Singapore University of Technology and Design

A large part of our work in DP Sustainable Design is to enable architecture that is environmental-conscious. Thus, more often than not, energy efficiency that is practical and sustainable becomes our main goal. This is encapsulated in our work on the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). A high profile institutional building, the university aimed to become an exemplary Singaporean facility for the conservation of energy from the outset of the project. To achieve this, effective demand reductions were created through passive strategies, avoiding heat gains while maximising daylighting and natural air movement.

Early studies on the impact of solar heat gains and accessibility to daylighting were major factors in considering massing, optimal internal space organisation and the design of an energy efficient façade. The end result is a building design of North-South orientation. Thus configured, it minimises East-West solar exposure while harnessing prevailing Northeast and Southeast winds for effective natural ventilation. The blocks making up the development were also planned with considerations of inter-block shading and ventilation using ‘voids’ in courtyards and other activity corridor spaces. Thermal “mapping” through solar analysis and dynamic solar exposure indicating diurnal heat flux indicated the effectiveness in the spatial configuration of building massing and voids.