{"id":17539,"date":"2022-11-14T16:07:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T08:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/?post_type=ac-news&p=17539"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:42:34","slug":"nus-architecture-opens-new-living-laboratory-to-advance-sustainable-heritage-management","status":"publish","type":"ac-news","link":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/arclab\/news\/nus-architecture-opens-new-living-laboratory-to-advance-sustainable-heritage-management\/","title":{"rendered":"NUS Architecture opens new living laboratory to advance sustainable heritage management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby NUS News<\/strong>\n
\nFirst of its kind in SE Asia, the ArClab will serve as a valuable case site for teaching and research into conservation practices\n\t\t\t\t\"The\n\t\tThe Architectural Conservation Laboratory was opened by Mr Desmond Lee (third from left), Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration.\n\t

The\u00a0Department of Architecture<\/a>\u00a0under the National University of Singapore\u00a0College of Design and Engineering<\/a>\u00a0(NUS CDE) today opened the\u00a0Architectural Conservation Laboratory (ArCLab)<\/a>, a unique living laboratory housed in a conserved building which will serve as a site for researchers, graduate students and built heritage professionals to conduct a wide range of teaching and research activities on sustainable development of the built environment.<\/p>\n

Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, graced the opening of ArCLab as the Guest-of-Honour.<\/p>\n

ArCLab was established in January 2022 to achieve four key goals: (i) augment the training capabilities of Singapore’s building industry in built heritage conservation; (ii) develop innovative use of technologies to enhance conservation; (iii) conduct high-impact research into broader conservation issues; and (iv) promote climate resilience and net-zero retrofit in historic buildings.<\/p>\n

Over the next four to five years, ArCLab will undertake the restoration of 141 Neil Road, a historic townhouse in the Blair Plain Conservation Area. The Portabella family, who owned the house, had recently donated it to the University, along with a gift of S$2 million, to support its repair and conservation works.<\/p>\n

“We are deeply grateful to the Portabella family for their generous gift. The first of its kind in Southeast Asia, the ArCLab aims to be an exemplar and pedagogical demonstration of sensitive repair and conservation, adaptive reuse of heritage, and sustainable management of the historic environment,” said Professor Ho Puay Peng, Head of the NUS Department of Architecture and UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia.<\/p>\n

The building’s conservation process will provide opportunities for both teaching and research. Using the conserved townhouse as a living lab, ArCLab will showcase a new model for learning about the historic environment, building professional capacity to manage historical resources, and promoting historical and environmental studies.<\/p>\n

Professor Heng Chye Kiang, Deputy Dean (Research), NUS College of Design and Engineering, added, “ArCLab is a timely endeavour that brings together expertise in engineering, design and architecture from the NUS College of Design and Engineering to preserve our history and build skills to address Singapore’s unique urban sustainability concerns.”<\/p>\n

Speaking at the opening of ArCLab, Minister Lee said, “I am excited to see how ArCLab will become an engine to build up knowledge of conservation practices and skills locally; develop heritage capacity building in Singapore and our region; support building owners in the maintenance and restoration of heritage buildings; grow Singapore’s overseas presence in built heritage and break new ground internationally; and see how we can imbue sustainability and livability in built heritage.”<\/p>\n

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For the rest of the article, click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","ac-news-category":[27],"class_list":["post-17539","ac-news","type-ac-news","status-publish","hentry","ac-news-category-articles","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ac-news\/17539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ac-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ac-news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ac-news-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cde.nus.edu.sg\/arch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ac-news-category?post=17539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}