Singapore
The Camden Medical Centre is located at an interface between commercial and residential areas of Singapore. The 18-story building was designed to house medical suites and offices with retail space on the ground floor. Its cylindrical profile celebrates the culmination of Orchard Street, which links the commercial center at the harbor to the residential district above.
The cylindrical, multilayered metal shell wrapped around the building is also a consequence of equatorial conditions, where all exposures require solar protection. A combination of structural brise-soleil and horizontal fretted sun screens integrated into the façade provides protection from the sun and adds a human scale that relates to the rhythm of the residential towers to the east and southeast of the site. The circular plan is subdivided orthagonally, and the cylinder is serviced by a rectangular core. The cut-away portion of the cylindrical mass is occupied by an opaque, freestanding cylindrical escape stair pierced at intervals by slot windows.
Natural stone covers the ground-level retaining walls and elevator cores. This finish creates a strong contrast to the lightweight metallic walls of the tower. The building footprint was reduced to the minimum to allow for landscaped open space at grade.
The vehicle drop-off and turnaround is slightly depressed from the street and takes advantage of the slope to provide privacy for the main entrance. Pedestrian access is along a covered walkway that weaves through the ground floor of the building and permits the required covered connection to neighboring commercial buildings.
The Camden Medical Centre offers an alternative model for development within the overbuilt urban core, where more often than not structures rise to 60 stories.
新加坡的Camden Medical Centre是一幢18层的医疗建筑，由著名建筑师Richard Meier设计。其建筑风格独特，采用了圆柱形的外形，融合了多层金属幕墙和水平隔栅阳光屏幕，既提供了遮阳保护，又赋予了人文尺度，与东南面的住宅塔楼相呼应。建筑的平面图是圆形的，由矩形中心区域服务。圆柱体的侧面被切除，形成一个不透明的圆柱形逃生楼梯，其间隔开有狭缝窗口。华丽的建筑外观和自然石材地面形成了鲜明的对比。整座建筑的足迹被缩小到最小限度，以创造出底层的人行道空间。车辆停靠和掉头区域略微降低，利用了斜坡的高差，为主要入口提供了隐私。行人通道沿着覆盖的走廊穿过建筑的底层，并允许与相邻的商业建筑建立必要的覆盖连接。