The Housing Board has won two of the nine top awards given out by the non-profit Urban Land Institute for excellent land use.
Two HDB projects - Kampung Admiralty and Punggol town - received the institute's highest accolade, the Global Award for Excellence, for 2021.
The institute promotes real estate and land use best practices globally. HDB said yesterday the awards recognise excellence in innovation, having a meaningful impact on the community as well as replicability on a global level.
Kampung Admiralty's citation said it integrated senior housing, medical care, retail, and food and beverage facilities on a compact 0.9ha site, resulting in affordable apartments that combine livability and accessible open space.
Punggol town was lauded for, among other things, using urban environment modelling technology to simulate how environmental factors such as sunlight, humidity and wind affect its design.
Earlier this year, both projects won the institute's Asia Pacific Award of Excellence, qualifying them for the global awards.
The winning projects were selected from 45 global finalists by an international jury consisting of developers, architects and urban designers, including Ms Fun Siew Leng, chief urban designer at the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
HDB previously won a global award for excellence in 2011 from the institute, which has offices in the United States, Britain and Hong Kong, for Pinnacle@Duxton.
HDB chief executive Tan Meng Dui said it was a special bonus to win global awards for two projects this time, after a break of 10 years.
In a Facebook post, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee congratulated HDB for the wins and said both projects have provided lessons for future developments.
"The success of Kampung Admiralty has given us confidence to replicate this housing typology in other towns, such as the upcoming Yew Tee Integrated Development," Mr Lee said.
The development was unveiled in September 2019. It is planned to have two-room flexi flats designed for seniors alongside senior-friendly facilities such as a polyclinic.
Mr Lee added that Punggol town also stands out as a "living laboratory" that has enabled many smart and sustainable solutions to be rolled out in other estates.
Private mixed development Funan, which was developed by CapitaLand Mall Trust, was the third Singapore winner this year. Other winners include The Hub (China), Plant Riverside District (United States) and Circl (Netherlands).
