The Greenhouse at Dulwich College (Singapore) was first seeded by the client’s progressive vision to create an enriching environment in which to nurture their students into eco-conscious leaders. The goal of a Zero Energy Building was achieved through the strategic employment of passive and active design for sustainability informed by climatic response study.

This meant that design decisions undertaken by the architects were performance-based with our team of ESD experts meticulously running and analysing building simulations. They include solar radiation, natural ventilation, wind driven rain, daylighting and glare; all of which, guided the outcome on building orientation, layout and detail design. Notable among its architectural features are the stepped atrium that slices through the centre of the building and the unique tilted envelope of Building-integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) that offsets 40% of the annual energy consumption with renewable energy. The remaining 60% is offset by Photovoltaics installations at existing buildings within the campus, collectively achieving ZEB target.

To manage operational carbon post-occupancy, the design scheme considered the incorporation of smart technology and highly energy-efficient equipment into the building infrastructure from the outset. Occupancy and photocell sensors for demand control and daylight harvesting contribute to reducing overall energy use. A Smart IDD/Digital Twin platform was developed to monitor energy efficiency metrics and quality of the indoor environment, remote control of equipment and real-time zonal demand control using IOT (IAQ and Occupancy) sensors. It also incorporates smart FM capabilities including building analytics for system optimisation and predictive performance, as well as integration across different sub-systems for incident management, which improve the maintenance process during operation.