21
May
2015
|
15:00
Asia/Singapore

Mark of ‘green' distinction

The USC's design achieved Singapore's highest mark of green-building excellence

SevenNUS buildings were acknowledged as standard-bearers of green-building practices at this year's Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore's Green Mark Awards, held at Resorts World Sentosa on 14 May.

The University was conferred four Platinum Awards, Singapore's highest mark of distinction for sustainable building excellence for institutional projects, one of which was for the proposed design of the University Sports Centre (USC). The USC's design'featuring high ceilings, a sports hall and swimming pools of international competition standard'incorporates lighting and daylighting elements that will reduce the anticipated high power consumption. In addition to selecting high-efficiency light fittings that result in a 43 per cent annual total interior lighting energy savings, lighting zones with different lux levels provide the flexibility of lighting up specific areas.

In terms of materials, the new facility will include recycled matter to minimise the embodied energy and emissions associated with construction. The concrete design mix will consist of 30 per cent cement replacement material, higher than the minimum requirement of 10 per cent. Detailed waste management protocols ensure that steel and reinforced concrete structure from the existing Sports and Recreation Centre will be recycled, diverting 35 per cent of concrete waste from the landfill. The USC is scheduled to be ready in the third quarter of 2017.

The other Platinum awards were given to the NUS Yong Loo Lin's School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) Block MD11; Education Resource Centre, which retained the status it obtained in 2010; and Cinnamon and Tembusu Residential Colleges, which rose two steps from the Gold status received in 2011. Three other BCA awards went to Engineering Block E2A (GoldPLUS), NUS Medicine's Block MD2 (GoldPLUS ) and Mochtar Riady Building (Gold).

Certified Green Mark buildings are required to be reassessed every three years to maintain the Green Mark status. New and existing buildings will be reassessed under their respective criteria.

The BCA Green Mark scheme, launched in 2005, evaluates buildings for their environmental impact and performance. It assesses buildings on five criteria: energy efficiency, water efficiency, sustainable management and operation, indoor environmental quality and other green features. Points awarded for features that are better than normal practice are translated into the award ratings of Certified, Gold, GoldPLUS and Platinum, in ascending order of merit.