THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE BCA GREEN MARK PILOT 2015 SCHEME ON THE FUTURE DESIGNS OF GREEN BUILDINGS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Ever since its launch in 2005, the Green Mark (GM) scheme developed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has played a significant role in shaping the design of buildings in Singapore with buildings rated Platinum representing the standard. The scheme which had always been focused on energy efficiency was reassessed and in 2015, a pilot version was unveiled to provide a more equitable assessment of various building sustainability factors beyond energy efficiency and one that is better entrenched in the context and climate of Singapore. The three main changes were identified to be Climate Responsiveness, Energy Effectiveness and Health and Wellbeing of Users. The research aims to ascertain the effectiveness of typical design strategies of Platinum rated buildings in meeting these updated requirements and explore its implications to the future design of buildings in Singapore. Existing Platinum rated office buildings were classified into different Building Design Typologies and case studies were assessed through an analytical framework developed from the new requirements. Findings revealed that satisfying the new aims are notwithstanding of the Building Design Typology and also involved the effective management of individual building policies and the buildings’ relationship with the urban environment. The research also concluded that despite the more equitable distribution of points between the main sections, the imbalanced distribution of weightage among the individual criteria will still allow for buildings that fall short in meeting the new requirements to still have a high chance in achieving a Platinum rating. Combined with the assessment method, which appears to be a checklist of building systems rather than a critical examination of their effectiveness in the overall building design, the changes in the pilot scheme may in the end have little influence on the design strategies of future buildings in achieving the Platinum rating.