The HeARTlands IV Mystery Cache

This is a mystery multi-cache that celebrates the artworks at the very heart of the Singaporean Heartlands. Dig deep into the quirkier and artsier side of the history of Singapore HDBs and perhaps, learn a little more about the often overlooked art and architecture around us. There’s nothing of note at the published coordinates, instructions are below.

Stage 1: HDB’s Rich and Colourful History

Before we start…this stage is not strictly a field puzzle. All the information can be found online, if you know where to look. However, if you wish to go into the “field” to find the answers, no one is going to stop you, of course.

Scattered around Singapore’s HDB estates are little bits of heritage, some more well-known than others. Search and discover the following numbers to reveal the coordinates for the next stage.

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Singapore’s national flower was serendipitously discovered in the garden of a lady whose name the flower now bears. The sites of her house and her garden are now long gone and replaced with a cluster of HDB flats. However, a “replacement” garden has been set up in its place next to a block of those flats and planted with that very same flower. The block number of the HDB block nearest to that garden is the value of A.

The HDB (Housing and Development Board) was formed in 1960 in place of the SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust) with the task of providing public housing. One of its earliest projects was to build a cluster of flats in an area named for the place trains once stop to wait for the signal to indicate that the tracks were clear. The number of storeys that these flats have is BC.

Some may consider the shape of these flats lucky, but for the HDB, the design and construction of this landmark block of flats marked a bold experiment in architecture (and for the residents, a challenge in furniture design). With commanding views of the Central Catchment Area, this 24-storey block stands tall both in actual height and in Singapore history.  The sum of the digits of this block’s number is DE.

There are many HDB New Towns in Singapore, but this tiny town with a huge identity stands out from the rest. Many of its blocks are built with unconventional long slanted “slide roofs”, which may or may not have contributed to the town’s rather maverick inclinations. The sum of the digits of the town’s most “welcoming” block is F.

Located in the downtown area, many would recognise the flamboyant quartet of HDB flats that has defined the area’s identity for years. Soon to be demolished to make way for a new expressway, the bright colours of the four blocks will soon only be a memory. The block number of the blue block is G.

In Singapore’s east, there a town that some have argued takes its name from a group of very beautiful ladies from Chinese history. The streets in this town were initially named after the ladies’ names, but after complaints that non-Chinese residents were finding it hard to pronounce the street names, HDB reverted to just numbering the streets. The number of the street that was previously named after the lady pictured below is H. [Additional note for H: there is an old newspaper image with a map that shows the old names of the roads. Use that source to find H]

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Stage 2: Art at the Very Heart

This stage is definitely a field puzzle! Don’t worry, the final is close by.

This stage is located at:

North 01 19. (H + E – D) (A + B + C) (F – B)

East 103 50. (F + G  + C) (H – D – B) (B + D)     

When you arrive at the coordinates, you should see a very prominent sculpture outside the building. The last digit of the year the metal sculpture was commissioned is I.

Step into the nearby building and inside, you should spot a long piece of collaborative art. Search for the values hidden behind the box in the photo below.