YUAN Chao (Dr)
Associate Professor|Deputy Head (Research) (Tenure Track)
Department of Architecture, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Architecture Drive, Singapore 117566.
- TEL:
- 8428 5890
- EMAIL:
- akiyuan@nus.edu.sg
Professor Chao Yuan is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he leads the Urban Climate Design Lab as Principal Investigator. His work bridges climate science, urban design, and sustainability, and has earned him several prestigious honors, including the Presidential Young Professorship at NUS, the NRF Investigatorship from Singapore’s National Research Foundation, and the 2025 Timothy Oke Award from the International Association for Urban Climate, in recognition of his cross-disciplinary leadership in urban climate science and design.
Prof. Yuan’s research focuses on advancing climate-sensitive strategies for high-density tropical cities, with core expertise in urban wind environments, air pollution, anthropogenic heat, passive cooling technologies, and urban greenery. He leads interdisciplinary initiatives that integrate science, technology, and design to tackle complex urban sustainability and resilience challenges.
His work is highly collaborative, involving international partners such as MIT, ETH Zurich, and the University of Cambridge, with whom he co-develops cutting-edge research on urban climate adaptation and future cities. At NUS, he also serves as Co-Director of NUS Sustainable Futures, a university-level institute dedicated to advancing integrative sustainability research across disciplines.
Prof. Yuan is an Editorial Board Member of Landscape and Urban Planning and Urban Climate (Elsevier) and has published widely in both scientific and design domains. He is also the author of the acclaimed book Urban Wind Environment (Springer Nature), which synthesizes empirical evidence and design approaches for shaping urban microclimates.
ROBUSTNESS-BASED URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN, WHICH ENCOMPASSES PREDICTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND MITIGATION, IS WARRANTED TO IDENTIFY KEY DECISION VARIABLES. THIS ENABLES URBAN PLANNERS/DESIGNERS TO TACKLE THE COUPLING EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND URBANISATION ON THE RESILIENCE OF HIGH-DENSITY CITIES.
Advanced weather station network and technologies, such as ultrasonic sensors, are installed at downtown to investigate the microclimate to bridge the gap between numerical modelling and real life.
ON ONE HAND, THERE IS THE INSATIABLE DESIRE FOR DEVELOPMENT; ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS LIMITED CARRY CAPACITY OF OUR NATURE AND CITY. IN THIS DESIGN, WE PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF LAND SCARCITY, AND SET OUR DESIGN OBJECTIVES AS CONNECTION, CONSERVATION, AND CULTIVATION (C3), WHICH SUMMARIZE OUR ANSWER FOR HIGH DENSITY LIVING. A SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS, IN WHICH MULTI-SCALE PASSIVE STRATEGIES ARE CONDUCTED, IS APPLIED TO RE-DEVELOP AN EXISTING INDUSTRIAL AREA IN SINGAPORE TO FULFIL SELF-SUFFICIENCY, SOCIAL INCLUSIVITY, NATURAL & ECOSYSTEMS, AND RECIPROCITY NEEDS.