BIOPHILIC DESIGN - A NEW WAY TOWARDS THE SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE OF SINGAPORE

Abstract

Biophilic design is an emerging concept of sustainable architecture. It encourages the connectivity and coexistence between the architecture and nature. The engagement with biophilic design could contribute to the sustainable urban development of cities like Singapore in terms of economy, environment and society. To further promote the biophilic applications in building industry, it is necessary to integrate the principle of biophilic design with the local building assessment tools. In Singapore, BCA GreenMark Scheme is the most widely used tool and it guides the local building industry development. Through a comparative study of GreenMark Scheme with other building assessment tools like LEED, Bream, a result shows that it undercounts the weight of aspect of the green features. Hence, the GreenMark Scheme could be developed comprehensively by integrating with some principles of biophilic design. Furthermore, through the analytical study of some existing projects in Singapore, I would like to also address the issue of potential development of biophilic design in Singapore. This article aims to provide an insight into how the biophilic design could be successfully applied in Singapore and what are the limitations of it.