SDE 1

DESIGN CONCEPT

School of Design and Environment 1, (SDE1), is an intelligent adaptive reuse project that reinvents the legacy of a 1970s institutional building in the SJ van Embden masterplan by accommodating net-zero energy, high-comfort academic environment of the future. It serves as a scaffold for learning, teaching, and research for the 21st century and inspires upcoming DOA students and faculty in design and sustainability.

The design creates a new identity and interfaces with the context and climate of two conjoined blocks and enwraps them with a performative, deep veil envelope. It creates a series of light shelves to drive daylight deep into the floor plate, while an ascending succession of screens folds to filter solar radiation while providing views and natural ventilation.

The south block renovation involves internal reorganization of faculty office spaces while the central courtyard is replaced with a jungle garden and brise soleil crown. The interiors are retrofitted with smart building sensors that monitor and control the highest standards of indoor environmental quality coupled with a cutting-edge hybrid cooling system.

The high-efficiency building has integrated photovoltaics and a solar roof to meet projected energy demands (55 kWh/m2/year). Holistically, the renovation showcases new prototypes of sustainable design that infuse the campus with a new sense of architectural quality and environmental stewardship on the Equator.

In essence, the design solution centers around the optimal re-use of the existing structure to meet new spatial and performative goals for a futuristic academic environment while minimizing carbon expenditure.

Awards

– “Best of the Best” Design Award (2021 INDE.Awards)
– 1st prize for “The Learning Space” Design Award (2021 INDE.Awards)
– IWIBI WELLTM Health-Safety Rating, 1st series of buildings in Singapore and 1st in the Educational Sector worldwide (2021)
– International Architecture Award 2021 by Chicago Anthenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies (School and Universities)
– 2020 Design Merit Award by The American Institute of Architects, New York State (AIANYS) for the Unbuilt category
– Platinum (SLE) Green Mark Award for Buildings (2019), for existing Non-Residential Building

SDE 1 DESIGN SPACES AND DETAILS

Simulations