GREEN CONSTRUCTION : GREEN RETROFITTING AND RENOVATION

Abstract

Singapore is a tiny island with limited land space. With the existing buildings consuming most of the available land, greening the existing buildings is necessary to deal with the current interest in making living environments environmentally more sustainable. In fact, the release of the 2nd Green Building Masterplan has unveiled the nation’s new direction in green buildings. It has set a target of having at least 80% of all buildings in Singapore to achieve the Building Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Certified rating by 2030. The focus of the plan is therefore on addressing the large stock of existing buildings. In this dissertation, findings based on a feasibility study on the concept of green retrofitting of public housing are presented. A review of the government initiatives in Singapore revealed Singapore’s policy formulation in placing economic considerations as the key priority. Global trend on green retrofitting are seen through the sustainability initiatives in the built industry of many countries such as the United States (US), Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and Singapore. A case study of green retrofitting in the UK is presented as it provides basic lessons for other jurisdictions such as Singapore. Findings based on a survey conducted to find out the perception amongst Singaporean’s of the concept of green retrofitting is also presented in this dissertation. From the survey, it was found out that although the concept of green retrofitting is new, it was welcomed by the majority of the interviewees, with 67.5% agreeing to renovate their homes to make them more efficient in water and energy. The UK case study was done to see if the measures adapted there are applicable to Singapore context. It was found that the direction adopted by the UK in spearheading the green retrofitting programme in the social housing sector may not be applicable in Singapore due to the different role and meaning public housing has in the two countries. However, Singapore can learn from the UK building envelope system for better building resiliency dealing with adverse impacts of climate change. Further, the financing model of the green retrofitting in UK does provide Singapore with some lessons. For example, the advantage of having two different systems of finance catering to occupants with different financial background. Finally, this dissertation introduces the concept of “Green Loans” to help home owners finance green retrofitting. However, the feasibility of this finance mechanism requires further research.