Almost everyone in Singapore lives on land they will never own. An HDB flat is sold on a 99-year lease, and the clock starts the day the block is built. When it ends, the flat and its land return to the state. So every home has two dates — the year it was built, and the year it dies.
This is an archive of those dates. Pull a home and meet it: the real building, where it stands, and its lifespan. The oldest flats still standing have already spent two-thirds of their lives. And 137 are gone entirely — under "the gone," you'll see what stands in their place today.
Not a forecast of eviction: some blocks are redeveloped early (SERS), a voluntary scheme (VERS) is planned, most simply run their lease down.
Photographs: Google Street View · lease dates: HDB resale records · locations: OneMap · data.gov.sg · built by ——