Kahler Slater’s Singapore office worked with National University Hospital in Singapore to design a new, 20-story, 775,000 SF Medical Center complex offering world-class healing plus learning and teaching experiences for cancer and ambulatory care. Integrating excellent clinical care, translational research and superior medical instruction supports their vision, “Shaping Medicine for the Future.”

The project houses the National University Cancer Institute of Singapore (NCIS), eight specialist outpatient clinics and surgery suites, as well as teaching and research programs. As a prominent academic medical center, a major influence on design was the teaching and educational experience. Core to the project was a complete re-imagining of the undergraduate medical student learning program and a redesign of the curriculum. Kahler Slater led design evolution with benchmarking trips to other academic medical centers in South Korea, Taipei and the United States. The team conducted visioning workshops and focus groups with NUH students, faculty and administration. Four weeks of observational research and rapid prototyping led to a strong understanding of the existing clinical experiences and testing of innovative new operational and environmental ideas.

Partnering with local architect CIAP, Kahler Slater designed new consult rooms for students to observe doctor/patient care and interaction directly from the doctor's perspective – which most closely replicates their future clinical experience. Creating centralized technology rich "teaching hubs" allow students and faculty to privately debrief and learn together. This world-class, patient-centered environment includes a light-filled atrium, sky gardens, pocket parks and retail spaces, providing amenities for patients and the general public.