Dakota Crescent is one of Singapore’s oldest public housing. Built in the late 1950s, the iconic architecture have long been taken for granted. But since the announcement to redevelop the antiquated houses, no small amount of visitors have flocked to the quaint and unassuming housing estate, hoping to capture the last vestiges of Singapore’s first public housing.
Obviously, we could not pass down this opportunity! Dakota Crescent is located near Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, a two-storey smorgasbord of local cuisines and dishes (look out for that Makan Hunt in the near future). Armed with our trusted Fujifilm XT-10 and our creative juices and keen eyes, we headed down to Dakota to capture memorable moments!
The housing estates at Dakota Crescent are low-rise, in contrast to the modern HDBs which can rise as high as 40 storeys.
A peek into one of the many empty units; the residents were told to vacate by the end of 2016.
Hello.The folding doors of the balconies were unique and multi-coloured (other than the one pictured here).Equally archaic were the lifts, which appeared to be mechanised, and much slower than the modern hydraulic lifts.
Fighter jets were spotted during our visit to Dakota; unsurprising given that the air base is so close by!
It was heartening to see students actively serving the ageing community here!One the several animal-themed playgrounds in Singapore, this 40-year old playground is designed in the shape of a dove! There are slides, a low bridge and swings for children to safely enjoy!
A bit dangerous there Damian…Can I climb down?
Sandra the adventurer!A rather odd selfie…Damian clearly not perturbed by the lack of handrails…!We can imagine the playground being a fun place to play ‘hide-and-seek’…
Really old lift buttons!One cannot resist a selfie in a claustrophobic lift…To encourage active lifestyles, multi-purpose courts like this were built in the middle of the estate! One can imagine playing handball, badminton and even sepak takraw, or ‘kick volleyball’!Notice anything…? 😉As if the residents knew there would be visitors, we found an interesting sticker on one of the doors!
I spy with my little eye…
Damian sneakily peeping into one of the many abandoned units…
Finally, we also took a couple of instax, as seen below!
Multiple Exposure: This was taken outside a cafe around Dakota (which is sadly no longer open), juxtaposed against a black poster of a girl on a swing!Multiple Exposure: The same wall poster, and the background of the older Dakota estate!
It is sad and rather poignant, visiting these estates (see our entry about Rochor Centre, another unique housing/commercial estate being demolished this year) and knowing that they may not be around any more! So what are you waiting for; go out there and get snapping!
Damian with Sandra 
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