MEDICAL CAMPUS IN THE URBAN CITY

Abstract

This thesis aims to design create a gathering point for the education and research zone in SGH campus which also serve as a public civic space for the medical graduate students, medical staff, patients, visitors to the hospital grounds and anyone interested in the furthering of their medical knowledge. To bring together these different groups of people from different zones within a medical site in an informal and interactive manner to promote knowledge exchange. This social civic space takes the form of a wellness and medical library inserted along and onto an upper level green promenade which bridges through the entire medical campus of SGH. The library is transformed into both a venue to go to and a transitional space to pass through. This thesis extends on the concept of the boutique libraries in Singapore as a medium to the exchange of specialized knowledge. Transformation of the library from merely a resource and hardware store to a more interactive place that is attuned to the holistic and sensuality of places – A place and program that appeal to our senses – is a start to the breaking down of the rigid grid of closed-in boundaries and historical stigma to existing hospital buildings and environment. Singapore General Hospital was chosen for its position as the main public healthcare service provider in Singapore, site concentration of specialist centers and master-plan expansion of its research and educational facilities. Strategic global position, cosmopolitan and culturally rich community in Singapore, propels the wellness knowledge hub to be a regional hub for alternative MEDICAL INFORMATION FOR THE REGION AND TO THE REGION. It can be financially viable too, drawing on growing medical tourist numbers.