Plan to paint iconic brick-faced Tampines HDB project to address water seepage draws criticism

SINGAPORE – An iconic eight-block public housing project in Tampines with a distinctive brick-faced facade – left largely unpainted for more than 30 years – is scheduled for a repair-and-paint job that has drawn some criticism over concerns that the buildings’ unique identity would be lost.

Residents of the eight blocks – 497A to D, 497F to H and 497J Tampines Street 45 – have been asked to cast their votes for one of three proposed colour schemes in the planned Repairs and Redecoration (R&R) exercise to fix water seepage issues.

The poll started on Aug 31 and will end on Sept 13.

Of the three colour-scheme options, one closely matches the blocks’ original colour palette, while another largely retains the palette but introduces some variations. The third is a complete overhaul of the blocks’ look.

While some residents who spoke with The Straits Times said they do not want a radical change in the blocks’ colours, other residents and industry observers opposed the very act of painting over the exposed brick facade.

Yeo Kang Shua, Hokkien Foundation professor in architectural conservation at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, said: “They may not be formally conserved buildings, but that does not mean that their architectural character is without value.

“These blocks have become very recognisable precisely because of their fair-faced brickwork.”

In a statement to ST on Sept 8, Tampines Town Council said residents have various views on how the works should be carried out for the blocks.

“Some would like a more colourful paint scheme and a move away from the brick facade, while others feel that the exposed brick facades should be preserved because of their distinctive character and heritage value,” said the town council.

It also said it considered residents’ feedback during the last R&R cycle from 2017 to 2019, and painted areas of the walls affected by water seepage, using a colour that closely matched the original brickwork.

“However, as the brickwork has aged since, further seepage has affected residents’ homes,” the town council said.

Architectural photographer Darren Soh in an Instagram post on Sept 4 called on Tampines Town Council to carry out localised repair works to areas of brick deterioration instead of painting over the brick facade entirely.

Fully painting over the bricks “unfortunately would completely wipe out the spirit and essence of the estate”, he said.

The town council said that while it considered the option of treating only the affected areas, which would preserve more of the exposed brickwork, this “would also leave residents facing recurring seepage, repeated repairs and the inconvenience that comes with them”.

“Professional evaluations now support painting over the brick surfaces, as the paint provides better protection against weather and water seepage over time,” it said.

Still, heritage advocates like Yeo and Soh hope more can be done to avoid completely painting over the brickwork.

Soh said that “a disturbing trend proliferating in the last 10 to 15 years has been the painting over of fair-faced brick or brick-tiled HDB facades in estates such as Bishan North and Hougang”.

He pointed to blocks such as 158 to 161 Hougang Street 11, and various estates in Bishan Street 22 and 24.

“Many of these estates that used to employ a generous amount of fair-faced red brick in their facades have become painted brick estates. Unfortunately, painting brickwork in a shade of red that tries to match the original brick colour is not the same as leaving the bricks alone,” he said.

Once an opaque coating is applied to bricks, said Yeo, “much of the texture and variation of the original brickwork will inevitably be lost”.

Fair-faced brickwork facade – referring to brickwork that is not covered over with plaster or paint – was intended to be the architectural finish for the blocks, and “its colour, texture, mortar joints and natural variations are all part of the architectural expression of these blocks”, said Yeo.

This is true of all HDB blocks with brick facades and not just the Tampines Street 45 project, he added.

Soh noted that the project – formally called Tampines Neighbourhood 4 Contract 24 (N4 C24) by HDB – is of historical significance.

The 620-unit project was in 1992 the first to be awarded under the board’s Design and Build scheme, which aimed to promote private architects’ participation in HDB developments, and introduce greater variety in public housing projects.

From the 10 proposals received for the project, the winning team was formed by P&T Consultants – the project’s architect and engineer – and Kajima Overseas Asia, the contractor.

The project received an honourable mention at the 1995 edition of the Singapore Institute of Architects’ Architectural Design Awards – a feat Soh said is usually reserved for projects that cost much more.

A 1995 review of the project in a journal by the Singapore Institute of Architects said: “What is most successful in this project is its sense of identity and presence without having to resort to surface decoration and pastiche.

“The confident use of brick and its articulation demonstrates a sensitivity not commonly seen nowadays among housing projects, both public and private.”

Yeo said painting over fair-faced brickwork should not in itself be taken as a solution to water ingress, adding that this often treats the symptom rather than the underlying cause.

The better approach, he said, is to diagnose the source of the water ingress and carry out the necessary repairs, rather than simply applying a coating over the entire facade.

In fact, applying an impermeable or insufficiently vapour-permeable coating to the bricks could stop the brickwork from drying naturally and cause more damage, he added.

Five residents of Tampines N4 C24 who spoke with ST did not raise concerns over water seepage through the walls, and were generally against a complete overhaul of the blocks’ colours.

Masturah Maidin, 37, a resident of four years, said she was against painting over the bricks.

She pointed to another cluster of HDB blocks at the intersection of Tampines Street 45 and Tampines Avenue 9 that previously had a fair-faced brick facade and was painted over in a black-and-white scheme.

“I understand that some may want a fresher look and that repainting happens all the time, but painting over bricks is really sad,” she said. “The blocks that are now black and white have lost their charm.”

Another resident, who gave his name as Low and has lived in Tampines N4 C24 since it was built, said that he hopes that any change to the blocks’ facades will not depart from their current colour scheme.

Speaking in Mandarin, the 82-year-old retired Chinese teacher said that the longstanding brick facades have made the blocks an icon for Tampines, adding that they were immortalised in the popular Channel 8 sitcom Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

Yet another long-time resident, who gave his name as Ahmad, said he would rather the brickwork be left alone.

“The first colour scheme (which matches the existing colours) is more minimalist, which is preferred, but I feel it still overcomplicates things,” said the 41-year-old.

He said that “taxi drivers all know where the ‘Tampines red blocks’ are, they are as recognisable as the chap laus in other HDB towns”, referring to the Hokkien term used to describe 10-storey HDB blocks.

Tampines Town Council said that as it plans for improvements, “we will continue to carefully balance the estate’s long-term maintenance needs with preserving the distinctive character and identity that hold special meaning for the community”.

“Residents’ views are an important part of this process.”