Hougang
Image: Hougang Block 25. HDB Instagram Page.
Located at the end of Sungei Serangoon, Hougang is fondly known as “Au-gang”, which means “at the back of the river” in both Hokkien and Teochew. The area was mainly forested land with pig-rearing farms and largely populated by Chinese Teochew residents. Before Hougang was redeveloped in the late 1970s to become the present-day housing estate that we know today, Hougang was well-known for its bustling markets. Residents from the north-eastern part of Singapore would come here for fresh seafood and produce from local farms. The new town was originally named Hou Kang but renamed as Hougang.
In the early 1980s, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) started to create distinctive identities for different housing estates. In Hougang, HDB introduced curvatures to housing blocks. The first town centre at Hougang Street 21 had design elements of colonial architecture referencing Singapore’s pre-war bungalows, which include low-rise buildings with rounded arches, multi-paned windows and louvres. The second town at Hougang Central featured two blocks with stepped, pitched-roof buildings, a hark back to Hougang’s rural past. Today, HDB blocks with rounded balconies and curved columns can still be seen in Hougang.
Hougang is the largest HDB town based on land area in Singapore, and boasts many firsts. The two-storey, five-room maisonettes in Hougang were the first of its kind to be built by the HDB. In the 1980s, Hougang had the largest supermarket emporium at the time. It was also the first housing estate to have a fast-food restaurant and bowling centre. Hougang has two national monuments, both gazetted in 2005 – the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Hougang Tou Mu Kung temple.
Being a town with rich and colourful heritage, Hougang has transformed from a rural area to a modern heartland estate. Today, Hougang is a self-sufficient estate with a wide range of amenities and facilities, and improved walkways and landscaping. Moving forward, a commercial and residential development with a bus interchange is being planned for a large vacant site near Hougang MRT station to support increasing demand for housing and amenities in the area, making it more convenient for Singaporeans to live, work and play, and rediscover local heritage delights in Hougang.
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Read more about Hougang’s heritage here: Hougang Heritage Trail