Next, Phua Hong Wei, the Director of WOHA shared on Sustaining Sustainability and the Value of Nature for our Future. ‘We borrow the earth from our children’, buildings inevitably make the city and a sustainable city can therefore be largely made of the choices of each individual building. Though the concept of the pavilion may appear to be three unassuming cones, they each carry an integral message on sustainability and enabled  nature to flourish by creating a sustainable ecosystem. The pavilion intentionally curated many activities to teach its visitors a valuable lesson about sustainability, beginning with a ground garden, a canopy walk, hanging garden, and ending with a sky market.

Last but not the least, Chang Huai-Yan the Founder of Salad Dressing spoke on Fusing the Digital + Natural Ecosystems. The pavilion showcased Singapore’s unique landscape, featuring plants from lowland rainforest, mangrove, freshwater swamp and the City. Of course, orchids – Singapore’s national flower was featured as well, using technology to create hybrids from the native orchid species. Sharing more on how technology was utilised to serve and create natural ecosystems, Huai-Yan expounded on how the pavilion had live-in climbing robots such as Nacre Okta who could effectively monitor and care for the plants using machine learning. A game was also developed to demonstrate the effects of individual action and collective effort on the environment, encouraging and inviting all to be part of the rewilding process. A superorganism is born when the digital ecosystem collides with the natural ecosystem, a place where data is translated and speaks to the visitors and where everything learns from one another.

Following the presentations, David Nugent, Founder of SAMVADA, moderated an open discussion between the panel and the audience.  The speakers exchanged observations and perspectives with the audience which brought to light unexpected anecdotes and lessons in hindsight.

In a nutshell, the pavilion exemplified how instead of ‘taking and emitting’, buildings should give back and make a positive impact on the environment. Achieving balance and restoring biodiversity is not just a motherhood statement but one that every individual can take conscious strides towards.

ULI Singapore appreciates the contributions from the author.  We wish to also thank PwC Singapore, one of our Patron sponsors, for hosting this discussion at their premises.