The National University of Singapore (NUS) University Town (UTown) Master Plan redevelops a golf course into a modern international campus and town centre planned along a green corridor. The project’s design celebrates the pedestrian experience by redirecting vehicular roads to the site perimeter and transforming the land into a network of walkways that respond to the existing topography, hydrology and vegetation.

To establish an intimate campus environment, the master plan situates high-rise residential towers along an outer ‘ring road’ with low-rise buildings at the site’s interior, along the central pedestrian green. Building location and massing adapt to the landscape: the internal green corridor accentuates the site’s varied topography with buildings positioned sequentially, and a town centre is located atop the highest contour. Academic, recreational and social anchors are strung along the length of the green, drawing users to specific destinations and filtering noises from the surrounding highway. Eight residential colleges are designed to bring together students and faculty in support of a holistic educational experience. The living units are supplemented by seminar rooms, theme rooms, a multi-purpose hall and a dining hall on the lower levels.

Designed in collaboration with American architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP, NUS UTown embraces the future of pedagogy and research in higher learning, intertwined with a strong progressive orientation towards sustainability and the nurturing of a diverse student community.