The Lien Foundation and design firm COLOURS’s book containing 10 intriguing ideas to transform under-used spaces in Singapore into thriving communities for seniors is shortlisted for INDE.Awards 2018 in ‘The Influencer’ category. Find out more!
June 12th, 2018
Singapore’s population of seniors is projected to double by 2030. For a long time, ageing has been considered to be either a private family matter or a national statistical issue. “But there’s been a blank space at the precinct level,” says Dr Chong Keng Hua, co-founder (with Kang Fong Ing) of design consultancy COLOURS: Collectively Ours.
In Dr Chong’s view, there is a need to rethink the way we approach the ageing community. “The baby boomer generation is different than the pioneer generation. And in our future ageing community, they are part of the solution, not the problem,” he says.
Commissioned by the Lien Foundation, COLOURS has devised ten spatial typologies that could help seniors to pursue interests, socialise, exercise and (if required) be cared for within the community. The project has been published in a book titled Second Beginnings: Senior Living Redefined.
The typologies were developed using a set of principles called the four Ds: de-institutionalise (bring healthcare services down to the community level), de-localise (break away from a geographically bound system and move toward interest-based social spaces), differentiate (create differentiated care for diverse segments of the senior population) and develop (focus on development and growth).
The ten typologies treat Singapore’s space crunch as an opportunity to spark innovation and to do more with less, rather than as an excuse to maintain the status quo. The ‘Wholesome Market’ for example, is presented as a way to weave geriatric care into daily routines. The proposed site is the Jurong West Street 41 market where care facilities would be co-located with healthy hawker stalls. Rather than wait in line at hospitals for consultations, seniors could linger at the hawker centre with friends. A curved ramp leads to the rooftop to promote ‘stealth exercise’.
Another example is the ‘Garden of Life’, a public park with an inpatient hospice to celebrate lives well-lived. Proposed at the Tanjong Rhu Promenade, this typology proposes the co-location of a nature park, a tree nursery and an inpatient hospice care facility (where family members can also stay).
It’s both a tranquil place for the terminally ill to live out their last days, and a public space that invites people to celebrate life. The nursery park doubles as an ash garden.
View more images here.
The Lien Foundation and COLOURS welcomes private and public institutions that are interested in developing the typologies further.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Create a configuration to suit your needs with this curved collection.
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
‘The Elevation of Gravity’ installation was an immersive showcase of innovation that heralded the debut of Gaggenau’s groundbreaking Essential Induction cooktop.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
Meet a group of product designers who are making their presence felt not only at home but across the globe.
From housing affordability to questions of density, multi-residential design and the future of cities, here are eight varied stories from our archives.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Adaptive reuse is all the rage across the design industry, and rightly so. Here, we present a selection of articles on this most effective approach to sustainability.
Paying homage to that wonderful tool of life, the book, SJK Architects’ design for the new headquarters of Penguin Random House is both a temple to the library and a captivating place to work.