Master of Science, Integrated Sustainable Design

ISD5101: Integrated Project Studio 1 (8 Units)

ISD5101 introduces the foundational ideas and methods that underpin the programme’s approach to design. A series of focused mini studios develops capabilities in systems thinking, form intelligence and story of place, followed by integrative systems mapping and network analysis. Students learn to visualise complex systems, boundary conditions, and transformations. The course builds the conceptual and methodological agility needed to engage with more complex, site-specific challenges in semester 2.

ISD5103: From Green to Regenerative: Shifting Paradigms in Design and Urbanism (4 Units)

ISD5103 offers a critique of the green movement, seeking to differentiate the reductivism of checklists from more holistic outcomes. It begins with the bioclimatic traditions of the tropics, where form was the primary environmental instrument, and traces how the rise of rating tools narrowed this into an optimisation of parts. It then pivots to emerging ideas on regenerative design, which makes a case for the repair and reintegration of human-made and natural systems. Students visit landmark projects in Singapore and hear from frontline practitioners. They enter a conversation on the green–sustainable–regenerative continuum at two scales: first through direct observation of buildings, then at city scale, examining regenerative urbanism and the conditions that enable or constrain it.

ISD5104: Energy & Carbon (4 Units)

Reducing energy consumption is only part of the response needed to address global warming. For a comprehensive response, carbon must be understood across the built environment, from materials and buildings to neighbourhoods and cities. ISD5104 positions energy within interacting systems – including ecology, mobility, water, materials, governance and social equity – that collectively shape carbon performance. Carbon is understood as a design driver operating across scales and systems. Sessions connect carbon accounting with ecology, form intelligence, urban infrastructure, governance and social equity. Teaching combines practice-based case studies with data-driven tools, notably the ISD Carbon Calculator and others such as the Carbon Cost Calculator

ISD5106: Bio-Centric Design for the Built Environment (4 Units)

ISD5106 looks at various facets of urban design with nature at its core – designing the built environment with nature, for nature and as nature within context and socio-ecological limits. The course will discuss the multi-faceted nature of ecological design by addressing questions of scale on land and water, ground to sky and urban to rural. Various approaches from nature-based solutions to biomimicry are discussed. Highlights include understanding what type of nature thrives in cities, what is its global, regional and local value; and what are the processes behind it (urban soils, waterways and carbon), valuation frameworks (biodiversity net gain, ecosystem services, human well-being) and finally which policy decisions drive such efforts.

ISD5102: Integrated Project Studio 2 (8 Units)

ISD5102 builds on the foundational knowledge and methods introduced in ISD5101, applying them to complex, real-world design challenges. As a full-semester project, students work with specific sites and briefs that cover building, network or city scales, translating lessons learnt into actionable ideas. Through this process, students develop the strategic judgement needed to negotiate complexity, trade-offs and real-world constraints.

ISD5105: Principles of Sustainable Urbanism (4 Units)

The accelerated, often rampant, growth of cities in Asia alters the quality of their inhabitants’ lives, their ecological footprints and community bonds. Coping with urban growth affects not only those in the city; it also affects also those in agricultural belts in rural peri-urban areas which are increasingly threatened by urban sprawl. ISD5105 investigates various historical and economic forces shaping urban developments, identifies the elements of urbanism that have a direct impact on the environment (such as transport infrastructure) and offers insights into how sustainability principles can lead to new paradigms for urban rejuvenation and growth.

ISD5107: Planning Urban Food Systems (4 Units)

ISD5107 focuses on urban food systems and discusses their multiple aspects, including the history of the relation between cities and food, the types of urban farming systems, and the relation to other biophysical systems, particularly energy and water. This course elaborates on the design and planning aspects of urban food systems and their possible spatial forms within high-density cities where space availability is constrained, and demand for food is concentrated.

Free Elective: (4 Units)
Students can choose an elective from a list of courses offered by the Department. This will be communicated to students prior to the start of the semester.

ISD5101 (semester 1) and ISD5102 (semester 2) run two afternoons a week. Studio assignments are organised into group work, with part of the final grade tied to an individual’s role, effort and leadership within the group.

All courses are taught during the day. Some courses (excluding ISD5101 and ISD5102) may be front-loaded into 1 to 2 weeks at the start of the semester or compressed into 5 to 6 weeks. The detailed schedule of classes for each semester will be released a couple of months ahead for part-time students to plan their calendar.

Notes to Part-Time Students:

Part-time students complete the programme over four semesters (two years). They are required to take courses in a prescribed sequence.

In semesters 1 and 2, part-timers must complete all courses (excluding ISD5101 and ISD5102). For this, they may need to arrange time-off with their employers

In semesters 3 and 4, they must complete ISD5101 and ISD5102. If necessary, consultation slots can be scheduled after office hours, once or twice a week, for meetings between student and tutor.

Part-time students may contact the Programme Director one month prior to the start of a semester to request the finalised schedule.