Swiss-Singapore partnership to build Singapore’s most energy efficient office

A new partnership hopes to lead the way in energy efficient workspaces with a new building concept in Singapore, which is expected to help offices consume 40% less energy than the national average.

The partnership between Singapore-ETH Centre Future Cities Laboratory (SEC FCL) and the United World College South East Asia (UWCSEA) will develop the first commercial project to use new building concept ‘3for2’. 

The 3for2 concept will be used in the new UWCSEA high school building, and allows developers to construct three floors in the space normally occupied by two, through the use of new technologies.

The concept will save space and in turn reduce energy use, incorporating more efficient and space-saving air conditioning systems and LED lighting panels.

The new building is expected to be completed by mid 2015. As around 60% of electricity consumption is due to air-cooling in offices in Singapore, it is hoped the new design could dramatically improve the city state’s energy efficiency.  

Prof Arno Schlüter, leader of the 3for2 project said, “If a new set of solutions for air-conditioning and lighting could halve both space and energy requirements, we could achieve significant savings to building material costs and energy bills.

“This combined cost savings potential has been largely untapped by the green buildings sector thus far.”

The concept will be implemented within a building under construction currently at UWCSEA’s Dover Campus in western Singapore. The developers plan to assess how well the pilot works before adopting their approach for larger projects.

“We are passionate about reflecting the school’s sustainability-focused mission in the way we design, build and operate our buildings. Having the same people responsible for design, construction and operation brings a unique opportunity for excellence in delivering cost efficient buildings,” said Simon Thomas, director of facilities and operations at UWCSEA. 

Photo: Singapore-ETH Centre- Future Cities Laboratory

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