General University Design Guidelines for Kent Ridge Campus

Implementation Parameters

A practical way to implement the goals, design principles and objectives in the master plan is through design guidelines. These create parameters within which new buildings and remodels can be designed so that a consistent and appropriate set of values will be maintained. The guidelines which follow have been framed to carry through the policy recommendations without curtailing the ingenuity or imagination of designers. The purpose is to give specificity to the numerous factors that contribute to achievement of the six simply stated campus master plan goals:

Goal 1: Improve the User Experience
Goal 2: Improve Operational Efficiency
Goal 3: Increase Opportunities for Interaction
Goal 4: Improve the Efficiency and Clarity of Movement
Goal 5: Improve Safety Across Campus
Goal 6: Create a Vision for the Future

While every effort should be made to meet each and every one of the following guidelines, there will be instances in which some are mutually exclusive, or are at odds with regulations. Solutions which achieve the greatest implementation of the six goals should be favored.

• Building Siting, Configuration, Appearance and Orientation Guidelines
  
  • Develop the edges of campus as connections to surrounding districts that encourage community rather than separating it from NUS (except for natural landscape buffers).
  • Use the massing and orientation of buildings to define outdoor space.
  • Site and orient buildings to respect established axial relationships to other buildings and to features of the landscape. Recognize and respond to opportunities to create additional relationships. Integrate existing geometry into the new master plan
  • Locate secondary and support functions, such as storage and recycling, in inconspicuous locations where noise is not a problem and where service access is available.
  • Orient building entrances and building façades along pedestrian links.
  • Identify potential views from within proposed buildings, and orient windows to take full advantage of them. Preserve views back to Kent Ridge from buildings.
  • Orient buildings to minimize solar gain and maximize usable daylight
  • Buildings should be sited, oriented and configured to take advantage of natural ventilation opportunities.
  • Locate tall buildings where their shadows will not degrade important occupied spaces.
  • Articulate the massing of new buildings so that volumes and surfaces are consistent in scale with those of neighboring structures, and fit the character of the campus as a whole.
  • Use roof forms that effectively screen rooftop equipment from views.
  • Use quality, low maintenance building materials of known longevity, such as masonry, stone, tile, precast concrete, glass, and metal.
  • Decrease the visual intrusion of parked vehicles into the campus. Find parking solutions that make it convenient yet unobtrusive and place them under buildings along Lower Kent Ridge Road.
  • Buildings should be setback a minimum of 5.0m from all roads and a minimum of 8.0m from Lower Kent Ridge Road.
  • Buildings shall be placed according to the final design build-out in the masterplan.

  
  
• Building Uses and Activity Guidelines
  • Distinguish the use of each building type by its architecture, yet relate each type to its neighbor; a human scale should be common to all.
  • Address active outdoor recreation areas, such as walkways, with active building frontage uses wherever possible.
  • Locate primary building entrances in conspicuous locations and provide them with shade, shelter and seating to encourage informal gatherings.
  • Provide bike storage conveniently near, but clear of building entrances and emergency vehicle routes in car parks with secure bike parking.
  • As each project is undertaken, complement neighboring facilities, and contribute to the completion of campus-wide systems. These systems include the landscape master plan, fiber and utility systems as well as driveways and footpaths.
  • Restrict and limit the use of temporary buildings on campus.
  • Space for research and teaching facilities will be identified on the hospital site to meet the goal of supporting increased interaction and increasing levels of translational research.
  •  Locate offices/public spaces in the towers on the south side of the academic green to overlook Kent Ridge and locate offices/public spaces in the towers on the north side of the academic green to overlook the academic green to optimize views.

  
  
• Building Stewardship and Sustainability Guidelines
  
  • Evaluate materials and systems based on life cycle costs rather than on capital costs alone.
  • Evaluate systems that use natural ventilation, and cooling during certain periods of the year.
  • Orient buildings to minimize solar gain and maximize usable daylight.
  • Consider the placement, eventual size and density of trees planted near buildings in relation to solar gain and natural daylight use.
  • Use storm runoff from roofs to recharge irrigation systems.
  • Select locally manufactured materials to limit transport-related costs and impacts.
  • Specify materials manufactured using environmentally sound production processes and renewable material sources. Favor certified wood products and recycled content materials.
  • Use materials that are durable, require limited maintenance, and are recyclable.
  • Eliminate CFCs, HCFC, halons and volatile organic compounds in building materials, mechanical systems, paints and adhesives.
  • Accommodate reclamation and recycling of chemicals in buildings; accommodate solid waste recycling within all new and remodeled buildings; protect indoor environmental quality.
  • Increase building materials salvage and construction waste recycling rates; encourage energy auditing by suppliers.
  • Increase on-site effluent treatment from clinical and research laboratories to protect the campus environment.
  • Make consistent use of performance measures to determine the environmental and cost effectiveness of energy reduction and sustainability investments.
  • Limit the variety of lighting fixtures in use, favor energy-efficient lighting, controls and occupancy sensors.
  Please click here for more detailed reference to University guidelines to sustainability for KR Campus.

