GoodLife! Makan wins two prestigious SIA Architectural Design Awards |
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GoodLife! Makan, a recreational cooking, dining and activity centre for seniors at the converted void deck of 52 Marine Terrace in Singapore, has been awarded two prestigious accolades at Singapore Institute of Architects’ (SIA) Architectural Design Awards 2016. For its groundbreaking design concept, GoodLife! Makan was conferred the SIA Architectural Design Award in the Alterations & Additions category, beating out 6 shortlisted entrants, and was specially acknowledged by SIA as the “Best Project with Construction Budget of less than S$2 million”. GoodLife! Makan was one of only two projects to win SIA’s special jury awards (the other being “Building of the Year”), chosen from a total of 26 award winners that night.
On the accolade, lead designer and DP Architects’ director Seah Chee Huang said, “We are humbled by the awards and kind acknowledgement by fellow architectural fraternity members on this extremely meaningful project. We are very thankful to have worked with an enlightened client, on pioneering this prototype of a community space which reintegrates stay-alone elderly into society through the simple but powerful notion of food, in a borderless and vibrant setting. The design acts as a catalyst for alternative ways to reimagine and create a more purposeful and inclusive built environment, especially in the face of our rapidly greying social fabric. The Singapore Institute of Architects Architectural Design Award further serves as a motivation for local architects to actively partake in design that has a positive social impact on our community.”
The successful concept of GoodLife! Makan lies in how it supports ageing-in-place and meaningful pastimes that address the physical and mental wellness of seniors, through an initiative created by Montfort Care. Measuring 360sqm, the design articulates the client’s aims through its open plan and communal kitchen at its nucleus. The place aims largely at reconnecting stay-alone elderly to the wider community to facilitate multi-generational exchanges. With cooking and dining together as the essence of the experience, the activity space provides opportunities for senior residents to interact and socialise, while developing roles and responsibilities from the rituals of food preparation and consumption.
The design capitalised on its porous void deck setting to create a colourful, open and fenceless compound, to reduce social stigma and shift away from conventional gated or glazed-up elderly activity centre models. As a result, GoodLife! Makan is an inviting communal space allowing for much cross-ventilation and daylight.
The awards ceremony was held at Conrad Centennial Singapore on September 29, 2016.
Media coverage:
https://www.e-architect.co.uk/singapore/goodlife-makan
https://www.livegreenblog.com/news/awarded-architecture-for-senior-citizens-by-dp-architects-12001/
https://archibazaar.com/project/goodlife-makan/
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/design/buildings-birdsong