d+a | Issue 128 • 2023

16 design and architecture #128 institutional Erik L’Heureux – a Dean’s Chair Associate Professor at the school – helped lead a large design and research team alongside Cossu (an associate director of Sustainability Services at NUS), and Bertrand Lasternas (an associate director at NUS) who co-created the renovation with architecture firm CPG Consultants from 2015 to 2023. The project’s sustainable efforts are in line with the campus’ larger goal of achieving net-zero carbon status in 2030. This trajectory is well on track, with the renovated structures’ low embodied carbon footprint estimated to be a third less than a similar new build. It follows the completion of SDE4 in 2019, designed by Serie + Multiply Architects with Surbana Jurong that is Singapore’s first new-built, net-zero energy building. SDE1 and 3 were built in the 1970s as part of SJ van Embden’s master plan for the University. The faculty offices buffered the windows and design studios. Among other inadequacies, this meant the studios relied heavily on artificial lighting and air conditioning. These were some grievances of L’Heureux, who had been teaching in the school since first arriving in Singapore in 2003. The process saw a meticulous surgical approach of removing faulty aspects and adding only what was necessary in order to improve the building’s functionality with the minimising of new carbon expenditure in mind. This was done through combining the use of intelligent building systems and thoughtful passive design. At the exterior, a layer of dark-coloured screens was replaced with light bronze faceted modules that lighten the mass. This “veil”, a design trope found in many of (Above) Once a grassy lawn, the central courtyard on the second storey is now a lush garden. (Facing page) The screen’s density increases toward the top of the elevation for sun protection.