DP Architects: Winner of World Design Awards 2024. The Greenhouse, the latest addition to Dulwich College Singapore, expresses a unique architectural juxtaposition with the existing campus. The split massing, continuous atrium, and tilted eco envelope contribute to the building’s Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy certification, the first international school in Singapore of this category to achieve it.

The concept behind The Greenhouse originated from a desire for a learning environment that integrates nature through passive and technological design strategies; as a living lab that inspires students.

Sitting within a developed campus of signature red brick tiles and pitched roof, the design of The Greenhouse had the dual aim to ‘blend in’ and ‘stand out’. While assimilating with the subtleties of the existing building through materiality and colour, it transformed the pitched roof language to a titled envelope encompassing a rectangular block, cutting through via a slanted atrium filled with daylight and natural ventilation.

Greeting students upon their arrival are a series of kinetic tiles that are connected to a digital dashboard that actively captures the amount of renewable energy students generate through their interaction.

The eco envelope is positioned with a 10-degree tilt, maximising sunlight exposure while minimising self-shading. It hosts Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) that actively harvest solar energy. Being Singapore’s largest BIPV assembly, the eco envelope offsets 40% of the building’s annual energy consumption, with the remaining offset by photovoltaic installations on campus. Furthermore, the eco envelope minimises solar heat gain while maintaining outward views for students, as confirmed by environmental simulations. A wide variety of school programmes, such as performing arts or the culinary enjoy an exterior view, ensuring students are constantly engaged by the outward views.

Outward views of staff rooms are also prioritised, allowing for natural light to illuminate collaborative spaces designed for teachers. Furthermore, indoor greenery is implemented in the collaborative spaces to help improve mood.

With the long sides of the building block sandwiched between the existing campus development, there is limited daylight from both sides. For daylight harvesting, an atrium was introduced to slice through the centre as a ‘Ravine Garden’. Environmentally, it allows all teaching spaces to be exposed to daylight, circulation corridors to have natural ventilation, and pocket gardens and trees to bring the space to life. Socially, it becomes the heart of the block where students move, meet, and interact, as well as overlooking visually connected program spaces. Academically, breakout spaces around the atrium encourage learning outside classrooms and collaboration within students inside a ‘living lab’ environment.

Within the Auditorium, the seats are designed to allow a flexible arrangement as the seats can be conveniently compacted. This caters to an adaptable range of programmes, such as examinations or performances.

In the rooftop garden, a verdant, edible ‘forest’ provides students with hands-on learning opportunities, allowing them to forage for fruits and engage with food production in a natural setting. While students can literally enjoy the fruits of their labour in the Culinary Studio, the rooftop garden has an additional function; to foster a self-sustaining biosphere. The rooftop garden integrates vermicomposting and an insect farm to manage food waste, with black soldier flies enriching the pond’s fish nutrition. The pond’s water is then utilised for irrigation. This innovative approach not only enhances real-world problem-solving skills but also deepens students’ engagement with their environment and the building itself.

With a focus on student well-being, the indoor environment is constantly monitored through smart indoor air quality sensors. These help to monitor and enhance the learning environment’s air quality.

The Greenhouse provides a comfortable environment for students and teachers amidst nature, culminating in the rooftop garden. It is equipped with biophilic elements and an eco-pond, creating an integrated biosphere.

Project Details:-
Firm
DP Architects

Architect
DP Architects

Project Name
The Greenhouse at Dulwich College (Singapore)

Project Category
Institutional Building Built

Team
Loh Hai Yew, Jeremy Tan, Wang Ying, Marcus Quek, Wayne Goh, Raynard Yu, Justin Cruz

Project Location
Singapore

Country
Singapore

Photography ©Credit
DP Architects

DP Architects, founded in 1967, is a leading multidisciplinary design practice offering a wide repertoire of architecture and its related services, including urban planning, engineering, sustainable design, interior design, façade design and landscape architecture. With iconic projects such as the Golden Mile Complex, Singapore Sports Hub and Dubai Mall, it has expanded its impact to over 70 countries. The practice is committed to creating better-than-sustainable outcomes and has further consolidated its sustainable design capabilities through its Green-Well-Tech thrust; enhancing its interdisciplinary design and delivery to contribute to long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits that will advance both human and planetary health.

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