Research on green building solutions to focus on key areas

Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 3 Sep 14;

SINGAPORE: A S$52 million fund for research on green building solutions will kick off with a focus on several key areas – integrated building design, building envelope and facade systems, building management and information systems, or smart buildings, as well as air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation.

The announcement was made by Senior Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan as he launched the fund, called the Green Buildings Innovation Cluster (GBIC), on Wednesday (Sep 3) morning.

GBIC is part of the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) third Green Building Masterplan, announced on Monday by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

“GBIC will help build up research and development capabilities, conduct demonstration projects and 'match-make' academia and industry to accelerate the adoption of new and novel technologies,” Mr Lee said.

By bringing together researchers, tech firms, developers and users, GBIC hopes to facilitate breakthroughs, said BCA CEO John Keung, "We are talking about going beyond the 30 to 35 per cent in energy efficiency in our typical Green Mark Platinum building. We want to aim for 50, 60 per cent, or even a higher degree of energy efficiency with all these ideas and innovations," Mr Keung said.

AREAS OF FOCUS

Buildings in the tropics heat up quickly, and this means more energy is required to cool the interior. So developing building facades with better insulation is one area GBIC will focus on. It will also look into how to create smart buildings.

Experts say for this to happen, it is important to get the right information. Said Mr Nilesh Jadhav, Programme Director of EcoCampus at Nanyang Technological University: "Imagine if you're going to sign up for a limited broadband subscription plan, and you don't know what you're doing and you'll be incurring costs for every byte you consume. This is the impact of data. You need to know what exactly your consumption is and which part of your system is doing the consuming. Is it air-con which is consuming the most energy. Is it the computers? Is it the lights that are on all the time?"

A national repository of energy efficiency data will be set up under GBIC to provide the building industry with data. "This will provide easily accessible data for the building industry to gain confidence in adopting innovative technologies," said Mr Lee.

Other areas of research for GBIC will include dehumidification technologies and more energy efficient air-conditioning. Apart from research, GBIC is also a platform that brings all building stakeholders together. For example, a researcher could test-bed new technology on a developer's site, or a developer could test a novel idea like a smart app that alerts residents when their energy consumption exceeds preset limits.

"In this way, home-owners will be able to adjust and optimise their consumption patterns to save energy," said Mr Allen Ang, the head for Innovation and Green Building at City Developments Limited. "In this way, they will be able to lower their electricity bills." GBIC funding will help defray some of the investment costs involved with developing the app, which is currently at the conceptualisation stage, he added.

GBIC funding will be disbursed over five years, and administered by the BCA's Centre for Sustainable Buildings and Construction at the BCA Academy.

- CNA/cy/xy

S$30.8m awarded to projects to improve living spaces
Channel NewsAsia 3 Sep 14;

SINGAPORE: A total of S$30.8 million in funding was awarded to 10 research projects as part of the Land and Liveability National Innovation Challenge (L2 NIC). This was announced in a joint news release from the Ministry of National Development and the National Research Foundation (NRF) on Wednesday (Sep 3).

Seventy-eight white papers were received after a call for proposals was made last November, to develop innovative technological solutions in four areas: the creation of space, optimising the use of land, creating highly liveable residential towns and supporting ICT and platforms.

Projects that made the final cut include one by the Singapore Management University's (SMU) iCity Lab, which proposes the use of sensors to support ageing-in-place. With the installation of sensors in the homes of the elderly, community volunteers could monitor and respond to seniors' calls for help in a more timely manner.

Faculty members of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will also get funding for their proposal to develop an integrated solution for ensuring structural fire safety and life safety of occupants in underground structures. "The project will support the development of safe, robust and cost-effective designs for future mega underground developments in Singapore," according to the release.

One of the underground developments here is the Jurong Rock Caverns, which was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday.

Professor Yong Kwet Yew, the Scientific Lead for L2 NIC, said the projects selected were reviewed by international and local experts as well as a technical evaluation panel and are of "high research quality".

"I am delighted to see universities, research institutes, Government agencies and private sector companies working together to develop integrated and innovative urban solutions to make Singapore more liveable, resilient and sustainable,” Prof Yong said.

- CNA/kk

S$30.8m funding awarded to projects to improve living spaces
Today Online 3 Sep 14;

SINAGPORE – A project that uses sensors to support ageing-in-place and a project to develop a modelling tool for urban planning are among the 10 research projects that have been awarded a total of S$30.8 million in funding.

The funding comes under the Land and Liveability National Innovation Challenge (L2 NIC) First Call for Proposals

“The awarded projects presented opportunities to use technology to improve the living environment for Singaporeans, as well as pushed the frontier of possibilities for future space development and land optimisation,” said the Ministry of National Development and National Research Foundation in a joint statement today (Sept 3).

The L2 NIC First Call for Proposals was launched on Nov 14 last year to support research and development for innovative technological solutions in four key areas, namely, the creation of space, optimising the use of land, creating highly liveable residential towns and supporting Information and Communications Technologies and platforms.

Singapore Management University’s (SMU) iCity Lab’s project aims to create sensor-enabled homes in support of ageing-in-place. The sensors, installed in the homes of seniors, could help community volunteers better monitor and respond to the seniors’ calls for help in a timely manner.

The modelling tool for urban planners, to be developed by A*STAR’s Institute for High Performance Computing and Institute for Infocomm Research, will incorporate a range of environmental factors such as wind, thermal, solar irradiance and noise in the urban landscape.

This will enable urban planners to visualise the effects of their designs on different environmental parameters, optimising the planning and design of our living environment.

A project by Nanyang Technological University faculty members will seek to develop an integrated solution for ensuring structural fire safety and life safety of occupants in underground structures.

Professor Yong Kwet Yew, L2 NIC Scientific Lead, said: “The projects selected for the L2 NIC First Call for Proposals are of high research quality that has been reviewed by international and local experts and a Technical Evaluation Panel. I am delighted to see universities, research institutes, Government agencies and private sector companies working together to develop integrated and innovative urban solutions to make Singapore more liveable, resilient and sustainable.”

A total of 78 White Papers were received at the close of the Call for Proposals in January.

Key players join hands on green research
Janice Heng The Straits Times AsiaOne 4 Sep 14;

Developers, architects, engineers and academics are being brought together to develop and test green building technologies, under a new Economic Development Board (EDB) scheme.

In teams led by major industry players, they will tackle questions such as how to let in more natural light while not heating up the building.

The research will take place before any specific building projects have been decided on, and the solutions will be customised for Singapore's tropical climate.

This Pre-Project Innovation Consortium was launched yesterday at the Building and Construction Authority's annual International Green Building Conference.

Two groups have already been formed, and are expected to spend $10 million in research over the next three years, with the EDB providing an undisclosed amount.

One group, led by Australian developer Lend Lease, is looking at how to adapt cross-laminated timber for a hot and humid climate. This strong wood-based building material is lighter than concrete and allows for faster construction.

The other, led by Singaporean firm DP Architects and New Zealand engineering consultancy Beca, will look at lighting and cooling.

"The partners are experts in technology, but we can tell them how to apply the technology to meet the industry's needs," said Mr Lee Boon Woei, director of consortium leader DP Architects' unit DP Sustainable Design.