Nanyang, Singapore
Toyo Ito & Associates in collaboration with RSP Architects have created Gaia, a 468,000-square-foot campus building that features an impressive green design, including solar panels that produce more electricity than it needs and is located in Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
The building reaches a height of six floors with a length of 220 meters.
It takes the form of two slightly separated and gently curving rectangles joined at multiple points.
Structurally, it consists mostly of sustainably sourced mass timber, which is made up of a roughly equal mixture of CLT (cross-laminated timber) and Glulam (glued laminated timber).
However, like a lot of modern timber projects we’ve reported on, it also has some concrete reinforcement too.
In this case, the concrete was used for the staircase cores, toilets, and ground floor slabs.
The building serves as home to the Nanyang Business School and contains a 170-seat auditorium, 12 lecture theaters, 13 seminar rooms, and classrooms.
The interior design is attractive, with the natural wood left exposed. Generous glazing, including skylights, ensures that natural light permeates within.
In a nice touch, some brick from a previous building that stood on the site has been used in the construction too.
Gaia has received Singapore’s Green Mark Platinum (Zero Energy) green building award, which celebrates buildings that create as much or more energy than they require.
Solar panels installed on the rooftop reportedly produce 516,000 kWh of power annually and its exterior sports shading fins at key points on its façade to reduce solar heat gain.
It also has multiple open areas, terraces, and air wells to promote ventilation.
Project: Gaia
Architects: Toyo Ito & Associates and RSP Architects
Lead Architect: Toyo Ito
Client: Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Photographs: Courtesy of NTU Singapore