  
  
• Landscape and Amenities Guidelines
  
  • Provide benches, seating walls, and places to lean in diverse, shady places around the campus along the primary pedestrian walkways.
  • Extend campus lighting along unlit pathways with sufficient illumination to make facial recognition possible at several paces distance. Avoid glare, light spillage and sharp contrasts with unlit spaces.
  • Extend covered pathways across NUS campus boundaries.
  • Planning of future planting to maximize score according to Singapore Index of Cities’ Biodiversity (as preferred by Ministry of National Development)
  • Concentration of planting around pedestrian areas to increase comfort and encourage use of pathways.
  • Increased width of current covered pedestrian walkways (2 meter minimum width) to reduce rain/sun penetration.
  • Use of high-density planting to clearly define perimeter open areas, and to provide character for activity spaces.
  • Increase canopy cover, dappled shade to encourage outdoor activities.
  • Introduction of landscape buffers to mask loading/ service/parking facilities that are exposed.
  • Increase of planting to beautify vehicular drop-off and waiting spaces.
  • Reduction of maintenance, irrigation and pest control.
  • Green network of connected canopy/understory/ ground cover to improve ecological health, species richness.
  • Use of green roof/extensive canopy at NUS open space and perimeter to decrease temperature differentials between exterior and interior thereby discouraging migration of mosquitoes to the interior and encouraging use of exterior spaces.
  • Amplification and coordination of existing themed gardens throughout NUS campus and provide linkages from these gardens to major pedestrian routes.
  • Strategic placement of programmatic “focus points” at open spaces to encourage use; reduction of existing “green deserts.”
  • Exploration of potential collaboration with SDE in creation of temporary experimental landscape spaces by students.
  • Re-connection of Kent Ridge forest to NUS grounds via “Green Fingers”.
  • Planting of trees/ planning of Green Fingers to assist in the preservation of North-South wind corridors.
  • Avoid disturbing native landscapes during campus construction.
  • Minimize impervious surfaces.
  • Use appropriate methods, such as bioswale techniques, to remove sediment and other contaminants from runoff.
  • Select durable site furnishings constructed of vandal-resistant materials. Secure all site furnishings except moveable cafe tables and chairs.
  Please click here for more detailed reference to University guidelines to Landscaping for KR Campus.

  
  
• Circulation Guidelines
  
  • Give priority to walking over all other circulation modes within the campus. Pedestrian safety is the first priority.
  • Give second priority to safe bicycle circulation
  • Provide circulation routes for service vehicles that conflict as little as possible with pedestrian circulation.
  • Preserve and create views and vistas that help to orient visitors on and near the campus.
  • When possible along corridors provide spaces to gather in small groups for discussions and consultations. Provide break-out space and whiteboards in miscellaneous alcoves throughout the campus buildings.
  • Acknowledge the primacy of people on foot in the design of buildings and associated open spaces throughout the campus.
  • Locate ground floor stairs that are open, visible and connect the immediate upper and lower floors if education or public programs are present

  
  
• Parking Facilities Guidelines
  
  • Decrease the visual intrusion of parked vehicles into the campus. Find parking solutions that make it convenient yet unobtrusive.
  • Carparks, should be located along Lower Kent Ridge Road at the base of the new buildings. Shield the Exposure of parking areas from Lower Kent Ridge road using program space on road frontage and landscaping.
  • Provide landscape buffers to screen all parking areas from the campus core and from sensitive viewpoints.
  • Provide convenient and efficient garage design with safe entries and exits for vehicles and pedestrians.
  • Adhere to safety-in-design guidelines for parking structures. Maintain good, uniform lighting and minimize opportunities for personal concealment.
  • Only accessibility parking is allowed as required along inner campus service roads.

  
  
• Pedestrian Access Guidelines
  
  • Provide pedestrian amenities in public rights-of-way, including shelter, seating, lighting, street trees, planters, and other street furniture.
  • Provide safe and direct pedestrian access to and between streets, open spaces, and popular destinations.
  • Construct paths with widths and materials that will accommodate expected uses. Add width to accommodate site furnishings, lights, and other amenities that are placed on walkways.
  • Provide planting strips between sidewalks and major roadways.
  • Avoid indirect connections that encourage shortcuts.
  • Use planting to increase the attractiveness of pedestrian access ways and reduce heat gain.
  • Break long stretches of path into smaller, more manageable distances between visible landmarks.
  • Pedestrian link from MRT to University Hall to be located at 122.0m AMSL, with a transition to 127.0m AMSL near University Hall, in the academic core zone running through the middle of the planned NUS campus. Building floor levels are to be adjusted accordingly to meet this level.
  • The pedestrian link shall not be lined with blank walls or utility spaces but rather public spaces, places of interaction and activity nodes.
  • Provide continuous coverage of pedestrian pathways when bisected by roads.

