Purposeful Design, Innovation and Technology in the Real Estate Sector

How can architectural firms of varying strengths and sizes adapt and apply technology in innovative and sustainable ways throughout a project’s life cycle? That was the question on everyone’s mind on 14^th October at the Technology for Design and Sustainability in Real Estate webinar.

Organised in conjunction with SWITCH, the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, the webinar saw Chan Hui Min, director at DP Architects, speak alongside Phua Hong Wei, director at WOHA and Wynn Cam, director at Morrow Architects & Planners in a session that was moderated by Tan Szue Hann, Council Member and Chairman for Sustainability at the Singapore Institute of Architects.

When asked about the firm’s approach to sustainable architecture, Hui Min shared how the need to standardise practices, especially in a large firm, resulted in the launch of DPA’s APD – Attributes of Purposeful Design – a design and practice guide to systematically analysing well-being and sustainability criteria of built environment projects. Updated regularly to remain relevant, the APD’s latest iteration incorporated criteria to meet the sustainability needs of the SG Green Plan 2030, and also encompassed key green criteria most built environmental projects must address to achieve major sustainability outcomes for social, environmental and economic value.

Hui Min went on to share how each segment within the APD has dedicated subject matter experts who help bring together teams and technology to deliver sustainability-based outcomes, and how the need to conduct iterative building performance simulations to facilitate quick and precise design decisions during the early stages of concept design led to the development of NimbleSIM, a platform that allows architects and designers to produce quick simulations within a day.

On the subject of technology, Hui Min highlighted that when looking at sustainability goals and driving toward sustainable outcomes, technology has empowered teams to speedily measure performance in these areas and promptly process data, allowing for shorter iteration times.
When asked about how DP is exporting sustainable practices to overseas projects, Hui Min mentioned that the firm is assessing usage patterns of existing buildings, and looking at how they can be adaptively re-used for new users. “Buildings are often torn down not because they are due for demolition but because the needs of users and regulations have changed,” Hui Min concluded. “Instead, we need to approach a building’s lifecycle differently – not just for conservation but for how we can develop our cities more sustainably right now.”

SWITCH, the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, organised by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), is a year-long innovation journey to exchange ideas and collaborate with vibrant networks through a series of innovation-centric activities and a suite of networking programmes. The event brings together leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, accelerators and investors from the Global-Asia innovation ecosystem, providing a global platform to catalyse collaboration that brings a meaningful exchange across different fields and markets.