In places like Australia and Japan, designers and homeowners can choose from a range of standard-size doors. In Singapore, HDB flat-owners are already enjoying this benefit when they renovate their homes because HDB has standardised its door sizes. This will change in the near future when standard sizes are recommended for doors as one of the features of Buildable Design in Singapore. Other components whose dimensions are being standardised are precast staircases, refuse chutes and civil defence household shelters. Flat Plate Design 7.
Flat plate is another good design alternative to increase buildability.
It offers homeowners more room to express their individuality. With ceilings that are not cluttered by unsightly overhead beams, they can change the size of the rooms and even combine multiple units into one single suite. This is possible with flat plate because partition walls can be positioned in places not possible in conventional construction. Due to the absence of beams, it is possible to mount pipes and cables on the underside of the slab. That means homeowners wanting to install other services later on do not have to hack through beams, making a mess and threatening structural integrity.