Ng Teng Fong General Hospital & Jurong Community Hospital

NTFGH-JCH advances the Singapore Ministry of Health’s goal to provide high-quality, affordable care to all. It is the city-state’s first medical campus with an outpatient clinic, community hospital and acute care general hospital.

The AIA’s Committee on the Environment honored the project as one of the best examples of sustainable design excellence. The performance-based design—based on passive principles—supports health, well-being and resource efficiency.

Designed with a mandate to “create a hospital without walls,” Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and its sawtooth plan revolutionizes the traditional healthcare model by providing every patient with an operational window. The design responds to the position of the sun and prevailing breezes.

The vast majority of the facility is passively cooled and naturally ventilated. Thermal mass, ceiling fans, cross ventilation and exterior shading ensure the temperature remains comfortable, with typical ventilation rates that are higher than in a standard U.S. patient room. Operating suites, imaging, isolation rooms and other critical areas are mechanically ventilated.

Dense vegetation covering low roofs and much of the site form healing gardens, staff respite areas and community park space. Vegetation also grows vertically up the building providing patients with direct views of nature despite the hospital’s urban setting.

As design and medical planning consultant, HOK collaborated with the Singapore Ministry of Health and a team that included CPG Corporation (prime architect and architect of record) and Studio 505 (design collaborator focusing on building envelope development).