Artist’s impression of the Singapore Sustainability Academy. Source: CDL
City Developments Limited (CDL) and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) jointly launched the Singapore Sustainability Academy (SSA) on Friday, 5 August.
This is the first time a local private property developer and a non-profit organisation have teamed up to create a major training and networking facility on sustainability.
The SSA aims to promote sustainable practices among businesses and the community, particularly among youths. It will focus on key areas of advocacy, education and training, and user management, among others.
The initiative is supported by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
“There is tremendous potential for the private sector to play a major role in our journey towards mitigating and adapting to the devastating effects of climate change,” said Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, at the launch event at Tower Club in Republic Plaza.
Located at the roof terrace of CDL’s City Square Mall, Singapore’s first eco-mall, the 4,300 sq ft academy comprises classrooms, a veranda, an office, and an exhibition gallery.
Built at a cost of around $2 million, the zero-energy building will feature solar technology with 3,230 sq ft of photovoltaic panels.
The SSA will be built using sustainable materials such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam). Both CLT and Glulam are light, but structurally strong like steel and concrete.
The academy is expected to be completed in March 2017.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
