They live their passion. They share a business ethic of uncompromising delivery. They are, each, visionaries in their trade, pushing boundaries and jettisoning the norm for that near-perfect object or experience, every time. And they are, as one of them proclaim, not your ‘everyday, demanding, practical, utilitarian Singaporeans’.
Dr Ho Kheng Thye’s clinic in Mount Alvernia Hospital is no mere ‘doctor’s office’. It epitomises the detail and creative vision of the collective efforts of the above mentioned quintet in design and execution, melding art, texture, hue and association with medicine and science to create a unique ‘healing space’. Your visit to the cardiologist will never be the same again.
A short introduction is in order before explaining the connections between this odd grouping of dissimilar individuals.
Heart specialist Dr. Ho Kheng Thye has been recognised for his ‘Proof of Concept’ research on perfusion.
Published last August in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologyit was significant enough to merit an editorial discussion of his findings. His research, simply put, has shown that a single CT scan can replace multiple tests and scans (which is current practice) to simultaneously assess anatomy (the heart) and function (blood flow).
Dr. Ho Kheng Thye
Alvin Wee is that rare individual whose passions (music, technology, design) are his work. As an interior designer with a single-minded devotion to natural stone, he creates milieu and meaning with original, inventive juxtapositions of colour, grain and shape. He is also a builder of pianos, an Apple evangelist and – unsurprisingly – a perfectionist.
A connoisseur of natural stone, Mrs May Koh of Polystone has plenty of poetry and passion to share on marble, quartz, granite, sandstone and onyx. Her perfectionism surpasses the norm and challenging requirements of designers like Alvin (“I need a very large piece of marble cut in flowing yin and yang sections to dovetail perfectly into a specific shape on installation”).
Nelson Cheong Kwong Weng, a carpenter and master of wood, wasoverheard saying “surely must be easier ways of making a living”.
Your everyday, utilitarian, practical Singaporean? Not here, not by a long shot!
Dr Ho’s clinic showcases an undulating piece of marble in the foyer (a desk) made of multiple strips of marble, painstakingly matched by grain (see left). 
The floor incorporates yin and yang (feng shui) marble, their mirrored reflection neither yin nor yang but the perfect shape of a heart (this, after all, is the clinic of a heart specialist). In an alcove, a spot lit resin sculpture Sitting on Love, by Mackenzie Thorpe (main picture), sourced online and shipped across by a London gallery.
Indeed, art meets the heart here, overtly and by implication.
And inside? Think continuous and freshly sprouting wheatgrass “the nectar of rejuvenation, the plasma of youth, the blood of all life” in lava stone trays beneath a disc of orange hued marble, backlit by hidden LED lights. Think stone, mined from the depths of the earth, imbued with hues of the sun, framed by living green, the whole visual experience subtly invoking life, growth, vitality, warmth, wonder … all good feelings to experience in a cardiologist’s office.
The volcanic properties of the stone appear to have a salutary effect on the wheatgrass, because those in the lava trays are certainly greener and more luxuriant than those sprouting in plastic ones. (Mrs Koh would certainly attest to the beneficial properties of lava stone).
Wheatgrass and Marble
The clinic showcases seven kinds of marble including silk-finished beige travertine, matte silver travertine and a silver-grey desk of polished crystalline marble. A wall of cascading lava stone, each piece uniquely treated, meets a floor of 1.2 m-large marble tiles, laid diagonally to counter the ‘blocking’, restrictive effect of conventionally laid contiguous pieces. (The larger the piece of stone, the greater the likelihood of breakage in handling, transport and installation).
There are no sharp edges: the stone has been manually ground down and the walls ebb and flow in smooth panels of wood and marble, testimony to the expertise of both stonecutter and carpenter who also worked together to create furniture – desks, counters and cupboards – apparently made of marble, the functional, down-to-earth wooden features cleverly disguised.
Laminated surfaces are a careful blend of wood and grain, achieving a harmony which Alvin credits to his training in building pianos. The key-less workspace is manipulated by fingerprint technology from Munich; door hinges are invisible (à la European design) and door handles are strips of wood that accommodate both right and left-handed users.
Every surface – mirrored, wooden or stone – conceals hidden workspaces and storage, while a foldable, marble fronted Murphy bed descends and retracts beneath the wheatgrass at the touch of a button.
The hidden Murphy bed
Traditional Chinese icons accentuating harmony and well-being are rendered in glass, framed in laser and diamond cut acrylic and spot lit by unseen LED’s, appearing to float off the stone walls in jeweled bits of colour.
Healing spaces: a metaphysical approach?
To what extent does the subconscious absorb and react to suggestion and association? Can it cue the body and mind into healing?
Dr Ho’s clinic transcends practical utilitarianism to embrace both design and science, an acknowledgement that ambience, environment and atmosphere – in addition to medical expertise – can and does contribute to promoting a patient’s well being. According to Geoffrey Roehll of Hitchcock Design Group, “therapeutic or healing environments expand upon a holistic approach to healthcare that addresses one’s physical, psychological, and emotional well-being through a commitment to the overall healing experience.”
Food for thought indeed. The metaphysics of design and medicine is certainly an area that can benefit from ‘proof of concept’.
Visit Anita’s website www.singaporeforkids.com
All photographs (except Sitting on Love) taken by Anita
Anita Thomas | 25 January 2011
