Nine computationally generated masterplans, each evaluated for Urban Heat Island performance across 21,000 design variants for a 100-hectare site on Singapore’s Greater Southern Waterfront, were exhibited at the Singapore Pavilion of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. The masterplans were produced using the Adaptive Design Lab’s generative urban model, developed across a three-year collaboration with Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, and presented through large-format physical models (see images below) and environmental simulation data (in a video project on the tabletop). The work was selected under the pavilion theme “Vertically Greening the City”, placing SUTD’s computational urban design research within the global architecture conversation on extreme heat.
Citation:
Aydin, E.E., Ortner, F.P., Chen, Z. (2024). Climate-Responsive Urban Planning Through Generative Models: Sensitivity Analysis of Urban Planning and Design Parameters for Urban Heat Island in Singapore’s Residential Settlements. Sustainable Cities and Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105779
Acknowledgements:
Research team: Elif Esra Aydin, F. Peter Ortner, Zebin Chen. Exhibition: Singapore Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.