Published on March 20, 2020
Text description provided by CIAP Architects Pte Ltd.
The SGBC Office embodies what SGBC is and all that it stands for: a green and healthy workplace that was made possible through collaboration with SGBC members and like-minded partners. As the voice for green buildings in Singapore, SGBC needs to ‘walk-the-talk’ and achieve a workplace certified to the Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces Platinum certification for the Secretariat.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Some of the key green design considerations for the new office include air-conditioning efficiency, artificial lighting efficiency, daylight harvesting, glare control, noise mitigation, active workplace design, office ergonomics, and biophilic design — to help create an overall sense of wellbeing within the workplace. Drawing inspiration from nature, the design aims to create the ambience of a park within the office space, to connect its occupants to the natural environment through direct and indirect association with nature.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Sited on the 2nd storey of the BCA Braddell Campus, the expansive windows along the perimeter of the office afford ample views out to tree canopies and greenery. Nature finds its way indoors in the form of tall potted plants and a green preserved moss wall. Biomimetic carpet tiles extensively cover the floors of the office, mimicking the look of cobblestones, pebbles, stepping stones and grass. Timber-look high pressure laminates form ‘tree trunk’ wall panelling motifs throughout the office, to create the perception of being surrounded by trees in the workplace. Interior furnishings that are suggestive of natural elements intersperse throughout the office. These include white circular ‘Cloud’ ceiling panels, Pebble stools, and replicas of iconic furniture classics such as Tulip coffee tables and Swan lounge chairs.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
The office’s meeting rooms find names after local trees, with their carpet tiles reflecting the floral colours of the Angsana, Flame and Tembusu trees respectively. The gazebo-like discussion pods further add to the office’s park-like ambience, with the pods named after tropical flowers (Jasmine and Orchid) and fitted with flower-inspired feature pendant lights.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
For its new office, SGBC went well beyond its Green Mark Platinum certification target. Maximum lighting power density for a Platinum rating is 9W/m2, while the SGBC Office is achieving about 6W/m2. Air-conditioning indoor dry bulb temperature for Green Mark certification is not to be lower than 23oC, while the SGBC Office is set at 24oC. The paints used are not only certified low VOC, but VOC abatement. Almost all materials used are certified under the Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) certification scheme, verified to be green and eco-friendly through the necessary documentation, test reports and proven benchmarks.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
Image © Singapore Green Building Council.
The SGBP criteria also necessitates a low carbon footprint (backed up by the relevant reports) for products seeking the highest possible certification, ensuring that the products that eventually found use in the office have the lowest possible carbon footprint, especially for high impact materials. Even the pantry chairs, although not SGBP-certified, have green narratives of being fabricated from recycled materials. Essentially, just about everything that one sees, touches or steps on in the SGBC Office is a green product that contributes to a greener and healthier workplace.
Key Brands / Products
No | Brands / Suppliers | Product Category | Product |
1 | Interface | Carpets | Interface Human Nature & Human Connections |
2 | Interface | LVT | Level Set Collection |
3 | Armstrong Ceiling Solutions | Ceiling | Optra Ceiling Tiles Ultima Ceiling Tiles Axioms Clouds Soundscapes Circles |
4 | Lam Chuan Import Export Pte Ltd | Laminates | Timber Laminates |
5 | AGC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd | Glazing | Lacobel MNGE Mirox |
6 | Akzo Nobel (Singapore) Pte Ltd | Paints | Dulux PureAIR |
7 | USG Boral Pte Ltd | Drywall & Plasterboard | USG Sheetrock StandardCORE |
8 | 3M | Window film | Prestige PR60 |
9 | Innoplan Technology Pte Ltd | System furniture | Innoplan i3 Workstations |