Design Vocabulary: Maisonette or Mansionette?
Although no longer produced by Housing and Development Board (HDB), maisonettes are still in demand. Here's why
A spokesperson for HDB answered: “We do not use the term ‘mansionette’.”
She explained: “HDB introduced the Executive Maisonettes (EMs) in 1980. The typical floor area of such EMs range from 140 square metres to 145 square metres. They are double-storey units generally designed with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the upper floor, and a living/dining room, kitchen, bathroom, utility/store room, and balcony on the lower floor. Some of the EMs also come with an additional study/bedroom on the lower floor.”
HDB ceased construction of EMs in 1995, when the Executive Condominium (EC) scheme was introduced. In a statement to Parliament exactly five years ago (mid-October 2012), then Minister for National Development Mr. Khaw Boon Wan (he is now Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport) reiterated that HDB would not be building any more EMs. ECs, he said, offered a duplex option for those looking for similar two-storey units.
EC options are both smaller and larger than the range of EMs, ranging from 69 to 324 square metres – so homeowners who are looking for a maisonette because of its larger footprint still have such options. HDB lists flat types and EC eligibility on their website.
If you’re looking online for a resale maisonette, typing in the correct term will yield better search results for you. Likewise, if you’re looking for maisonette design inspiration and ideas on Houzz!
If you’ve been using ‘mansionette’, however, you’re not completely off the mark. Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “a large, luxurious flat or maisonette”. It defines ‘maisonette’ as “a set of rooms for living in, typically on two storeys of a larger building and having a separate entrance”.
If you’ve been using ‘mansionette’, however, you’re not completely off the mark. Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “a large, luxurious flat or maisonette”. It defines ‘maisonette’ as “a set of rooms for living in, typically on two storeys of a larger building and having a separate entrance”.
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Do you live in a maisonette or want to live in one? What do you like about it? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Do you live in a maisonette or want to live in one? What do you like about it? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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So we reached out to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to clarify: maisonette or mansionette?