HDB's first testbed BTO is done, and its beam-free living space has been rolled out to six projects
Garden Waterfront II @ Tengah was completed in June 2026 and both Construction Transformation Project sites are on track for a 25% site productivity gain. Inside the flat, the design change is the beam- and column-free living space, rolled out to six projects to date, including Bayshore, Bukit Merah, Kallang/Whampoa and Mount Pleasant.
HDB's first Construction Transformation Project is finished. The target was 25% more built floor area per manday, against a baseline of 0.6 m²/manday, and HDB says both Garden Waterfront projects are on track to hit it. Garden Waterfront II @ Tengah completed in June 2026. Garden Waterfront I is due by the end of 2026.
That is a builder's number. What matters to a buyer is what HDB says happens next: several of the innovations are now being adapted and progressively introduced in other BTO projects.
What HDB tested at Tengah, and what came after
Select a column heading to sort.
Off-site fabrication system
Moves more structural work off site, cutting crane use, manpower and site congestion
Used across Garden Waterfront I and II @ Tengah
Standardised precast components and moulds
Common parts produced at scale, so HDB can redirect supply where it is needed
HDB says it will standardise more precast components
Published by haio Research on haio.sg — Singapore property analysis built on official URA, HDB and data.gov.sg records.
Read this article with its live charts at https://haio.sg/news/hdb-got-rid-of-the-beams-in-the-living-room-and-six-more-projects-are-already/
Living spaces with no beams or columns
Gives residents more flexibility to configure their homes
Rolled out to six projects to date, including Bayshore, Bukit Merah, Kallang/Whampoa and Mount Pleasant
SkyJuster
A gyroscopic device that controls rotation and stabilisation mid-lift, so fewer workers guide panels by hand
Piloted under the Tengah project
Intelligent Lifting Frame
Developed after the SkyJuster with NUS and A*STAR. Real-time sensing keeps heavy loads level and lets the crane operator fine-tune lifting points remotely, with potential to improve lifting productivity by up to 30%
Trialled at a Jurong West BTO project, not at Tengah, and still being refined
3D concrete printing
Builds complex shapes without moulds or formwork. The 22-segment botanic arbor at Tengah used an estimated 50% less concrete than a conventional structure of the same size
Printed at HDB's Centre of Building Research at Woodlands, installed at Garden Waterfront's common green
Standardisation matters in a quieter way. Common precast parts that fit more projects let HDB redirect supply where it is needed, which HDB says strengthens the resilience of its building programme.
What changes inside the flat
Most of that list is about how HDB builds. Two things change inside the flat itself.
Building on the modular system, HDB developed flats whose living spaces have no beams or columns, which gives residents more flexibility to configure the home around their needs. The design has been rolled out to six projects to date, Bayshore, Bukit Merah, Kallang/Whampoa and Mount Pleasant among them.
Garden Waterfront I and II are also the first Tengah BTO projects whose flats will be equipped with a Smart Adapter, letting households monitor their electricity use in real time.
haio's take
A testbed that hits its target is worth something, but be clear about what it measures. Twenty-five percent more floor area per manday is a productivity gain on HDB's building sites. The resident-facing part is narrower: the beam- and column-free living space, rolled out to six projects to date, and the Smart Adapter in Garden Waterfront's flats.
Our view: when you compare BTO projects, a beam- and column-free living space is worth checking for, the same way you would check floor level or orientation. It has been rolled out to six projects so far, so it may not be on offer in the project you are weighing.
Estimate only, not financial advice. A model-generated guide from public data, not a formal valuation; actual prices and bank valuations may differ, so verify before acting. haio accepts no liability for decisions made in reliance on it.
