87case study

CASE STUDYSingapore feeling impact of rapidly ageing population
By Kelly NG

Singapore | Kampung Admiralty

Ageing Well Together

Number of working-age citizens has peaked
Citizens aged 20-64

Citizens aged 65 and older

2.2M
1.9M

1.9M

1:2

1:5

1:8

900K
220K
2000

440K
2005

2010

2015

2020

2025

2030
TODAY

Source: National Population and Talent Division
Number of Singapore’s working-age citizens has peake

At Kampung Admiralty, seniors can join a mass exercise, check on theirhealth, and even play with their grandchildren—all at their doorstep.

Singapore has to quickly respond to the trend of an ageing population.

The Challenge
struggle to live independently or are
cut off from society.
In 2015, the city-state introduced theAction Plan for Successful Ageing toensure Singapore remains an attractive
place to grow old in, and where seniors
can realise their fullest potential
and are cared as integral membersof society. Kampung Admiralty—
Singapore’s first retirement village—isa physical expression of this vision.

Justin Zhuang is a writer who sees the world through design.

SINGAPOREISSUE 16 • JAN 2020

Singapore is ageing. In 2015, some
1 in 8 Singaporeans were aged 65 orolder. This proportion will double
by 2030 when it is estimated to haveover 900,000 seniors. An ageing
population has implications for society,such as rising demand for healthcare
and social services. Coupled with thetrend of smaller nuclear families andmore people staying single, moreelderly households in Singapore may
experience social isolation as they89case study

The Solution
Completed in 2017 by the Housing andDevelopment Board (HDB) together
with other public agencies, KampungAdmiralty combines public housing
apartments with a wide variety of lifestyleservices and public amenities in a single
integrated development. These different
functions are stacked one on top of
another to create an 11-storey “verticalvillage” just for seniors.
The entire development is designed withthe elderly in mind. Residents aged 55
and above live in two towers of studioapartments that sit atop Kampung
Admiralty. The units are installed withsenior-friendly features, including grab
bars, slip-proof flooring, retractable
clothes-drying racks in the kitchen
and alarms to notify neighbours in anemergency. “Buddy benches” are also
installed at the entrances of each unit toencourage residents to socialise.

In these ways, Kampung Admiralty
attracts the entire neighbourhood tomake it lively for all. “Kampung Admiralty
shows that co-locating multiple uses thateveryone needs…makes life easier for
the whole neighbourhood. But whatmakes them want to stay and spend time
together, share a meal, participate inactivities and get to know new friends
is that the building is open, friendly,
comfortable, accessible and very green.
The convenience draws people in, and theatmosphere makes people want to stay,”shares Wong Mun Summ, co-founderof WOHA, the architectural firm thatdesigned the development.

01

An Active Ageing
Hub offers residents
opportunities tointeract throughactivities such as line
dancing and a weekly
cooking session.

01

Two towers of studio apartments have been set aside for older residents in Kampung Admiralty.

02

Intergenerational programmes provide opportunities for the young and old to interact.

ISSUE 16 • JAN 2020

Efforts to promote social bonding
continue at a community garden below
the apartment blocks. An Active Ageing
Hub offers residents opportunities tointeract through activities such as line
dancing and a weekly cooking sessionthat uses produce from the communitygarden. Next to the hub is a childcare
centre that regularly organises activities
for both generations to come together
through storytelling and craft workshops.
Unlike other hubs that charge amembership fee, the hub at Kampung
Admiralty lets seniors participate in its
activities for free if they volunteer forat least three hours a week. This could
include helping the centre with careduties for frail seniors or organising
activities for fellow retirees.

To encourage residents to be active,
Kampung Admiralty incorporates arange of services in the development,
including a two-storey medical centre, asupermarket, cafes and other retail stores.
A Community Plaza on the ground floor
allows for mass exercises, bazaars andcultural events. It also connects to an
MRT station, inviting the public into thedevelopment to enjoy spaces such as its
900-seat food court on the second floor.

02

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case study

The entire development
is designed with theelderly in mind.

The OutcomeSince the first residents moved in twoyears ago, Kampung Admiralty has
proved to be a model for ageing-inplace. According to a survey of 46
senior residents, their quality of life—interms of finding meaning or feelingempowered—has improved by 8%.

01

One reason may be the many activities
organised by the development’s Active
Ageing Hub. According to the directorof the hub, 1 in 5 residents take partin its activities. For retiree Poo Chee
Chiang and his wife, the hub has evenbecome like a second home as they
spend up to five days a week there. He
told LabourBeat, a website on workers
in Singapore: “There is a big group ofpeople here...with a lot of energy. If wewere to do things on our own, it becomeseasy to lose interest.”

01

Kampung Admiralty’s integrated
approach to caring for seniors has also
impressed those from overseas. In 2018,
the World Architecture Festival named
it the Building of the Year because thejury felt it offered lessons for cities
and countries around the world. Ina statement, the award’s programme
director, Paul Finch, said the project
was admirable for how it “dealt withthe universal condition of longevity
and health treatments, social housing
provision, and commercial space,which enabled substantial public
realm benefits”.
But the best endorsement has come fromSingapore’s commitment to develop andreplicate the model across the country. By
2026, a similar retirement village will bebuilt in the neighbourhood of Yew Tee,and more are expected to follow.

Kampung Admiralty’s community plaza is a vibrant place that draws people together.

ISSUE 16 • JAN 2020

The hub has also boosted the healthof nearby residents like Linda Ng.
Through activities in the hub, she learnt
how to eat healthily, exercises more
and is no longer cooped up at home.

She told TODAY newspaper: “My life
has changed…Now I’ve lost 8 kg and
my doctor said it was a miracle that mydiabetes got so much better.”