Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the NUS SDE 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, Chairman, NUS

Professor Tan Eng Chye, President, NUS

Professor Lam Khee Poh, Dean, School of Design and Environment

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening. I am pleased to join you this evening at the National University of Singapore, School of Design and Environment’s (SDE) 50th anniversary gala dinner. Congratulations on your 50th anniversary.

Singapore has grown to be a vibrant, global metropolis, and one of the world’s most liveable cities. Despite our land constraints and lack of natural resources, we have enjoyed years of economic development, and did so while protecting our environment, and fostering an inclusive society.

While we have made significant progress, Singapore will continue to face challenges, in particular, climate change. As a low-lying island city-state, Singapore is especially susceptible to the consequences of climate change. For us, it is an existential challenge. Rising sea levels can threaten our very existence as a country. Sadly, this is a problem of the future created by the actions of current and past generations. We therefore owe it to our children and grandchildren that we start preparing urgently and with clear focus, to protect ourselves against rising sea levels.

I am glad that the Government has recently shared some plans on climate change adaptation, as well as how we intend to fund them. We should spare no effort in this race against time, and find equitable and sustainable ways to support the measures. We must also continue to work with businesses, civil society and Singaporeans to take collective action to fight climate change.

Of course, an important aspect of tackling climate change is to also address the issue upstream, and look at how we manage our waste. The Zero Waste Masterplan, recently released by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, charts the way Singapore intends to do this. The Masterplan’s vision of a circular economy that reuses resources for as long as possible is key to greater environmental sustainability and resilience in the face of global resource constraints. This will complement our existing measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, such as our economy-wide carbon tax with no exemptions, and the strengthening of our food and water security. Through industry transformation and workforce upskilling, we will also create new economic opportunities for local companies and good jobs for Singaporeans.

As an education institution, NUS plays an important role in this global and national agenda. SDE has nurtured many alumni who are leaders and professionals contributing to Singapore’s built environment and sustainable development.

An example would be Kampung Admiralty by WOHA architects, a first-of-its-kind development in Singapore that integrates housing for the elderly with a wide range of social, healthcare, communal, commercial, and retail facilities. The sustainable design includes sky rise greenery which helps to cool the urban environment, clean the air and soften our cityscape. Wong Munn Summ of WOHA is one of our SDE alumni. I have visited Kampung Admiralty and it is really very pleasant with its lush greenery and co-located facilities for the elderly. The challenge for the HDB and other developers is to build buildings that allow air to flow through and do not trap heat. 

Another iconic project led by our SDE alumni is Our Tampines Hub. Since its opening in 2017, this integrated lifestyle destination has becomes a new focal point for residents in the region to go for a swim, shop for groceries and have dinner, all within the same development. Despite the bustling activities and large crowds, the area has been designed such that it does not trap heat.

The theme for tonight’s dinner is “Well and Green”. I am heartened that SDE and NUS have also moved beyond the focus on going “green”, to concurrently embrace “wellness” in your mission. 

Singapore has an ageing population. There has also been a rise in the number of unhealthy years in the lives of Singaporeans. There is much we can do in design and the environment to help address this issue. We spend about 90 per cent of our time in buildings. Arguably, our physical environment impacts our health more than lifestyle, medical care and genetics.

Working together with the International WELL Building Institute, NUS became the first university in the world to register for the WELL portfolio in July 2019, a globally prestigious and rigorous standard for buildings that promotes sustainable health and wellness. SDE4, Singapore’s first new-build net-zero energy building is the first university building in the world to be WELL Certified™ Gold and first building in Singapore to achieve prestigious WELL certification. I congratulate NUS and SDE on these achievements.

In closing, let me congratulate the school once again on your golden jubilee. SDE has played an important role in developing our built environment over the past five decades. I am confident that the school will continue to play a pivotal role in supporting our national growth and global research breakthroughs. Thank you.