This photograph captures the official opening of the first phase of the Bukit Ho Swee housing estate in September 1961. The newly completed flats, five blocks of one-room, semi-communal units, housed residents displaced by the devastating fire of May 1961. The government carried on building more homes at the Bukit Ho Swee fire site in February 1962. This effort to rehouse all affected residents marked a turning point in Singapore's public housing, prioritising safety and modern living.
