Bagan Specialist Centre
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The expansion of the Bagan Specialist Centre builds on a private hospital established in the 1980s in Butterworth, Penang. Located on a triangular site bordered by the Perai River, the existing 6-storey hospital anchors the widest edge of the site and has long served the surrounding community with affordable care.
In 2015, plans were set in motion to increase and upgrade the hospital’s capacity. The completed expansion more than doubles its beds from 150 to 350 and introduces a new Cancer Care Centre with a radiotherapy bunker and chemotherapy department. Other additions include a 400-car park block, nine operating theatres, 40 specialist clinics, a cafeteria, and four training rooms.
The project was led by the hospital’s current operator—daughter of its founder and a medical practitioner herself—who applied Lean Management principles to guide the project’s implementation and operations.
The brief was shaped by complex constraints: the triangular site, the presence of existing operational hospital infrastructure, and the need to maintain full hospital functionality throughout construction. As each department came online, the hospital secured regulatory approvals before decanting and renovating existing spaces.
A 9-storey Ward Block now faces the Perai River, employing eggcrate sun-shading. Service buildings have been inserted into residual spaces: a car park at the site’s narrow tip, an M&E block bridging the new and old structures. A new OT Block links back to the original hospital, completing a loop that frames a landscaped courtyard at the centre of the complex. This space provides daylight, views, and ventilation to adjacent wards, clinics, and training areas. The main entrance lobby, and much of the ground floor, is naturally ventilated.
The architectural strategy balances stringent medical planning with tectonic expression and tropical climatic response. Circulation routes are largely open-air, shaded by awnings and planting, with framed views into the courtyard. The Ward Block’s bulk is visually reduced with sun-shading fins, ledges, and articulated bay windows that double as carer daybeds. The west-facing Clinical Block is protected from glare with slanted fin walls and inset windows, softened with flowering creepers.
Five guiding tropical design strategies underpin the scheme:
Shade
Permeability
Thresholds
Sufficiency
Community
Shade: Vertical shading is prioritised to reduce heat gain. West-facing fins, vertical blades, vent blocks and Z-purlins provide protection, while wide, covered circulation spaces maintain natural light and comfort.
Permeability: Airflow is encouraged throughout. Lift lobbies, corridors, and waiting areas are naturally ventilated. The Ward Block’s open ground floor facilitates cross-ventilation and unobstructed views to the landscaped core.
Thresholds: Transitional spaces prepare users between indoor and outdoor environments. The landscaped entrance courtyard serves as a calming threshold for visitors and staff alike.
Sufficiency: Materials are kept minimal and mostly local—concrete, steel, aluminium, and glass. Passive strategies reduce reliance on mechanical systems, with ample daylight, natural airflow, and generous ceiling heights.
Community: A commitment to social sustainability is embedded in the scheme. Disused hospital items are repurposed, creating informal communal zones. A former football field has been transformed into a public garden and playing field—reaffirming the hospital’s role in the neighbourhood it has served for four decades.
Text by the architect
PROJECT GALLERY
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Architect : MinWee Architect
Client : Bagan Specialist Centre
Area : 57634.06 m²
Project Location : Butterworth | Penang
Year : 2020 -
Medical Planner : THChiam Architect & Health Facility Planner
C&S Engineer : GTP Consultants Sdn Bhd
M&E Engineer : TES Avenue Sdn Bhd
Landscape Architect : Perunding Hijaureka Sdn Bhd | MinWee Architect
Contractor : Shiangly Builder Sdn Bhd
Design Team : Wee Hii Min | Leong Gian Wen | Lee Peng Hui | Chiam Tat Hong | Fiona Law | Claudia Law | George Lee
Photography : Daniel Yam | CK Tan | Sean Wee | Jenny Chow -
Floor | Floor Finishes
• Tile : White Horse
• Timber : Composite decking system by Dasso
• Vinyl : Medintech Plus by Armstrong Flooring
Wall | Wall Finishes
• Brick : Clay bricks
• Drywall : Knauf (USG Boral) | Rondo
Roofing System : Metal roofing by Asahi
Aluminium and Glazing : ZenQ aluminium and glazing by LB Aluminium
Paint Systems : Nippon Paint
Ceiling | Ceiling Systems : Armstrong World Industries
Door | Hardware : ADEM door hardware by KAISU
Sanitary Fittings | Systems : GBH
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