UST marked another milestone with the Henry Sy Sr. Hall, the latest addition to the Manila campus poised to enhance medical research and training at the country’s oldest medical school.
The seven-story simulation hub and research center was designed and conceptualized by UST College of Architecture Dean Rodolfo Ventura, also principal architect of C.A. Ventura and Partners.
Ventura said the design process was shaped by the specific needs of a medical simulation facility while introducing modern elements into the building, which will be used primarily by the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.
“The challenge was really to provide a good layout that would answer all the requirements of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery,” Ventura told the Varsitarian. “We intended to blend the lines of our building with existing structures within the campus while injecting modernity.”
Located at the former parking lot beside the Tan Yan Kee Student Center and across Miguel de Benavides Library, the hall features a distinct look compared with other Henry Sy Sr. Halls in schools like UP Bonifacio Global City and De La Salle University.
Reflective blue glass panels and perforated aluminum sunbreakers are installed on both wings of the building, offering a clear view of the campus from within.
Signs on the sides facing Dapitan Street and the Miguel de Benavides Library bear the building’s name and the Latin inscription, “Honora Medicum” or “Honor the Physician,” the theme of Medicine’s 150th anniversary, which is also seen on the facade of the San Martin de Porres Building.
The Henry Sy Sr. Hall’s preliminary design was started in 2018 by C.A. Ventura and Partners, led by Ventura and his wife, Anna Rivera-Ventura, with Ara Caleon serving as the project’s point person.
However, the project encountered delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In February 2022, newly installed Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. instructed the team to finalize the architectural and engineering plans.
“There were numerous changes that happened during the development of the design of the building, until March 2020, when the project was put on hold because of the lockdown,” Ventura recalled.
“The design process [was] a continuous evolution which later on took into consideration the design input of the Henry Sy Sr. Foundation,” he added.
Construction finally began in January 2023, with the target completion set for 18 months.
Tailored for medicine
According to Ventura, the third to fifth levels of the building were designed “to simulate a hospital setting.” These floors are equipped with hospital beds that have overhead bed units and provisions for compressed air instead of oxygen.
“The main difference is with the patients. The (Faculty of Medicine and Surgery) is using the new approach in medical training by providing state-of-the-art mannequins that can emulate real live patients,” he said.
Simulation areas, including intensive care units, obstetric delivery, and operating theater simulation rooms, are located on the third floor.
The fourth floor replicates medical and pediatric wards, while the fifth floor houses doctors’ consultation rooms. A medical hall auditorium will be located on the seventh floor.
The hall is also outfitted with mannequins, integrated audiovisual systems for recording, a control area, and a debriefing room for student assessments and reviews.
It has a study hall named after the late nephrologist Dr. Eduardo Gotamco Tan, which will be open for extended hours to give students “a safer, more secure” alternative study space.
The hall is named after SM Malls founder Henry Sy Sr., following a donation of P300 million by his daughter, Teresita Sy-Coson. It will also house the medicine alumni group Anargyroi Foundation Inc., the Research Ethics Board, and the William F. Austin Center for Ear and Hearing Healthcare.
Once the building is fully operational by the second term of the academic year, it can accommodate up to 700 people, Ventura said.
The Henry Sy Sr. Hall broke ground in January 2020 to kick off the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery’s sesquicentennial anniversary and was topped off in October 2023.
University officials inaugurated the building on Sept. 28.
