Historically, architecture has alway played an important role in peoples’ life, providing shelter, enabling the growth of cities and as a reflection of contemporary social values. Nowadays, human society is moving into a new era of globalization, urbanization and technological development. Society, economy and culture are bolstered by the above phenomena, which is simultaneously impacting architecture development. It leads buildings to show a verity of forms in time and makes different city performances. Additionally, another factor which is being considered in modern architectural design is climate change, such as rising sea levels, reduced biodiversity and of the shrinkage in scope of habitats. Thus, human circumstances facings crisis. This is the reason we’ve seen the rise in sustainable building initiatives, new types of buildings aiming to use new materials and structures to achieve maximum energy conservation and efficient use of resources, an ideal that will help society to navigate the serious impending problems. Sustainable building has become increasingly talked about, and can be seen as a positive initiative in response to the current environmental issue. With globalization, urbanization and technology development, sustainable buildings continue to evolve, and nowadays, sustainable building design integrates artist and modernist concepts. The shapes of buildings have become more abstract and apply a high level of technology. For now, sustainable building is not just a person or a group thinking, it is the time's manifesto on the world. This essay will focus on how people use sustainable buildings to develop a balance between natural environments and modern city development through society, economy and culture.Using Singapore as the positive example, it will explain how sustainable buildings play an important role in this eco-city. Then, use other representatives architecture works to explain what types of forces might be fail the above concept. This essay utilizes the resources of the school library, relevant articles from Google scholar, official websites and news websites. From Shuang.Z (2019)
I have written an architectural essay about the relationship between sustainable building and future city development. The article shows my first concern about the future world. Thus, when the project started, I had an interview with the architect Mr Ong who works in Singapore. We talked about sustainable buildings in Singapore.
Q:” As we all know, Singapore is a very well-planned country with many low-carbon buildings and vertical gardens. May I ask why this has become the case?”
A:” Well, from the <Image of the City>, A city is not built for a specific group of persons, nor is it built for limited functions. A city is a machine filled with people who have widely varying backgrounds, occupations and classes. The landscape and architectural design in its whole already make for a resilient system. The city planners take advantage of sustainable buildings to ensure the growing green rate of the city is higher than 47%, and according to the Singapore Green Plan, green buildings have been mandatory since 2008. Therefore, Singapore becomes one of the most famous eco-sustainable cities in the world and has the highest density of greenery. Furthermore, the Singapore Green Plan makes a blue picture of the idea of a resilient city in future, and is projected to have 80% green buildings by 2030. This plan guides the city’s architecture to the planned distraction. Sustainable building in Singapore like carriers which represents the city planners final target- be a sustainable city and country in future. “
Q:“Which is the most representative low-carbon building in Singapore now?”
A:” I think the Oasia Downtown tower is a typical modern sustainable building which is located in the centre of Singapore. The building design is by WOHA which native architecture studios in Singapore. The project was completed in 2016. As the CTBUH Best Tall Building Worldwide in 2018. The building facade has covered 1100% green plot which supports by the red aluminium mesh cladding, that is a striking achievement. The tower forms vertical forests which attract birds and serve as a habitat for other animals, helping to maintain urban biodiversity. This build is a smart way in modern time.”
Q:“Can low-carbon buildings effectively reduce energy costs?”
A: ” Yes. n the long term, sustainable buildings have the advantage of the low energy usage, material re-usage and bring outstanding benefits for future. Net-zero energy buildings have become the main target in modern sustainable building. The SDE4, which is the first net-zero energy building design by Serie+Multiply and the National University of Singapore, is located in the School of Design and Environment in the National University of Singapore. The design concept of the building follows the eco-sustainable principal, and has solar panels roof and a hybrid cooling system. It successfully achieves the goal that its energy consumption is less than its production. The hybrid cooling system also is a featured part of the building’s sustainable design, which is a mixed-ventilation design that combines air conditioning and fresh air. In Singapore, the process of cooling buildings usually accounts for 40% to 50% of a building’s energy consumption.”
Q:“Do you think low-carbon buildings will be the dominant form of construction in the future?”
A:” Yes, but it will happen very slowly. To develop sustainable buildings one has to navigate lots of limitations, which also appear in societal, economis and cultural aspects. Through the lens of society, architecture represents the current values. It does not only focus on the building but also the meaning of lending this phenomenon. The sustainable building needs to support a large number of materials and labour forces which are mainly operated by government powers. Thus, political power is an important voice in sustainable building contributions and obstructions. Singapore is a city, and also is a developed country. It has the advantage of assembling various resources more easily than many other countries. In addition, the Singaporean government plays a positive role in sustainable building construct process as they’ve prioritized it at all levels, giving their full support to the project.”