referred to

DIGI Technology Operation Center, Malaysia...

Project Name: DIGI Technology Operation Centre, MalaysiaLocation: Subang High Tech Park, Shah Alam, SelangorClient: DIGI Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd.Start Date: April 2009Completion Date: July 2010

The project is a data centre with ancillary facilities i.e.

Administration Offices, Reception Lobby, Telco Tower and a

Service Management Centre (Command Centre) for Digi

Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd. The Client’s brief was to design

a data centre based on ‘IT Data Center’s Uptime Institute’

Tier III platform, with the possibility to scale-up to Tier IV

security and to include substancial ecological features. The

response to the Client’s brief is a building designed to

optimize the data centre footprint, provide effective drainage

and waterproofing to protect sensitive equipment, reduce solar

heat gain into the data centre and allow for effective

security measures. The façades of the Data Centre incorporate

extensive vertical green walls that act as living habitats.

The large greenery compontent also act as means of filtering

and improving a building’s ambient indoor air quality. The

green walls act as a living, breathing, regenerative cladding

that acts as a living art installation and biological air

filter. Green walls, both indoors and out, decrease local CO²,

help regulate humidity levels, trap dust, reduce noise and

create a habitat for urban wildlife. Exterior green wall

installations reduce solar gain (the entrapment of heat by

passive solar gain on the building surface) and, by extension,

building energy costs; provide protection from the effects of

UV radiation and acid rain; and help lessen the building’s

contribution to the heat island effect (resulting from

vegetated land replaced with concrete and asphalt). The key

ecological design features are:

Vegetated Green Wall In addition to improving the project’s

conservation footprint via the addition of large areas of

native vegetation, the vertical green wall contributes to the

building’s overall performance in the following manner:

Ecological Continuity This vertical eco-infrastructure

establishes a continuous habitat on all facades of the

building thereby enhancing its ecological performance and

contributing to the site’s biodiversity. Conditions of this

green armature are especially conducive to populations of

butterflies and species of small birds. The continuity of the

design further promotes biodiversity as the green wall

effectively acts as one large habitat as opposed to a

segmented design in which the biodiversity impact is less

effective due to balkanization;

Natural Air Filtration The green walls have been developed in

conjunction with the building’s ventilation design to act as a

biological air filtration system. Five fresh air intakes are

strategically located immediately behind the green wall

trellis in order to capitalize on the particulate filtration

and CO² sequestration  afforded by their proximity to

greenery.

Thermal Performance The extensive, 1460m2 green wall

contributes to the overall thermal performance of the building

envelope. This contribution is significant as the project’s

green wall covers an area equal to approximately 32% of the

total surface area of the building envelope.  The enhanced

thermal performance afforded by green walls as architectural

cladding is documented by a growing body of academic research.

Daylighting The main office and circulation spaces are glazed

using full-height Low-E curtain walls to provide maximum

daylight penetration and enables energy efficient lighting

systems within the spaces.  Perimeter lighting fixtures are

controlled by daylight sensors which reduce energy consumption

by automatically switching off lamps when adequate daylight is

available.  Secondary rooms are also fitted with operable

windows for natural ventilation and daylight.

Renewable Energy An array of photovoltaic panels is installed

on the building’s uppermost roof area.   Mounted on a steel

trellis, the 234 m2 PV array generates approximately 35.28KWh

of electricity on site with all power generated feeding

directly back into the municipal power grid. This renewable

energy production represents an overall reduction in

CO² emissions of 12,516 kg per year and helps offset the

intensive energy demands of the data centre operations.

Bioswale Natural filtration and drainage systems are used to

reduce the burden of surface run off to the public drainage

system.  They also act to collect surface run off for reuse in

the central irrigation system.  The project’s sustainable

drainage strategy also includes the use of permeable grass

pavers for all ground level car park areas.  These systems

allow rainwater to replenish the site’s local aquifer rather

than being diverted into an external storm-water drain.

