St John’s Home for Elderly Persons

St John’s Home for Elderly Persons provides shelter for the elderly who have no home or suitable accommodation and no families who have adequate resources to look after them.

The Home is open to all regardless of race and creed. It provides long-term residential care for men and women over the age of 60 who are ambulant.

The Challenge

The Home began operating on 21 December 1958 at Wan Tho Avenue, Singapore on a leased site of 12,290 square metres. When the lease was close to expiring in December 2015, a new lease for 30 years was offered for only 3,300 square metres of the land on part of the existing site from January 2016. However, the licensed capacity was to be increased from 100 to 150 residents. The Home would therefore require a new building to accommodate a larger capacity on a smaller site.

With the help of the Singapore Institute of Architects, a competition was launched to select a design for the new home. Aamer Architect’s design was the winner out of a total 52 submissions.

The new St John’s Home is not about the conventional notion of occupying spaces, but rather crafting an ambiance that one seeks that is beneficial to the mind, body and soul.

“We began this project by appreciating residents’ and operational needs, and a sincere desire to improve their quality of life by providing that ‘home’ away from home being comfortable, user-friendly, interactive and well able to connect with the community… aspiring to make people happier actually,” said Aamer Taher of Aamer Architect.This intent is achieved through clear process and site planning that embrace the needs of the residents with a variety of well-designed spaces that elevate their self-esteem and well-being. — Construction+ Online

Project:  St John’s Home for Elderly Persons
Architect Firm: Aamer Architects
Expected Completion: December 2020
Site Are: 3,300 square metres
Built-up Area: 5,000 square metres
Owner: St John’s Home for Elderly Person (charity organisation)
Building Height: 5 storeys; 26 metres