  
  
• Public Transit and Shuttle Guidelines
  
  • The new MRT station will change the flow of visitors and students to the hospital and the NUS campus. The location of the station should be a primary consideration in the location of campus shuttle stations, and access to the pedestrian connectors throughout the Campus.
  • Provide enhanced transit stop amenities at all locations. Include route and time information, larger shelters with supplementary night lighting, and windscreen and sun protection.
  • Accommodate bus and shuttle dimensions and turning parameters in the design of all current and potential transit and shuttle stops.
  • Provide for covered linkways to the bus stops along Lower Kent Ridge Road.

  
  
• Roadway Guidelines
  
  • Design roads to encourage driving at speeds appropriate to an environment where pedestrians are present.
  • Design roads and driveways to conform to campus character.
  • Maintain sight distance clearances appropriate to design speeds for vehicular traffic.
  • Use curb radiuses appropriate to slow moving vehicles on campus. Smaller radii lanes provide safer pedestrian environments and reduce the visual dominance of large paved areas at intersections.
  • Provide bike pathways with a width to allow two-way traffic along Lower Kent Ridge Road. Use speed bumps to slow riders down at major pedestrian and service road intersections.
  • Maximum width of new roadways to be 7.0m.

  
  
• Service Areas Guidelines
  
  • Locate service roads and service areas so they do not create traffic hazards for other vehicles, pedestrians or bicycles.
  • Locate service areas for convenient access by large vehicles, but minimize conflicts with pedestrian circulation, views, building functions, and other activities. Sites on the periphery of the campus are therefore preferred.
  • Use earth mounds and landscaping to screen anticipated visual problems associated with service roads and service areas.

  
  
• Emergency Access Guidelines
  
  • Make adequate provisions in the design of every facility for quick and safe evacuation of all occupants in case of emergency. Structure the surfaces of open spaces adjacent to buildings so that they can support emergency vehicles in all weathers.
  • Provide clear emergency access routes to every facility on campus that will function effectively in all weather conditions.
  • Maintain regular inspection procedures to ensure that emergency vehicle access and occupant evacuation routes are kept clear and operable.
  • Align utilities, and locate access points to them so that emergency access can be facilitated with a minimum of delay.

  
  
• Centers of University Activity and Open Space Guidelines
  
  • Use architecture, open space and signage to direct visitors to whichever campus center they seek. Examples of such centers are student life (including dining, study and recreation), student services, university administration, research, health sciences and natural sciences.
  • Recognize that different aspects of university life are each focused on different places on, and sometimes off the campus. Identify both the center and affiliated facilities serving each aspect, and configure new facilities and connections to enable all such centered systems to function effectively.
  • Design campus centers to anticipate changes in use and progressive enlargement as university enrollment increases.
  • Design campus centers to project the hallmarks of a world class university.
  • Recognize the need for automobile access, but recognize also that access by walking, transit and bicycle should take precedence over cars in convenience and accommodation in the design of the center.
  • Define and design all open spaces on campus as related components of a hierarchy of open spaces reaching from the largest, undeveloped and natural areas to the smallest plazas and gardens. Recognize that streets, driveways and parking lots are also components of the open space system.
  • Create a clear progression between open spaces in terms of function, scale, and elements of continuity - such as plant species and outdoor furniture.
  • Enclose and otherwise define each open space to support its intended functions.

  
  
• Public Art Guidelines
  
  • Use public art to identify, define and enhance streetscape, open space and building entrances.
  • Encourage all new building and open space developments to collaborate with artists and incorporate artwork that is visible to the public when appropriate.
  • Find opportunities to integrate public art with architecture and landscape design.
  • Plan for the integration of meaningful artworks to engage the user.
  • Use creative and imaginative forms of seating and lighting that encourage interest and participation.
  • Create open spaces with multiple, dynamic settings for artwork, graphics, and installations.

  
  
• Accessibility for the Disabled Guidelines
  
  • Provide barrier-free routes to all campus buildings and integrate both barrier-free design and safety-in-design with all campus improvements.
  • Design exterior walkways with grades and surfaces that permit wheelchair access.
  • Provide edge definition on paths.
  • Provide power-actuated opening devices at entrance doors.
  • Provide elevators along with escalators and/or stairways at major vertical transition points on campus.

  
  
• Signage and Way-Finding Guidelines
  • Consolidate and simplify signage to avoid visual clutter and confusion.
  • Use signage as an element of continuity and identity throughout the campus.
  • Locate signage in predictable locations to aid visitor orientation.
  • Coordinate placement of signage and lighting to ensure legibility during hours of darkness.
  • Accommodate the differing viewpoints of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to whom signs are addressed. This will impudence placement and scale of signs.
  • Maintain a comprehensive way-ending and signage system that is in keeping with the character of the campus.
  • Use large sculptural works to identify major campus nodes and aid in way-finding.