Rainwater Harvesting Siphonic rainwater down pipes are used

for high velocity rain-water run-off from the building’s

roof.  This rainwater is channeled into a collection tank with

a capacity of 100 cubic meters.  The tank is made of 100%

recycled content materials.  Collected rainwater is filtered

and reused to irrigate plantscapes around the building and

cater for the water requirements of the vegetated green wall

via an integrated gravity-fed rooftop irrigation system.  The

project’s rainwater harvesting system has been designed to

ensure that no potable water is used for irrigation purposes.

Green Materials Low VOC paints and adhesives are used for all

internal spaces.External timber decking is made from a

composite of pure polymer resin and bio-waste (rice husk).

This material can be re-grinded into powder to be recycled or

reprocessed. The primary roof water-proofing system is a

liquid applied membrane of heavy bodied acrylic polymer gel.

This is an environmentally-friendly coating system and is a

Green Label certified product. The interior walls & ceiling

lining in the office areas are recycled, environmentally

friendly plasterboards comprised of High Purity Synthetic

Gypsum (HPSG) plaster cores. Office Areas to receive low-VOC

carpets with minimum 30% post-consumer recycled material

content.

Project Name: Solaris, Fusionopolis (Phase 2B), One North

Singapore

Location: 1 Fusionopolis Walk, Singapore 138634

Client: SoilBuild Group Holdings

Start Date: 2008 (Design)

Completion Date: Dec 2010

SOLARIS is located in the research and business park in

central Singapore’s one-north community. The building is a

flagship project in the second phase on this locality.

Fusionopolis is an R&D hub for Infocomm Technology, Media,

Physical Sciences & Engineering industries which is intended

to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship in these fields.

The masterplan for the visionary mixed-use development was

prepared by Zaha Hadid Architects. SOLARIS has been certified

BCA Green Mark Platinum, the highest possible green

certification granted by Singapore’s sustainable building

benchmark (eg. LEED, GBI, GreenStar, BREEAM, etc). The

building’s overall energy consumption represents a reduction

of over 36% compared to local precedents and the high

performance façade has an External Thermal Transfer Value

(ETTV) of less than 39 W/m2. With over 8,000 m2 of

landscaping, Solaris also introduces vegetation which exceeds

the area of the building’s original site. SOLARIS stands as a

dramatic demonstration of the possibilities inherent in an

ecological approach to building design. The project comprises

two tower blocks separated by a grand naturally-ventilated

central atrium. Office floors are linked by a series of sky

bridges which span the atrium at upper floors. The building

will become a vibrant focal point for the one-north community

through the introduction of open interactive spaces, creative

use of skylights and courtyards for natural light and

ventilation and a continuous spiral landscaped ramp, an

extension of one-north Park across the street, which forms an

ecological nexus tying together an escalating sequence roof

gardens with sky terraces that interpenetrate the building’s

facade. With its extensive ecoinfrastructure, sustainable

design features and innovative vertical green concept, Solaris

strives to enhance its site’s existing ecosystems, rather than

replace them. The key ecological features are:

Continuous Perimeter Landscape Ramp An uninterrupted 1.5 km

long ecological armature connects the adjacent one-north Park at

ground level and the basement Eco-cell with the cascading

sequence of roof-gardens at the building’s highest levels. 

The ramp has a minimum width of 3m.  Maintenance of the spiral

landscaped ramp is achieved via a parallel pathway which

allows for servicing of the continuous planters without

requiring access from internal tenanted spaces.  The pathway

also serves as a linear park that stretches all the way from

the ground plane to the uppermost roof areas.  The continuity

of the landscaping is a key component of the project’s

ecological design concept as it allows for fluid movement of

organisms and plant species between all vegetated areas within

the building, enhancing biodiversity and contributing to the

overall health of these ecosystems.  The ramp, with its deep

overhangs and large concentrations of shade plants, is also

one element in a comprehensive strategy for the ambient

cooling of the building facade.  This eco-infrastructure

provides social, interactive and creative environments for the

occupants of the building’s upper floors while balancing the

inherent inorganicness of the built-form with a more organic

mass.

