<p><em>In Singapore’s Bukit Timah, Belinda Young’s home is a carbon-negative house that promises no energy bills, lower water bills and the potential of supplying excess electricity to the national grid one day, discovers Jane A Peterson</em></p>.<p>In the upmarket neighbourhood of Bukit Timah, Singapore, a minimalist and futuristic “carbon-negative” house will soon hit the rental market. It promises no energy bills, lower water bills and the potential of one day supplying excess electricity to the national grid. It’s called B House, after Belinda Young, its owner. “This is the first carbon-negative house in Singapore,” she said, “yet built at the same price as any other home of a similar size in the area.”<br /><br />The largely prefabricated home cost $2.13 million to build. It sits alongside a fraternal twin that is not carbon-negative. Both 5,400-square-foot homes squeeze onto a 17,500-square-foot plot where Belinda’s dilapidated family home, built in the 1950s, once stood. To generate more power than it consumes, B House catches the rays of Singapore’s tropical sun with large rooftop solar panels.<br /> <br />They can generate roughly twice the energy that a family of five requires, according to the project architect. <br /><br />Both five-bedroom homes are clad in reconstituted timber and use largely recyclable materials throughout. Swales on the home’s periphery capture rainwater for lawn plants and toilets.<br /><br />A British-born architect, Jason Pomeroy, designed B House using his evidence-based interdisciplinary sustainable design approach. Jason, who is a local television personality and architectural author, said the approach “puts science back into something that’s creative.”<br /> <br />For a house to achieve carbon-negative status, its occupants will have to live in a fairly warm environment, averaging 24 Celsius (75 Fahrenheit), forgoing air-conditioning, fans and frequent use of electric lights. In addition, the residents will often need to adjust variable aluminium shutters on the home’s tinted windows and doors to regulate sun and airflow. Catching the wind maximises cross ventilation and “keeps the air sweet,” the architect said.<br /><br />Providing choice<br />Dressed in a fitted cotton jacket and tie, Jason, who writes books about sustainable design, does not break a sweat as he walks from room to room, demonstrating how the shutters operate. He believes the “thermal comfort level” will be acceptable to families acclimated to tropical conditions. For those who prefer cooler temperatures, he suggests switching on the air-conditioning unit in the living room or fans in each bedroom, even though that would raise the carbon footprint. “It’s about providing choice,” he said.<br /><br />Jason’s inspiration for passive design, such as the adjustable shutters, stems from Singapore’s sought-after black-and-white bungalows built by the British throughout the island in the 1800s and early 1900s. “Strong ideas are ones that stand the test of time,” he said. “Buildings of the past should influence the present.” Belinda agrees. “The way the breeze ventilates parts of the house, thanks to the way the windows and doors are positioned and designed, is reminiscent of how my ancestors lived,” she reflected. “I found this both clever and comforting at the same time.”<br /><br />The home’s orientation also minimises heat from the sun, whether from the east or the west, and maximises ventilating crosswinds. Bedroom walls directly facing the sun have no windows. Rather, they feature funky curved-wood walls that seamlessly unite ceiling and floor. Other affected walls abut a high grassy mound. The house also features generous <br />roof overhangs, high ceilings and big verandas.<br /><br />Saving time<br /><br />To prefabricate the home and cut construction time in half, Jason designed three shallow “floor plates,” which run side by side and give rooms optimal natural light. The front plate includes an ample entrance hall and a guest room, which has a frosted glass door and may be better used as a family room or library on the ground floor. Directly above is the master bedroom, with an adjoining bathroom and walk-in closet.<br /><br />The middle plate features an outdoor pool that works as an internal courtyard for entertaining. When doors on either side are open, the space accommodates up to 60 guests. It also offers an adjacent winding staircase leading to a huge, round skylight that could one day become the opening to a rooftop terrace. The third plate includes a soundproof movie room, a living room and a partial galley kitchen, as well as a wet kitchen appointed with functional but not high-end appliances and cabinets. Above are three modest-sized bedrooms with bathrooms and an outdoor deck — complete with a large bathtub.<br /><br />When Belinda, who is an accountant, puts B House up for rent, she hopes to achieve a bit more than the market rate, which is $10,000 to $11,000 a month, perhaps from American or European tenants who are environmentally minded. And when it is time to sell, Belinda expects to make a handsome profit. “People are beginning to appreciate the environment, the dangers of climate change,” she said. “In the years to come, I believe properties with carbon negative — or neutral — elements will fetch a premium.”<br /><br />The Singapore government awarded the B House model the prestigious Green Mark Platinum Award as a pathfinder among about 1,700 Singapore buildings that bear its Green Mark certification.<br /><em><br />The New York Times</em></p>
