Concept → design development
Daylight & glare analysis
Annual daylight and glare probability across ward and consult typologies to size shading.
Daylight retained at bed level without glare on clinical tasks.
Total Building Performance mandate
Visuals: daylight, view and glare
Daylight and view without glare on a clinical task surface.
5/5
The project's clearest success and its signature — daylight and view are structural, not decorative.
At Woodlands Hospital
Shallow floor plates and generous glazing deliver daylight and a green outlook from almost every inpatient bed.
Deep external shading and light shelves control glare; artificial lighting is layered so clinical task lighting does not dictate ambient levels at night.
Wayfinding relies on visual connection to the landscape rather than signage alone.
Computational design support used for this mandate
Design → pre-construction
Physical & VR mock-ups
Full-size ward and consult-room prototypes tested by clinical users before the module was repeated.
Errors were corrected once, then multiplied out as a benefit across hundreds of rooms.
The trade-off
Deep external shading protects against glare and heat gain but reduces the daylight reaching the back of a room. Under Singapore's bright overcast sky the balance falls towards shading, with interior finishes and light shelves recovering brightness at depth.