“78 Commonwealth Drive, Demolished 2017, 001” from the series “HDB Public Housing Facades”

Blocks 74 to 80 Commonwealth Drive were among the first public housing blocks constructed by the Housing Development Board (HDB) during its inaugural Five Year Programme. Distinguished by their diagonal external staircases, these blocks gained national prominence as they appeared on Singapore's Orchid Series one-dollar note and Marine Series one-cent coin in 1967. Colloquially referred to as "Chup Lau Chu" (ten-storey houses in Hokkien), these early HDB blocks were eventually demolished after 2020 as part of HDB's most extensive Selective Enbloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) project.