<p><em>In Singapore’s Bukit Timah, Belinda Young’s home is a carbon-negative house that promises no energy bills, lower water bills and the potential of supplying excess electricity to the national grid one day, discovers Jane A Peterson</em></p>.<p>In the upmarket neighbourhood of Bukit Timah, Singapore, a minimalist and futuristic “carbon-negative” house will soon hit the rental market. It promises no energy bills, lower water bills and the potential of one day supplying excess electricity to the national grid. It’s called B House, after Belinda Young, its owner. “This is the first carbon-negative house in Singapore,” she said, “yet built at the same price as any other home of a similar size in the area.”<br /><br />The largely prefabricated home cost $2.13 million to build. It sits alongside a fraternal twin that is not carbon-negative. Both 5,400-square-foot homes squeeze onto a 17,500-square-foot plot where Belinda’s dilapidated family home, built in the 1950s, once stood. To generate more power than it consumes, B House catches the rays of Singapore’s tropical sun with large rooftop solar panels.<br /> <br />They can generate roughly twice the energy that a family of five requires, according to the project architect. <br /><br />Both five-bedroom homes are clad in reconstituted timber and use largely recyclable materials throughout. Swales on the home’s periphery capture rainwater for lawn plants and toilets.<br /><br />A British-born architect, Jason Pomeroy, designed B House using his evidence-based interdisciplinary sustainable design approach. Jason, who is a local television personality and architectural author, said the approach “puts science back into something that’s creative.”<br /> <br />For a house to achieve carbon-negative status, its occupants will have to live in a fairly warm environment, averaging 24 Celsius (75 Fahrenheit), forgoing air-conditioning, fans and frequent use of electric lights. In addition, the residents will often need to adjust variable aluminium shutters on the home’s tinted windows and doors to regulate sun and airflow. Catching the wind maximises cross ventilation and “keeps the air sweet,” the architect said.<br /><br />Providing choice<br />Dressed in a fitted cotton jacket and tie, Jason, who writes books about sustainable design, does not break a sweat as he walks from room to room, demonstrating how the shutters operate. He believes the “thermal comfort level” will be acceptable to families acclimated to tropical conditions. For those who prefer cooler temperatures, he suggests switching on the air-conditioning unit in the living room or fans in each bedroom, even though that would raise the carbon footprint. “It’s about providing choice,” he said.<br /><br />Jason’s inspiration for passive design, such as the adjustable shutters, stems from Singapore’s sought-after black-and-white bungalows built by the British throughout the island in the 1800s and early 1900s. “Strong ideas are ones that stand the test of time,” he said. “Buildings of the past should influence the present.” Belinda agrees. “The way the breeze ventilates parts of the house, thanks to the way the windows and doors are positioned and designed, is reminiscent of how my ancestors lived,” she reflected. “I found this both clever and comforting at the same time.”<br /><br />The home’s orientation also minimises heat from the sun, whether from the east or the west, and maximises ventilating crosswinds. Bedroom walls directly facing the sun have no windows. Rather, they feature funky curved-wood walls that seamlessly unite ceiling and floor. Other affected walls abut a high grassy mound. The house also features generous <br />roof overhangs, high ceilings and big verandas.<br /><br />Saving time<br /><br />To prefabricate the home and cut construction time in half, Jason designed three shallow “floor plates,” which run side by side and give rooms optimal natural light. The front plate includes an ample entrance hall and a guest room, which has a frosted glass door and may be better used as a family room or library on the ground floor. Directly above is the master bedroom, with an adjoining bathroom and walk-in closet.<br /><br />The middle plate features an outdoor pool that works as an internal courtyard for entertaining. When doors on either side are open, the space accommodates up to 60 guests. It also offers an adjacent winding staircase leading to a huge, round skylight that could one day become the opening to a rooftop terrace. The third plate includes a soundproof movie room, a living room and a partial galley kitchen, as well as a wet kitchen appointed with functional but not high-end appliances and cabinets. Above are three modest-sized bedrooms with bathrooms and an outdoor deck — complete with a large bathtub.<br /><br />When Belinda, who is an accountant, puts B House up for rent, she hopes to achieve a bit more than the market rate, which is $10,000 to $11,000 a month, perhaps from American or European tenants who are environmentally minded. And when it is time to sell, Belinda expects to make a handsome profit. “People are beginning to appreciate the environment, the dangers of climate change,” she said. “In the years to come, I believe properties with carbon negative — or neutral — elements will fetch a premium.”<br /><br />The Singapore government awarded the B House model the prestigious Green Mark Platinum Award as a pathfinder among about 1,700 Singapore buildings that bear its Green Mark certification.<br /><em><br />The New York Times</em></p>