An Old Folk’s Home Part 1 Project 2011 You Zhi Eugene Tan National University of Singapore | Singapore The inevitable onset of old age engenders chronic ailments which require prolonged andassisted care in order for their effects to be abated. Recognising these conditions, theGeriatric Treatment Centre for medical tourists is a place where the patient and care-giverrelationship is emphasized and fostered, preparing the pair for eventual medical autonomy athome.With the primary demographic of Singapore's Chinatown being older folk, the interveningGeriatric Treatment Centre will invariably spark an interface between the old-aged touristsand the elderly residents of Chinatown. Although the program is designated to cater formedical tourists alone, the aim is to utilise an intensive urban and programmatic analysis tocreate Place where both the local residents and tourists may dwell; a home for the old folks.The area around the site is a cogent trace of Singapore's urban history. Dominating theskyline are the podium-tower blocks, architectural experiments of the 1970s; symbols ofmodern Singapore. Surrounding these pillars of concrete is a sea of shophouses.Constructed as early as 1840, these row houses are counterpoints to their larger neighbours;creating urban contrasts of texture, grain and scale.Through the invention of a new morphology, my intervention aspires to be a healingconnection, mediating between the shophouse typology and the larger podium-tower blocks.Within this shell, a sanctuary is created within the busy urban context, appealing to theingrained sensitivities of both demographics. Space and form thus emerge as the paramountelixirs. You Zhi Eugene Tan