Green buildings in the tropics (biophilic commercial buildings)

• Main Author: Tan, Vellman Yong Xian
• Other Authors: Chuang Poon Hwei
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/78356
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Singapore has goals to green at least four-fifths of its buildings by 2030. However, only a third of them meet the Building Construction Authority’s green standards in 2005. There needs to be a more efficient method of green building construction. The green building industry has been receiving a lot of attention in the recent years in Singapore due to its numerous advantages that they can bring to society, environment and the economy. The aim of the project focuses on biophilic buildings – where plants and modern construction materials amalgamate to produce an efficient, aesthetic and green structure in the middle of cities like Singapore. Singapore’s local climate conditions makes the development of biophilic buildings not so farfetched and its development goals are in line with greening the cities with flora and natural elements.This project identifies the unique features of biophilic buildings and its suitability in Singapore. The impacts of the features such as green walls and green roofs will also be discussed in the report. Two case studies, Parkroyal on Pickering Hotel and Oasia Downtown Hotel are studied and leveraged upon to identify their success in Singapore’s green building sector. A proposed commercial building incorporates the use of biophilic materials in its structure, such as green walls, green facades and living walls. Subsequently, evaluation and consideration of the proposed hotel is elaborated. These include inspection, maintenance and safety considerations of the proposed biophilic building. The report concludes with recommendations of developing biophilic buildings in a tropical country like Singapore through incentives, education and biophilic frameworks.