Graduate Medical School Singapore

29 Sep 2009 New Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore Officially Opens Singapore strengthens its position as world leader in healthcare education The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS), the first collaboration of its kind in Singapore between two of the world's top higher education institutions - Duke University in the USA and National University of Singapore - was opened yesterday, 28th September, by the country's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The new school building designed by UK-based international architects RMJM, will significantly boost the number of highly trained doctors in the country, demonstrating Singapore's commitment to becoming a world leader in healthcare and biomedical research. The new medical school building named Khoo Teck Puat Building in central Singapore is the first medical facility of its kind in a country which is rapidly ramping up investment in healthcare and biomedical research. RMJM is the design consultant; CPG Consultants Pte. Ltd of Singapore is the architect. An international business destination and one of Asia's wealthiest countries, Singapore is striving to become a world leader in healthcare and biomedical research. In 2000, the country launched the Singapore Biotechnology Initiative, committing S$3 billion over five years to accelerate development in biomedical sciences, offering incentives to attract companies to Singapore and funding research institutes devoted to genomics, nanotechnology, molecular and cell biology and cancer therapies. By increasing the number of well-trained doctors in the country, Duke-NUS brings Singapore closer to its goal of becoming the world's leading healthcare/biomedical destination. "We designed this new medical school in response to Duke University's and National University of Singapore's mission to educate students according to Duke's innovative method to develop doctors that excel in medical research, education and patient care," said Steven K. Gifford, managing principal of RMJM's Global Health and Science Studio. "This state-of-the art medical school is designed to meet the needs of frequently changing research teams and with three visions in mind: integrating the local, physical landscape; defining modern laboratories abroad; and responding to the equatorial climate while achieving a high degree of sustainability." The Dean of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Professor Ranga Krishnan commenting on the architecture said: "The building's design features are a perfect complement to our unique educational effort and in harmony with our innovative research program." At 26,000 square meters and 11 storeys tall, Duke-NUS is a "vertical campus", housing research offices, wet and dry laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls, a library, student lounges, a café and administrative offices. The placement of the building's functions and programmes were designed to build the academic community and promote scientific collaboration. The heartbeat of the building is the eight-story, glass central atrium, which ties the library and academic spaces on the ground level to principal investigators on the research floors above. The atrium promotes an ease of vertical circulation while promoting the most important goal: fostering collaboration on all levels between educators, principal investigators, post-doctoral candidates, research technicians and students. Students and faculty can have casual conversations in the comfortable public spaces while also enjoying glimpses and diagonal views throughout the hierarchy of the new open medical school. The building, which achieved Green Mark certification, is designed to maintain a comfortable temperature in Singapore's tropical climate. The exterior louvers and sunshades protect interior spaces while the building massing shades exterior courtyards. The ceramic tile used on the exterior contains titanium dioxide, a material that reduces the need for heavy maintenance, withstands mold in a tropical environment and is believed to reduce smog and pollutants in the air of urban environments. Strategically located in the heart of Singapore's General Hospital's Campus at Outram, the new facility will enjoy a close relationship with SingHealth's Singapore General Hospital, the tertiary-care teaching hospital associated with the Graduate Medical School. RMJM has previously designed research buildings for Duke University in North Carolina, including the Medical Science Research Building II (MSRB-II), which has achieved LEED Silver certification. The company is also completing other major health and research facilities in Singapore with projects currently under construction at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the acute general care Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore images / information from RMJM Singapore Architecture Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore architect : RMJM Duke University-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School RMJM Hillier picture from Hillier 250,000sqft “vertical campus” housing research offices, laboratories, classrooms, an amphitheater, library, and student lounges, the new medical school will bring Duke University’s research capabilities to Singapore. Singapore Tower Farrer Court Singapore