Debated in Parliament on 14 Feb 2022.
Mr Sharael Taha asked the Minister for National Development (a) how has the current trend of decreased popularity of multi-generational living, increasing trend of work and study from home and concerns for sustainable living, affected the design of future building developments; and (b) whether the Ministry will incorporate the use of solar energy, natural lighting and ventilation into the designs of new building developments to reduce the use of energy and water in homes and across the estate.
We take a holistic view towards providing a liveable, sustainable and quality environment for all to live, work and play in. We are also monitoring the evolving trends in society and the economy as we study how we can improve the planning and design of our built environment to future-proof our city.
As a major provider of public housing in Singapore, HDB has continually reviewed the design and layouts of HDB flats to keep pace with changing demographics, social trends and lifestyle needs, including concerns over sustainable living.
HDB continues to build and offer a wide variety of flats to cater to different household sizes and budgets. For example, HDB offers different flat types from 2-room Flexi to 3-Generation (3G) flats to cater for different lifecycle needs.
HDB flats are also designed to give residents flexibility to reconfigure the space in their homes to meet their needs, including working from home. For example, columns in new flats are pushed to the edges, where possible, to better accommodate changes in layout.
To promote and enable sustainable living, HDB has embarked on various initiatives to develop estates that provide eco-friendly and smart features. For new developments, these include solar-ready roofs for easier installation of solar panels and rainwater harvesting system to reduce the usage of potable water. For existing towns, through the Green Towns Programme, we have introduced initiatives aimed at reducing energy consumption, recycling rainwater and cooling HDB towns.
BCA requires new building developments with a gross floor area of 5,000 square metres or more to achieve at least 50% improvement in energy efficiency over 2005 baseline levels and meet other environmental sustainability requirements. Developers and building owners can meet these requirements by adopting designs that facilitate natural ventilation and the use of natural lighting and installing renewable energy solutions, such as solar photovoltaic systems.
BCA's Green Mark scheme recognises buildings that exceed the minimum environmental sustainability requirements. For example, the Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy certification recognises buildings that achieve at least 60% improvement in energy efficiency over 2005 baseline levels and demonstrate exemplary standards in other aspects of sustainability, such as maintainability and climate resilience. Buildings that meet these standards enjoy the benefits of reduced energy and water consumption and, hence, reap net savings over their lifecycle.
Under the Built Environment Transformation GFA Incentive Scheme, URA will grant up to 3% additional GFA to private developments that meet the Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy standards, among other requirements. In addition, all new public sector buildings and all developments on Government Land Sales sites launched from 2Q 2022 onwards will also be required to meet these standards.
We will continue to engage Singaporeans and study new planning concepts and design ideas to support the evolving needs of our residents and contribute to a more sustainable future.
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