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SPECIAL FEATURE: SUSTAINABILITY
INTRODUCING DULWICH COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)'S NEW SE21 INNOVATION HUB
At Dulwich College (Singapore) we are excited to announce
that work has started on the building of our new SE21 Inno-
vation Hub. This seven-storey state-of-the-art structure will
provide additional creative learning spaces, including a 400-
seat multi-purpose auditorium, a STEAM (science, technolo-
gy, engineering, arts and maths) workshop to accommodate
our SE21 initiative (STEAM and Entrepreneurship in the 21st
Century), a professional teaching kitchen, film and media
suites, three additional black box theatres, IT rooms, another
gymnasium, tennis courts and a sports science laboratory.
It will also include a vast two-storey IB library, workspaces,
study rooms and social areas for our pre-university students.
Sustainability and global citizenship is embedded across
our whole organisation. Our goal is to encourage our com-
munities to make informed choices, take inspired action
and create positive impact on a personal, group and global
level. As part of our journey towards a sustainable future, we
made the commitment to make our new building at Dulwich
both Green Mark Platinum certified (the highest sustainable
construction certification), and a net-zero energy building.
Through this commitment we not only set the standard for
our existing and future schools, but we also hope to inspire
other education groups to make similar commitments for a
sustainable future. Everything, from its architectural design,
construction materials and function, has sustainability and
global citizenship permeating through it.
The biggest challenge was achieving a net-zero building with
the limited space on campus to install renewable energy
sources. Through working with sustainable design and
architecture experts, we managed to find innovative ways to
maximise our renewable energy production. On the build-
ing itself, the architects have designed an eco-envelope to
surround the building to maximise our total solar panel area.
Additionally, by installing more solar panels across our entire
campus, we have maximised the amount of renewable ener-
gy we are able to produce on site. However, despite maximis-
ing our renewable energy output, we still had to reduce the
energy usage of the building in order to match the amount
of energy the solar panels are able to produce and reach
net-zero.
To minimise energy usage, we had to implement numerous
energy saving technologies and designs. On top of installing
efficient lighting systems, we wanted to reduce the need for
artificial lighting by maximising natural lighting. Through
installing light shafts that run across the top floor of the
building and putting in a central atrium that runs through
the centre of the building, light is able to permeate the
entire building. The atrium also provides natural ventilation
to keep the building cool and reduce the need for air con-
ditioning systems. We are also able to drastically increase
our energy efficiency by using passive cooling technologies,
energy-saving chiller systems and environmental sensors
linked to a smart building management system. All of these
innovations work together to significantly reduce the energy
usage of the building and have allowed us to achieve net-ze-
ro. To reduce our water usage, we are installing a rain-water
harvesting system to collect rain water and recycle it for ir-
rigation. We are also committing to use sustainable building
materials, such as mass engineered timber, mixed low-car-
bon concrete and recycled wood or plastic for interior design
and furniture to reduce our waste and carbon footprint in the
process.
Most importantly, to engage our students and community
with sustainability, we will be including several sustainable
initiatives in this build.
For our cooking classes and CCAs we have put in a working kitch-
en where we will have an on-site hydroponic farm to grow several
different plants and herbs for students to harvest and experiment
with in making plant based meals. We will even have a mushroom
chamber to grow and use mushrooms as the base for plant based
meats!
We hope that the new SE21 Innovation Hub will expose our students
to the many exciting developments and opportunities in the sus-
tainability field, no matter what area of interest they have. We are
not only teaching our students about global issues, but also making
our students aware of the local and global efforts being made to
solve them. By engaging our students early with these global issues
and solutions, we hope to provide the necessary skills for them to
thrive in a forever changing world and better understand their place
and purpose on this planet.
The roof of the building will have a full edible forest based on
woodland ecosystems for our students to engage in foraging
for fruits and nuts to expose them to a more natural form of
food production, instead of the more commonly seen farmed
foods. To deal with any food waste from the edible forest,
a vermi-composter and an insect farm will be incorporated
into the roof garden where we will be breeding black soldier
flies. The larva from the black soldier flies will then be fed to
the fish in the pond, where the water is also used to irrigate
the forest, creating a circular ecosystem on the roof for our
students to engage with.
For further engagement with the building, we have also
included several new innovations in the sustainability field
such as energy generating floor tiles and energy generating
gym equipment. The floor tiles will be linked to a screen in
the lobby of the building and will show the amount of energy
that is produced when students walk across them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kai is the Manager of Sustainability and Global Citizenship for
Education in Motion (EiM). His journey in sustainability started in
biology class in Dulwich College Shanghai PX watching an episode
of Planet Earth, narrated by his hero David Attenborough. He de-
veloped an almost obsessive curiosity with the ocean and the way
different ecosystems interact, which led to several sustainability
courses and eventually a degree in biology from the University of
Washington. He then went on to serve as a Naval Officer for 2 years
and realized that even in the military, where you are taught about
morals and discipline every day, we would still be forced to dump
our trash over board in international waters due to the lack of waste
infrastructure at the ports. It was a huge shock to find out how little
the environment is considered when building our economies and
societies. In the end this all boils down to education. In his opinion,
we are not taught to think about sustainability or the environment
from a very young age and this has led to where the world is today.
As a leading education group, there is a responsibility to equip stu-
dents with the necessary skills to thrive in a world where sustain-
ability is already a need. To do so, on top of embedding sustainable
practices within the schools, the group has also started the process
of both Environmental, Social and Governance reporting and group
carbon mapping. These initiatives, amongst many other projects
like the DCSG net-zero Phase 3 building, are to set and achieve the
ultimate goal of becoming a leader in pioneering education for a
sustainable future.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Similarly, we have put self-powering gym equipment into the
sports facility that charges an internal battery when being
used, as well as showing the power generated during differ-
ent movements.
Another exciting initiative being brought in is the plastic
recycling machine from the “Sea Monkey Project” to engage
our students with the design side of sustainability. Through
the collection of external waste plastic, our students will be
able to recycle the plastic into either art projects or possibly
even products to be resold!
Education in Motion is a global education company that
aspires to be a leader in pioneering education for a sus-
tainable future. What started as a single Dulwich College
school in Shanghai has now grown to a family of premier
education brands, nurturing more than 10,300 students
to Live Worldwise. Our vision at EiM is to pioneer World-
wise education solutions that are innovative, creative and
world-changing, with the goal of inspiring and empower-
ing students with the passion, skills and opportunities to
make a difference in the world. To do this, we are commit-
ted to investing in and developing education brands with
diverse focus areas, but a strong common commitment to
the global sustainability agenda.
SPECIAL FEATURE: SUSTAINABILITY
INTRODUCING DULWICH COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)'S NEW SE21 INNOVATION HUB