College of Medicine Building | |
---|---|
医药学院大厦 | |
General information | |
Type | Government offices |
Architectural style | Low-rise |
Location | College Road, Bukit Merah, Singapore |
Coordinates | 1°16′49″N 103°50′01.7″E / 1.28028°N 103.833806°ECoordinates: 1°16′49″N 103°50′01.7″E / 1.28028°N 103.833806°E |
Owner | Ministry of Health |
Management | Ministry of Health |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 3 |
Designated | 2 December 2002 |
The College of Medicine Building (Chinese: 医药学院大厦) 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.
Singapore's first medical training institution was established in 1905 in a former women's mental asylum at Sepoy Lines. The start of this medical school was significant in two ways. It was meant to train local men and women to bring Western medicine to the local population. It was handsomely supported by local merchants who took advantage of the tax exemptions of the time not to garner more wealth, but to give generously to public causes. Tan Jiak Kim gave the largest individual sum. Another donor, Tan Chay Yan even gave a building to the school in memory of his father, Tan Teck Guan.
In 1911, the Tan Teck Guan Building was a useful as well as elegant addition to the establishment. Originally named the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, the school was renamed King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1921. Around this time, a new building was planned.
The College of Medicine Building that stands today was built in 1926. When the University of Malaya was founded in 1949, the college became its Faculty of Medicine. Since then Singapore and Malaya have emerged as different nations. From 1982, the Faculty of Medicine was a part of the National University of Singapore.