Realising Singapore’s Smart Nation dreams

Located in the island’s northeastern corner, Punggol Digital District (PDD) set to open in 2023, will be a vibrant, mixed-use business district housing key growth industries of Singapore’s digital economy.

Sprawling over 50 hectares, Punggol Digital District will be integrated with the new Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) campus and feature 350,000m2 of floor space in a series of interconnected, energy efficient office buildings that aim to foster strong collaboration between industry and academia.

Within these buildings will be key industries that are driving Singapore’s ambition to become a truly ‘Smart Nation’ – including companies at the forefront of AI (Artificial Intelligence), Cybersecurity and IoT (the Internet of Things), making their mark in the global digital economy.

Thanks to our strong track record in delivering large-scale, high-end building developments across Singapore, Beca was engaged by JTC Corporation (the client) to carry out MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) masterplanning and engineering services, as part of a multi-disciplinary team led by WOHA Architects.

We’ve since designed the sitewide cooling system for this project and a 66kV underground electrical substation – amongst the first of its type in Singapore.

In staying true to its name as a ‘smart digital district’, our smart cities masterplanning work ensured PDD will incorporate a network of IoT sensors throughout its buildings, facial recognition technology for access control, an open digital platform and a first of its kind, secure, cloud-based Building Management System.

In a nation renowned for its focus on excellence and innovation, Punggol Digital District is set to become a role model for merging work, play and living well into the 21st century.

Image credit: SmartCitiesWorld, 2018