Professor Lam Khee Poh (Department of Architecture and Department of the Built Environment) has been named Global WELL Educator of the Year 2025 by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).
The distinction is among IWBI’s highest honours and recognises individuals whose work has significantly advanced education and leadership within the global WELL movement. It acknowledges Prof Lam’s sustained impact on generations of students in Singapore and internationally, as well as his longstanding contributions to research and practice in healthy and sustainable built environments.
Reflecting on the award, Prof Lam said: “I am utterly humbled and deeply honoured to receive the Global WELL Educator Award 2025. It is an immensely fulfilling journey which started some four decades ago, working with PhD students on research and imparting newfound knowledge to generations of architecture and built environment students around the world.”
At the core of Prof Lam’s work is a human-centric philosophy rooted in the Total Building Performance and Diagnostics concept, which he encountered during his doctoral studies at Carnegie Mellon University. This framework continues to guide his WELL and GREEN initiatives, emphasising that development in the built environment should meet the physiological, psychological, sociological, and economic needs of people.
Over the years, Prof Lam has advanced education in healthy and sustainable built environments through sustained theoretical and translational research that integrates the humanities with science and technology. By engaging in real-world projects alongside academic teaching, he ensures that students benefit from both research depth and applied experience.
Under his leadership, NUS and CDE achieved several notable milestones, including international recognition for SDE4’s health- and wellness-focused building features. SDE4 became the first building in Singapore to receive WELL certification and the first university building worldwide to attain this distinction.
In 2021, it also became the first institution in Singapore and the first educational facility globally to achieve the IWBI WELL Health-Safety Rating, reflecting a strong focus on operational excellence and preparedness in managing building health and safety, particularly in response to pandemic-related challenges.
He also expressed appreciation to IWBI and the Well Living Lab collaborators for supporting his educational endeavours. He added, “I am grateful to NUS for the opportunity to continue to develop and deliver the ‘Well and Green Built Environment’ curriculum as part of the Master of Science (Environmental Management) programme and as an Elective offering for the Master of Science (Sustainable Healthcare) programme.”
This recognition marks a significant milestone in his four decades of work shaping education and practice in healthy and sustainable built environments. Looking ahead, Prof Lam believes that the future of education lies in expanding cross-disciplinary and immersive learning opportunities supported by advanced knowledge systems. Meaningful impact, he noted, depends on equipping future professionals with both technical expertise and a deep understanding of human wellbeing within complex environmental systems.
