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Singapore, 14 March 2025 – Singapore Polytechnic’s (SP) School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE) unveiled a stunning collection of student projects at its annual graduate showcase, CATALYST 2025. The 180 displayed projects offer bold and innovative solutions to some of Singapore’s most pressing urban challenges, from sustainable design to social inclusion.

The projects from the Diplomas in Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture were developed in close collaboration with industry experts, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Ministry of Education (MOE), Gensler, and SP’s User Experience Centre (UXC). The partnership has allowed students to gain real-world experience and develop cutting-edge solutions that are both practical and visionary.

Among the notable projects on display are:

• Traversa (Diploma in Architecture): A proposed School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering building inspired by an electrical circuit layout, the building’s design orchestrates pathways to guide exploration, discovery and engagement throughout the space.

• Robin Birdscape (Diploma in Landscape Architecture): A proposed green urban corridor that seeks to revive Tiong Bahru’s traditional bird-watching culture.  The design harmoniously blends natural, urban development and cultural heritage.

• Eruditare (Diploma in Interior Design): An innovative school design that creates an immersive learning experience by tapping into students’ senses and encouraging self-initiated learning autonomy.

Please refer to Annexes A, B, and C for details on the student projects.

SP and NParks collaborate to accelerate transformative green urban space design

In addition to the student projects, SP ABE also announced a new partnership with the National Parks Board (NParks).  The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will foster collaboration in landscape design, architecture, nature conservation, urban greenery, and community stewardship. The MOU will also nurture the talent pipeline in these growing areas through industry hands-on exposure opportunities for staff and students in SP’s curriculum and research and development projects. This underscores SP’s commitment to continuously innovate by forging strong industry partnerships.

For more details of the MOU, please refer to Annex D.

Mr Shamril Jamil, Director, Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE), NParks, said, “We are happy to forge a stronger partnership with Singapore Polytechnic through this MOU, to provide more opportunities for learning and sharing between students, staff and our industry partners. This builds upon our current collaborations with SP in various areas such as internships, study awards and student design projects, and will contribute towards NParks’ City in Nature vision by nurturing talent for the relevant industries. We look forward to co-developing curriculum and training content, innovation projects and other initiatives to promote industry transformation and encourage environmental stewardship.

“This year, our graduating cohort have developed design proposals that seek to address issues contingent with both the promise and anxieties of the age: sustainability and automation. By tackling issues ranging from designing a net-zero building to fabricating geometrically complex façade modules using computational tools, the school is committed to having our students engage with evolving discourses in the built environment,” said Dr Faris Akbar Hajamaideen, Senior Director, Built Environment & Maritime at SP.

“We are excited to partner with NParks to give our students more opportunities to learn and grow.  This collaboration will allow us to develop the next generation of leaders in the built environment sector and confident catalysts to make a better Singapore for tomorrow.”

The CATALYST 2025 Showcase will be open to the public from 17 to 18 March 2025, from 10 am to 5 pm, at W5A, Singapore Polytechnic, 500 Dover Road, Singapore 139651. Visitors may register here.

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