College of Medicine Building
The College of Medicine Building is a historic building in Singapore, located within the grounds of the Singapore General Hospital at Outram Park, within the Bukit Merah Planning Area near Singapore's central business district. Its name comes from its former function as the location for the King Edward VII College of Medicine, the first school of medicine in the Straits Settlements.
| College of Medicine Building | |
|---|---|
医药学院大厦 Bangunan Maktab Perubatan | |
 | |
| |
| General information | |
| Type | Government offices |
| Architectural style | Low-rise |
| Location | 16 College Road, Singapore 169854 |
| Coordinates | 1°16′49″N 103°50′01.7″E |
| Owner | Ministry of Health |
| Management | Ministry of Health |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Designated | 2 December 2002 |
History
The Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School was established in 1905 in a former women's mental asylum[1] at Sepoy Lines as Singapore's first medical training institution. It was subsequently renamed the King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1921. To help accommodate the expanding medical school, the College of Medicine Building was built in 1926.[1] The medical college would go on to occupy this building even while it later became the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and its successor institutions the University of Singapore and National University of Singapore.
In 1982, the Faculty of Medicine moved into new buildings and a new National University Hospital erected at the new Kent Ridge campus of the National University of Singapore. The College of Medicine Building was preserved as the seat of the Academy of Medicine, whose members are largely alumni of the medical school. From 1985 to 1987, the building underwent restoration.
The College of Medicine Building was gazetted as a national monument on 2 December 2002.
Architecture
The College of Medicine Building was built in reinforced concrete with a massive, floral Neo-Classical façade of Doric columns. This grand colonnade, designed by Italian sculptor Cavaliere Rudolfo Nolli, dominates the building's façade, with bas reliefs depicting the Allegory of Healing on the walls on either side. Behind this colonnade are a row of eleven enormous doors. A sculptured Roman spread-eagle, encircled by a wreath, emblazons above the central doorway.
At one time, there was a long, elliptical pool of water in front of the building, which helped to reflect and soften its massive image, but this pool has long since vanished.
During the building's restoration in the 1980s, a grand staircase in the main lobby, which was in the original plan but never built, was installed as originally intended.
References
- Faridah Abdul Rashid (2012). Research on the Early Malay Doctors 1900-1957 Malaya and Singapore. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 289–. ISBN 978-1-4691-7243-9.
- National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
- Norman Edwards, Peter Keys (1996), Singapore - A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places, Times Books International, ISBN 9971-65-231-5
- Edwin Lee (1990), Historic Buildings of Singapore, Preservation of Monuments Board, ISBN 9971-88-224-8
- Teo ES. "The history of the College of Medicine and Tan Teck Guan Buildings". Annals of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore. 2005 Jul;34(6):61C-71C.