CRITICAL EVALUATION OF FENG SHUI AGAINST GREEN MARK IN SINGAPORE LANDED PROPERTIES

Abstract

In view of the global warming issue, green building is actively encouraged, especially in Singapore, to promote sustainability in the building and construction industry. In the consideration of design concepts for green building, it is noticed that these concepts are similar with the theories of Feng Shui. Both Feng Shui and green building offers alike benefits and impact towards the building occupants. Yet, the relationship between Feng Shui and green building is seldom discussed or researched on. In this dissertation, case study research method was adopted to investigate the relationship between Feng Shui and green building. The area of research focused on the landed properties in Singapore and 9 samples were randomly selected for the case study research. An audit template, consisting of 18 basic residential Feng Shui principles and the Building Construction Authority Green Mark for Landed Houses assessment criteria, was developed to evaluate the Feng Shui quality and green building performance of these 9 samples. After evaluation, interventions were carried out to improve their Feng Shui quality or green building performance. Lastly, statistical analyses were carried out on the results and 3 main key findings were established from this dissertation. These key findings indicated that Feng Shui has significant impact towards green building and there is a connection between each other. However, the findings also show that Feng Shui is able to reduce the household energy consumption, but only to a smaller extent as compared to green building. In summary, it was found that Feng Shui can be measured through sustainability performance and by adopting the green building approach, Feng Shui can also be achieved.