https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/f...rral&utm_campaign=A1+trending&utm_content=c10
singapore
The former KKH opened as a free maternity hospital in 1924.
PHOTO: National Heritage Board
PUBLISHED ON October 01, 2025 9:35 PM BY Ching Shi Jie
Three blocks of the former Kandang Kerbau Hospital (KKH) on Hampshire Road were gazetted as Singapore’s 76th national monument on Wednesday (Oct 1).
Established a free maternity hospital on Oct 1, 1924 but with history dating back to 1858, the National Heritage Board (NHB) said in a media statement that over 1.2 million babies were born there before its relocation in March 1997.
The hospital, now named as KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, is located across the road from its previous location.
The Land Transport Authority currently uses the old hospital premises as its headquarters.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo, who officiated the gazette at the former hospital on Wednesday, said that the hospital embodies the values of selfless care.
Neo, who also launched The Architecture of Care exhibition to commemorate the occasion, said: "Generations of our healthcare professionals served here with dedication and professionalism."
The former KKH was the site of several medical milestones, said NHB.
These included the delivery of Singapore’s first pair of Siamese twins in 1961, and the first baby in Asia conceived through in-vitro fertilisation.
"The recognition of the former KKH as a national monument is a profound honour," said Professor Alex Sia, chief executive officer of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
"A celebration of not only of our pioneers’ compassion and vision, but also of the trust that families have placed in us through the decades."
Of the three blocks in the former hospital’s premises, blocks 2 and 3 were built in 1933 and 1940 respectively.
NHB said that their designs combined "modernist architecture with vernacular features, which were designed and constructed using local materials and traditional methods".
Block 2 had housed the hospital’s third-class wards, while Block 3 was used as antenatal and labour wards, and partially as a midwifery school.
Block 1, which was constructed in 1955, was designed by Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares, the first local-born professor of obstetrics and gynaecology who later became Singapore’s second president, and then chief government architect K.A.Bundle.
It featured air-conditioned wards, a students’ hostel and an operating theatre.
Block 3 of the former KKH.
PHOTO: National Heritage Board
The three blocks of the former KKH are preserved under the Preservation of Monuments Act 2009, which NHB said gives them the highest level of protection in Singapore.
Monuments are each issued a set of preservation guidelines that spell out exact features of the property that must be preserved.
NHB’s inspectors also carry out inspections on the monuments once every two years.
Other monuments of "national importance and historic, cultural, traditional, archaeological, architectural, artistic or symbolic significance" that were previously gazetted under the Act included the Padang, former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Istana.
singapore
Former KKH on Hampshire Road gazetted as national monument
The former KKH opened as a free maternity hospital in 1924.
PHOTO: National Heritage Board
PUBLISHED ON October 01, 2025 9:35 PM BY Ching Shi Jie
Three blocks of the former Kandang Kerbau Hospital (KKH) on Hampshire Road were gazetted as Singapore’s 76th national monument on Wednesday (Oct 1).
Established a free maternity hospital on Oct 1, 1924 but with history dating back to 1858, the National Heritage Board (NHB) said in a media statement that over 1.2 million babies were born there before its relocation in March 1997.
The hospital, now named as KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, is located across the road from its previous location.
The Land Transport Authority currently uses the old hospital premises as its headquarters.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo, who officiated the gazette at the former hospital on Wednesday, said that the hospital embodies the values of selfless care.
Neo, who also launched The Architecture of Care exhibition to commemorate the occasion, said: "Generations of our healthcare professionals served here with dedication and professionalism."
The former KKH was the site of several medical milestones, said NHB.
These included the delivery of Singapore’s first pair of Siamese twins in 1961, and the first baby in Asia conceived through in-vitro fertilisation.
"The recognition of the former KKH as a national monument is a profound honour," said Professor Alex Sia, chief executive officer of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
"A celebration of not only of our pioneers’ compassion and vision, but also of the trust that families have placed in us through the decades."
Of the three blocks in the former hospital’s premises, blocks 2 and 3 were built in 1933 and 1940 respectively.
NHB said that their designs combined "modernist architecture with vernacular features, which were designed and constructed using local materials and traditional methods".
Block 2 had housed the hospital’s third-class wards, while Block 3 was used as antenatal and labour wards, and partially as a midwifery school.
Block 1, which was constructed in 1955, was designed by Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares, the first local-born professor of obstetrics and gynaecology who later became Singapore’s second president, and then chief government architect K.A.Bundle.
It featured air-conditioned wards, a students’ hostel and an operating theatre.
PHOTO: National Heritage Board
The three blocks of the former KKH are preserved under the Preservation of Monuments Act 2009, which NHB said gives them the highest level of protection in Singapore.
Monuments are each issued a set of preservation guidelines that spell out exact features of the property that must be preserved.
NHB’s inspectors also carry out inspections on the monuments once every two years.
Other monuments of "national importance and historic, cultural, traditional, archaeological, architectural, artistic or symbolic significance" that were previously gazetted under the Act included the Padang, former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Istana.
