A new $61 million research laboratory has been set up to look into ways to optimise land usage, come up with eco-friendly solutions for buildings and improve productivity in the built environment sector. Launched by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), consultancy Surbana Jurong and the National Research Foundation (NRF), the NTU-based lab will start with 11 projects focused on three themes: digitalisation, sustainability and future-proofing the built environment industry. Successful solutions that the lab comes up with will be rolled out to Surbana Jurong projects, and eventually sold to companies and governments, especially those in the tropics. Among them could be chilled ceiling panels suited to the tropics, which can reduce the amount of energy needed to cool a room while removing impurities.

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Straits Times