As Singapore officially enters the era of a super-aged society, Lions Befrienders, in partnership with Temasek Foundation, today officially opened its flagship Active Ageing Centre (AAC), Life Unlimited @ 170. Officiated by Guest of Honour, Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Social and Family Development, Adviser to Queenstown SMC Grassroots Organisations, Queenstown Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC), this next-generation centre represents an innovative rethinking of senior care, offering a tangible blueprint for the future of AACs nationwide.
A Dual Concept: Active Lifestyle Hub Meets Smart Home Showcase
Life Unlimited @ 170 balances two vital purposes equally. Modelled after a typical 3-room flat, the facility is a vibrant, inclusive activity hub purpose-built for active ageing across all segments of the silver generation, boasting active lifestyles and lifelong learning opportunities. It simultaneously functions as a realistic home technology showcase, allowing seniors and their caregivers to interact first-hand with practical, everyday smart home innovations that can be installed in their own living spaces to support safe, comfortable ageing-in-place.
The cutting-edge, non-invasive technologies featured in the home showcase are integrated through the IRINE system, a backend digital care management system that enables secure, role-based access for care teams to monitor and support seniors’ health journeys holistically. This back-end digital ecosystem coordinates data from discreet presence sensors, automated night-time safety lighting, and bedside health sensors that track vital signs during sleep. By eliminating the need for wearable devices that require constant charging, the system grants family members and care teams a peace of mind without compromising a senior’s privacy or comfort.
Catering to the “New Senior”
Recognising that the demographic profile of elderly Singaporeans has shifted, the centre deliberately breaks away from traditional eldercare stereotypes. Alongside typical offerings, it also provides a suite of unconventional, exciting activities tailored to the changing social backgrounds and diverse interests of younger cohorts of seniors.
During the launch event, attendees took part in taster sessions of these new programmes. From high-energy senior parkour designed to maintain balance and agility, to creative smart guitar lessons and therapeutic sound bath sessions, the centre ensures that an older adult’s social and physical world grows with more vibrance and vitality, rather than shrinking with age.
Model of Collaboration
The success of this reimagined model relies heavily on strong, multi-sector collaboration. Life Unlimited @ 170 serves as a nerve centre for all seniors – regardless of frailty, housing type, or income level – where they can socialise, remain meaningfully engaged, and age well in place. With support by partners, it blends enhanced physical environments, integrated care co-ordination and digital management of cases, as well as outreach and engagement activities.
Lions Befrienders in partnership with Temasek Foundation are actively working on this model exemplified by Life Unlimited @ 170 to empower seniors to become independent leaders within their own neighbourhoods, rather than passive beneficiaries of care.
“At Lions Befrienders, our mission is to build an integrated ecosystem where technology serves to protect and enhance the human spirit, not replace it,” said Ms Karen Wee, Executive Director of Lions Befrienders. “We are immensely proud to partner with Temasek Foundation to launch Life Unlimited @ 170, which moves the needle from merely preventing isolation to actively architecting longevity. By bringing these smart workflow solutions and vibrant programmes directly to the community, we are ensuring that Singapore’s silver generation can continue to live actively, with purpose, connection, and absolute dignity.”
“Behind every statistic about our ageing population is a person who still wants to learn something new, stay connected, and live in the home they love. Singapore’s super-aged transition calls for new models of care that hold all of this together. Temasek Foundation is partnering Lions Befrienders to pilot Life Unlimited @ 170 because it tests a different premise: that purpose-built environments, smart home technologies, integrated care, and targeted community programming can be designed into a single neighbourhood-based model. If successful, this can offer a tangible blueprint for how active ageing can be designed, adding not just years to life, but also life to years of our seniors,” said Ms Usha Viswanathen, Head, Health & Well-being (Covering), Temasek Foundation.
Pending outcomes from Life Unlimited @ 170, the model can inform the design of other spaces in the future, to support the national agenda to build a more inclusive, age-friendly Singapore.