PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In Singapore, majority of the population stays in high rise apartments. Living in the tropics, the main challenge of residential projects is achieving thermal comfort. With better lifestyle and higher standard of living, there is an increased dependency on active cooling systems to mitigate the tropical climatic conditions. Statistics have shown the percentage of households with air-conditioners has increased significantly from 7.8% in 1978 to 71.7% in 2008. This high-energy solution results in increasingly high running costs in buildings. Due to land scarcity, housings are increasingly compacted and it seemed more difficult to achieve passive cooling. It is also noted that passive design strategies present in the early residential projects seemed negated in new high rise residential development, largely due to higher plot ratio, availability of new technology and the adaptation of temperate models to reflect progress and modernity. Thus, most recent residential developments seemed to have increased dependency on energy intensive artificial cooling methods. Sustainable design in Architecture is no longer optional. Climate changes and its dire consequences, as well as the increased awareness of the environmental crisis and depleting energy sources, gave rise to the general public’s call for sustainability in recent years. Passive low energy design should be the primary consideration for new residential high rise development. The benefits are numerous, including energy reduction, improving indoor air quality while achieving thermal comfort. This dissertation examines the different passive low energy design strategies, and how they can be incorporated into the design for new high rise residential development in Singapore today.