features a trail for each town, with landmarks ranging from heritage buildings to favourite food joints.
When a user approaches a certain location, the app will display fun facts, interactive quizzes and games related to that landmark, using GPS tracking.
The trail for Punggol has 27 landmarks including the colonial-era Matilda House dating back to 1902, green haven Coney Island, and seaside dining area Punggol Settlement.
But users can also explore the town without having to be there, as the app's features remain accessible even without location data.
Punggol and Bedok are both being spruced up under the HDB's Remaking Our Heartland programme.
The HDB said it will assess the response to the app for these two towns before deciding whether to extend the app to other towns and estates on the programme, such as Yishun and Dawson.
