An addition to the existing faculty apartments on the campus of the National University of Singapore, Kent Vale was designed to be an iconic gateway building, where the realms of domesticity and civic monumentality would meet. The challenge of the brief lay in the melding of two distinct uses: firstly, as a new administrative center, where architecture should present itself as a statement of the client’s vision for a new campus ideal; secondly, as a quiet oasis for residents to interact and enjoy.

This tropical high-rise is notable for its adventurous use of high rise greenery. The facade, though intricate, is not merely decorative. Solar gain through the façade is minimized via optimum building orientation, strategic sun-shading by modular green walls, balconies, and screens on the east and west facing facades, and horizontal sun-shading of all facades. The design of Kent Vale presents the culmination of sustained analytical design, melding function, sustainability and constructability in a highly resolved architectural form.