Shaping A Sustainable Global City

Singapore's property pioneer, City Developments Limited (CDL) has pushed boundaries with its visionary approach to “Conserve as we Construct” 20 years ago. It has quickly raised the bar for sustainable spaces with its many innovative eco-developments; while simultaneously integrating CSR into its business strategy and operations. One of the first signatories of the UNGC in Singapore, CDL has stood alongside international best practices in sustainable development. Today, CDL is the only Singapore corporation to be listed on the Global Compact 100 index based on the implementation of UNGC's principles, evident of executive leadership commitment and consistent base-line profitability. As Asia's leading eco-developer, CDL also has the distinction of being the first Singapore corporation listed on three leading global sustainability benchmarks – FTSE4Good Index Series (since 2002), Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (since 2010) and Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (since 2011).

Exemplary cityscapes of today are often lauded for livable and environmentallyfriendly building designs that facilitate sustainable lifestyles. However, two decades ago in Singapore, CDL was already ahead of the pack by constantly looking beyond the bricks and mortar to innovate, invest in, and improve on the ways in which buildings sustain life.

Strong track record in green building innovations

For more than a decade now, CDL has committed to investing between 2 and 5 percent of a new development’s construction cost on eco-friendly features and innovations.

CDL’s Tree House condominium, for instance, set a Guinness World Record in 2014 for having the largest vertical garden. Tree House’s striking 24-story, 2,289 sq meter vertical garden is more than an architectural icon. It is a natural form of insulation that filters pollutants and CO2 out of the air, reduces heat absorption,
and lowers the energy required to cool indoor spaces. This is expected to achieve air-conditioning energy savings of 98,000 kWh / year, or S$ 23,000 annually based on prevailing tariff rates, for the 48 west-facing master bedrooms insulated by the vertical garden.

Other green features of Tree House include tinted green laminated heat-reducing windows and lifts with Variable Voltage and Variable Frequency motor drives. In total, these features are expected to achieve approximate energy and water savings of more than S$500,000 annually.

Creating sustainable community spaces

To commemorate its 50th anniversary in 2013, CDL leveraged its green building expertise to create sustainable community spaces for the nation: My Tree House – World’s 1st Green Library for Kids at Singapore’s Central Public Library; and Singapore’s first zero-energy green gallery, the CDL Green Gallery @ Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG) Heritage Museum.

Conceptualized as a special library for children with eco-friendly features and internal fittings, My Tree House has a vast collection of eco-themed reading materials and programs. The library encourages children to explore and discover more about the environment, nurturing them to become future green champions. The centerpiece of the library – a tree house structure – was built using recycled plywood, fiberglass, mild steel, and aluminum for the trunk, whereas the “canopy lighting feature” was made from more than 3,000 recycled plastic bottles. Existing metal bookshelves were recycled and refurbished using sustainable materials, and new bookshelves were made from sustainable materials such as plywood and fiberboard.

Similarly, the CDL Green Gallery is a sustainable development with many eco-friendly features. It was built using a biomaterial known as Hempcrete (largely made from the hemp plant) and a prefabricated modular system, which were both introduced in Singapore for the first time.

Besides being durable and hardy, Hempcrete has excellent thermal and acoustic properties and is mold-, fire-, and pestresistant. Using a prefabricated modular system, steel components were made and assembled offsite, then hoisted and pieced together onsite to form the entire structure. The six modules of the Gallery were installed in less than 24 hours with minimal environmental impact on the site. In addition, the solar photovoltaic roof panels of the CDL Green Gallery harvest an annual energy yield of more than 31,000 kWh.

Both My Tree House and the CDL GreenGallery were awarded the highest tier of green buildings – Green Mark Platinum status – by the Building and Construction Authority, which oversees Singapore’s built environment.

Looking ahead

Moving forward, CDL will up the ante further by being the first developer in Asia to adopt the game-changing advanced construction technology – Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) for a large-scale residential project. Utilizing some 5,000 building modules, this is likely the largest application of PPVC of its kind in the world. Compared to conventional methods, PPVC is expected to improve quality while increasing productivity by more than 40 percent with some 55,000 work days saved.

Building on two decades of relentless dedication to green building solutions and sustainable development, the next phase of CDL’s sustainability journey will be to “Create Future Value” for generations to come. CDL will continue to build and conserve for the future while shaping the present.