St Joseph’s Home in Singapore by SAA Architects, part of the urban infrastructure consultancy Surbana Jurong group of companies, has won the silver award in the healthcare category at the 2019 World Architecture News (WAN) Awards in London. The award honours global architectural excellence in a number of categories.
Located in the western neighbourhood of Jurong, St Joseph’s Home opened its doors in 2017 after completing a massive redevelopment programme. It celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018.
The former single-story building has been replcaed with a six-storey complex that houses 412 beds. While retaining the familiarity of the facility and the ground-level environment, surrounded by verdant tableau, the firm added planters to the corridors, and built interconnecting communal spaces.
Each floor features wide corridors and looped walking paths dotted with plants, providing natural light and a green view from all the bedrooms. An intergenerational playground and a childcare were also incorporated into the project, featuring a wheelchair-friendly see-saw to foster social interaction between the children and the residents. The existing chapel, which was part of the original complex and forms the core of the project has also been restored. The firm shared that the concept behind the redevelopment project was to focus on people living here and not just create an institutional premise.
