Surbana Jurong, an urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firm, recently opened its new headquarters in Singapore. Surbana Jurong Campus inaugurates the Jurong Innovation District, a business park set in a tropical rainforest.
On the 742,000-sf campus, 10 five- and seven-story pavilions are grouped along a central pedestrian corridor connecting indoor and open-air courtyards, communal spaces, and amenities.
The design by Safdie Architects—with Surbana Jurong Group as the architect of record and KTP Consultants as the structural engineer—lifts up the pavilions like treehouses. As a result, the terrain below can grow and surround the lower-level public spaces and upper-level offices.
This approach brings together Surbana Jurong’s 4,000 employees with the surrounding landscape and community—creating an alternative to traditional buildings that are inwardly focused. The design provides employees access to light, air, and green space, along with publicly accessible clinic and fitness areas, nursing rooms, and childcare facilities.
“With the Surbana Jurong Campus, our latest project in Singapore, we are introducing a new workplace typology that responds to the pressing need for connection to nature and community,” Moshe Safdie, founding partner, Safdie Architects, said in a statement.
The project provides private, semi-private, and public work environments, including closed offices with expansive views, dedicated spaces for research, a sunken courtyard, and shaded seating alcoves. The campus also includes event spaces and a 1,000-seat multipurpose hall.
The passive design project is the first building to achieve Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy status, the highest rating awarded by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore for environmentally sustainable design. To achieve this, the campus:
- Preserves more than half of the site’s existing green space
- Replaces built-on green areas with rooftop gardens, interior gardens, and exterior landscaping
- Uses rooftop solar panels
- Features climate-controlled interior courtyards with native tropical plants
- Provides abundant natural light on all floors
- Minimizes solar heat gain through techniques such as light shelves and louvers
- Uses an underfloor air distribution system
- Incorporates rain gardens and bioswales
- Integrates EV charging stations
- Implements smart building control systems
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