63-66 Yung Kang Road
These four residences are better known as the “diamond blocks” because of the unusual way they are connected. The 21-storey apartment towers are joined together to form a diamond courtyard for residents of its 456 apartment units. It was completed in early 1973 by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) as part of its efforts to develop an industrial town. The agency in charge of Singapore’s early industrialisation drive not only helped industrialists develop factories but also built housing for its workers. The Yung Kang Road flats were rented out to companies to house their employees, including foreigners. Besides these four blocks, JTC also developed residences in the neighbouring Taman Jurong, Boon Lay Gardens, Teban Gardens and Pandan Gardens.
The S$4.3-million complex at Yung Kang Road was envisioned to be one of JTC’s two prestige projects in Jurong. While the Jurong Town Hall offered office space, the “diamond blocks” was the town’s first shopping complex. Its design was compared to the mixed used development that the Housing & Development Board (HDB) had built in Outram Park. Its first two levels contained 38 shop spaces, including Jurong’s first supermarket, while the apartments were above it. When the complex was first completed, they were also the highest buildings in the town and offered commanding views of the nearby Jurong Lake. It became known amongst residents as “ji sap ek lau” or Hokkien for “21-storey”.
In 1982, JTC handed all its flats over to the HDB. The Yung Kang Road flats were kept as rental units until 2001. Due to falling occupancy rates, HDB relocated the remaining tenants to nearby rental blocks but allowed the shops to remain. Although there was talk of demolishing the flats, they were offered as low-cost housing to people without permanent homes between 2009 to 2014. Then, they were spruced up as temporary housing for families waiting for their new Build-To-Order flats. In 2020, the flats were refurbished because of the Covid-19 pandemic to temporarily house healthy foreign workers in essential services.
Location: 63-66 Yung Kang Road Singapore 610063
Architects: Jurong Town Corporation
Year: c. 1973
Status: Not conserved
Sources:
“JTC Tender Notice.” The Straits Times, 2 March 1973, 35.
“JTC to get 2000 new flat units next year.” New Nation, 29 November 1972, 2.
“Jurong’s first shopping complex.” New Nation, 24 April 1971, 3.
Lee, Pearl. “Diamond HDB blocks in Jurong a rare gem.” The Straits Times, 2 March 2017.
“PIEU sets up first supermarket in Jurong.” The Straits Times, 5 December 1974, 6.
“Work under way on Jurong town hall, shop complex.” The Straits Times, 20 December 1971, 9.
Yuen, Sin. “Coronavirus: Diamond HDB blocks in Taman Jurong to house healthy foreign workers in essential services.” The Straits Times, 17 April 2020.
Last modified on 25 May 2021. Description by Justin Zhuang.
