AN INTEGRATED ELDERLY CARE AT HDB ESTATE

Abstract

The thesis attempts to address the emerging issues caused by the greying society of Singapore. With increasing number of elderly and changing perspectives about ageing, the current elderly care is not sufficient for the needs in neither quantity nor quality. At the same time, the public domain of urban context is not conducive for the elderly but discouraging them from engaging into community. By locating the site within the high-rise, high-density HDB estate, the project is a demonstration of how the elderly care can be integrated with the existing urban context of the HDB community. The integrated elderly care is functionally divided according to the different needs of elderly at a range of ability levels, namely daycare, assisted living and skilled nursing. The spatial organization is a therapeutic approach to encourage the elderly to use the facilities freely. Prudent consideration is also given to include the existing residents in this intervention. A commonly seen multi-storey car park is chosen as the main site of the project for its key traffic location among the HDB blocks within a neighborhood. The conversion of the carpark from a purely functional building into a place that the residents actually use, appreciate and gradually their thoughts of how an elder can live his life in the heartland urban context can be changed.