Rainwater Harvesting/Recycling The building’s extensive

landscaped areas are irrigated via a large-scale rainwater

recycling system.  Rainwater is collected from the drainage

downpipes of the perimeter landscaped ramp and from the roof

of tower B via Siphonic drainage.  It is stored in rooftop

tanks and at the lowest basement level, beneath the Eco-cell.  A

storage capacity of over 700 cubic meters allows for over five

days of irrigation via recycled water between rainfalls

Roof Gardens and Corner Sky Terraces Vertical landscaping acts

as a thermal buffer and creates areas for relaxation and event

spaces.  These extensive gardens allow for interaction between

the building’s occupants and nature offering opportunities to

experience the external environment and enjoy views of the

treetops of one-north Park.  As it reaches each corner of the

building the spiral ramp expands into generous double-volume

sky terraces.  Upon completion, the sum of the project’s

vegetated areas will exceed the footprint of the site on which

the building sits.

Climate Responsive Facade The project’s climate-responsive

façade design originated with analysis of the local sun-path. 

Singapore is on the equator and the sun-path is almost exactly

east-west.  Facade studies analyzing the solar-path determined

the shape and depth of the sunshade louvers, which also double

as light-shelves.  This solar shading strategy further reduces

heat transfer across the building’s low-e double-glazed

perimeter facade, contributing to an extremely low External

Thermal Transfer Value (ETTV) of 39 watts/m.sq.  In

conjunction with the spiral landscaped ramp, sky gardens, and

deep overhangs, the sunshade louvers also assist in

establishing comfortable micro-climates in habitable spaces

along the building’s exterior.  The combined linear length of

the building’s sun-shade louvers exceeds 10km.

Naturally Ventilated and Day Lit Grand Atrium A public plaza

between the two tower blocks provides a space for communal

activities and creative performances.  This naturally-

ventilated ground floor operates as a mixed-mode (non-air

conditioned) zone with an operable glass-louvered roof over

the atrium providing protection from the elements while

enabling full ventilation when needed.   CFD (Computational

Fluid Dynamic) simulations were used to analyse thermal

conditions and wind-speed within the atrium.  The results of

these studies were used to optimize the atrium facade design

to improve air flow and enhance comfort levels.

Pocket Park / Plaza Ground level landscaping, linking to one-

north Park across the street, allows for cross ventilation of

the ground-floor plaza and provides a venue for

social/interactive events.

Solar Shaft A diagonal shaft cut through the upper floors of

Tower A allows day-light to penetrate deep into the building’s

interior.  Internal lighting operates on a system of sensors

which reduces energy use by automatically turning-off lights

when adequate day-lighting is available.  Landscaped planter

boxes within the solar shaft bring added quality to adjacent

spaces and enhance views up into the building from the street

below.

Eco-cell Located at the building’s north-east corner where the

spiral ramp meets the ground, the Eco-cell allows vegetation,

daylight and natural ventilation to extend into the car-park

levels below.  The lowest level of the Eco-cell contains the

storage tank and pump room of the rainwater recycling system.

This is a 3-storey building with offices on one wing and a

golf clubhouse on the other wing. The offices are the HQ

peremises for Guthrie Property Development Holding Sdn. Bhd.

(GPDH) [ a division of Kumpulan Guthre Berhad]. The company’s

business is solely in real estate development. The building is

intended to be a landmark building and to be the most

prestigious building visible from the highway as visitors

enter the locality.The building comprises of 4 major parts:

The Offices (West Wing) Accommodating Guthrie subsidiary

offices.

The Golf Clubhouse (East Wing) Housing a public golf clubhouse

with changing rooms, pro-shop and caddy station on the ground

Project Name

Guthrie Pavilion

Location

Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Client

Guthrie Property Development

Holding Sdn. Bhd.

floor. The golfer’s cafeteria, golfers terrace and restaurant

have views towards the golf course.

The Core Holding the common services for both wings ie.

toilets, prayer rooms and M&E plant room, riser ducts and

chiller plant.

The Roof is an independent structure, acting as an “umbrella”

over the building. The roof shields the building from the

sun, reducing glare and air-conditioning load whilst providing

a usable roof terrace overlooking the golf course on the north

and east. Sunshades are located along the east and west faces

of the building to reduce heat again. The building is fully

glazed for maximum views out and natural lighting

KEN YEANG

ARCHITECT