Drawing on her life experiences to design for people

This article is part of a series featuring the winners of the inaugural iBuildSG Distinguished Fellow award.

Six Built Environment sector leaders, whose professions straddle across academia, architects, builders, engineers and developers, have been conferred the title of iBuildSG Distinguished Fellow. Appointment as a Distinguished Fellow is the highest level of recognition given to senior Built Environment (BE) leaders under the iBuildSG Leadership Engagement and Development (LEAD) Framework for their leadership and immense contributions to the BE sector.

Enter the Medical Centre at Changi General Hospital and you will be greeted by sleek, silver curves, capacious atriums and soothing greenery.

The driving force behind these resort-like features is Ar Rita Soh, Managing Director of RDC Architects. For years, she viewed healthcare design as a highly esoteric field until a personal experience impelled her to dive into it.

In 2006, she found herself at various healthcare facilities to tend to her sick grandmother. What followed was two years of not so pleasant experiences whenever she visited healthcare institutions.

“I told myself: Something is not right.. aren’t we supposed to design for people? Especially the sick & aged, the care givers & service staff too? After my grandma passed on, I promised myself that I must start doing healthcare design,” she said.

Today, she is gradually redefining the field with RDC, known for its patient-centric architecture that prioritises care to improve patients’ recovery journey amid a nature-focused homelike environment.

The firm’s portfolio includes the remodelling of the Main Building at National University Hospital and a new Emergency Medicine Building at the Singapore General Hospital.

Besides hospitals, Ar. Soh’s illustrious 32-year career has also seen her involved in transportation, residential, institutional, commercial and industrial projects. One of them is the Restoration of the150-year Church of Saints Peter & Paul, a national monument which won both local and regional design awards. This was also the catalyst for her increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of Asian Built Heritage.

Restoration to Church of Saints Peter & Paul, Credit: RDC Architects

Since being elected President of the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA) in 2019, a regional organisation which represents 21 Asian countries’ national institutes of architects, she has also been promoting Singapore as an architectural hub.

“Singapore’s unique advantage lies in our Western-styled training steeped in Asian influences,” she said. “This is in addition to our expertise & experience in designing for the tropics, our strength in urban & infrastructure planning, management and urban solutions.”

The path to architecture

Growing up, she possessed a voracious interest in drawing and aspired to work in a creative field. But her father’s untimely death when she was nine made her change course initially.

As the eldest of five children, she took up computer science in university for practical reasons as she was a science student despite her passion for art. But she quit after a year due to a lack of interest and dabbled in advertising for a while before deciding to pursue architecture.

After graduating from the National University of Singapore in 1987, she has continued learning and holds a Master of Science (Sustainable Building Design) from the University of Nottingham (UK). She even took a Specialist Diploma in Virtual Design and Construction from the BCA Academy to gain more hands-on knowledge and experience on the latest technologies. This supported her push for integration of BIM from design to construction in her team’s projects.

“Architectural education is a beautiful journey where one never fails to discover new ideas and unique solutions,” said the spirited 61-year-old.

She is constantly looking to improve processes through technology. As Chairman of the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) IT Committee from 1997 to 2003, she was instrumental in the formation of SIACAD Pte Ltd, non-profit subsidiary of SIA to test-bed IT solutions in an organized manner. One of its inventions in 2001 was ‘APEX’, an enterprise-wide integrated information management system for architectural offices.

All about family and people

Ar. Soh believes that a positive attitude in embracing new technology is crucial as it is a great enabler at many levels. On reflection, she felt her time spent in computing earlier had been pivotal in defining her approach towards work and family life. IT is an essential tool in leveling the playing field for all, especially for working mothers, to have the flexibility to work from home.

“Mothers will not be short-changed just because they cannot work overtime due to family commitments,” said the mother-of-two. As a young architect, she fondly recalls taking her kids on morning walks then to the office on Saturdays, where they would doodle as she worked.

In fact, family support has been instrumental in her career. In 2004, she hesitated to run for SIA President, worried that she would have less time for her children who were then in their pre-teens.

“But my son said: Mom, is that what you want to do? There never will be a correct time so go for it! Don’t use us as an excuse,” she laughed.

She has not looked back. She was SIA President from 2004 to 2010, President of Board of Architects from 2010 to 2015, and currently holds board positions on organisations such as the Sentosa Development Corporation and the Housing & Development Board.

Her life philosophy echoes that of her architecture: It always comes back to people.

“I hope to enthuse those working with me to have the same passion for architecture and the environment; for people, their history, culture and traditions” she said.