Singapore's public housing is far from what you would expect

Peter SteinhauerOne of the big, bold, tall, and dense colored public housing buildings in Singapore.

Singapore's slums were regarded as some of the worst in the world throughout the first half of the 20th century. After the passing of the Housing and Development Act in 1960, more than 50,000 units in big, low-cost buildings became available to city dwellers.

Now, roughly 80% of the city's population - nearly six million people - lives in these buildings, which are known as HDBs, from the name of the Housing and Development Board.

The public housing units have been a big help in restoring balance to Singapore's housing stock.

But they're also very visually arresting, built in bold colors and with playful designs.

When photographer Peter Steinhauer first moved to Singapore in 2000, it was impossible to avoid the sight of the public housing buildings.

"They just looked so bizarrely odd but beautiful," Steinhauer told Business Insider. "Singapore is a very clean place. It's a very nice place to live ... I think they just try to do this to make everything look nice."

Once he moved back to Singapore with his wife at the end of 2011, he began photographing them seriously. He's shared some of his best shots of the buildings here.