The Architecture

© Jeff Goldberg. Esto

The Architecture

As Yale-NUS was a completely new institution, the campus was designed and built from scratch, which meant that its buildings and architecture could be tailored from the ground up to suit the College’s needs.

Combining educational, residential and social spaces, the campus supported the College’s educational mission while also providing a comfortable and inspiring home for its students.

It was designed by American architectural firm Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, in collaboration with Singaporean firm Forum Architects.

Inspirations

The architects looked to some ancient educational institutions for inspiration, such as India’s Nalanda University, the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, the Greek Academy and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

They were also inspired by elements from Yale University’s campus, and sought to combine these with the more contemporary high-rise architecture of Singapore.

Yale-NUS College campus view captured from the linkway outside of the Centre for International & Professional Experience office. Dome of the Oculus, campus green and Cendana College buildings are visible.

Another element was how to capture some of the distinctiveness of the architecture in Yale, New Haven, in Singapore, while embracing the tropical Asian aspects of architecture.

NUS President Tan Chorh Chuan describes how the College’s architecture combined elements from Yale University’s campus with Singaporean features.

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Families and friends congregate around the Oculus for the Family Weekend 2019 celebration.

The Oculus, located at the main entrance to the campus, combined Eastern and Western influences, while subverting both.

In Chinese symbolism, circles refer to Heaven, while squares refer to the Earth, as seen in the early Chinese text “The way of Heaven is round; the Way of Earth is square”.

The Oculus was inspired by this idea, but reversed the traditional positions by having a square roof (representing the Earth) above a circular reflecting pool (representing Heaven), so locating the Earth in the sky and Heaven on the ground.

And in Western architecture, an oculus is a circular opening in the centre of a dome, allowing light, rain and air into a building. The campus’s Oculus replaced this traditional circular opening with a square one.

This merging and subverting of East and West served as a fitting symbolic entrance to the Yale-NUS campus.

An animated GIF of water drops flowing into the Oculus circle.

Architecture that reflected the distinctive East and West aspirations of the College.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan recalls how the architectural pillars took influences from both East and West.

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Yale-NUS College Oculus view from outside, the floor, pillars and the dome are captured.

Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre taken at a panoramic angle from the back of the room during a lecture. A professor on stage with slides projected onto the white screen, multiple students are listening.

Some inspirations were specific to Singapore, such as the patterns found in the Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre which were derived from local food centres.

Another echo of local culture was seen in the covered walkways that connected the campus buildings.

Although reminiscent of Classical colonnades, they were actually inspired by the narrow corridors called ‘five-foot ways’ found outside Singapore’s traditional shophouses.

Open-air corridor in Cendana College, with dark orange tiles on the floor and greenery present at the sides.

The Campus Village

One of the architects’ first decisions was to increase the number of residential towers from three—one for each Residential College—to five, with the idea that the smaller towers would give a more intimate, village-like feeling.

The challenging nature of the campus terrain also contributed to this ‘village’ character by enforcing a less regimented design.

Elm College courtyard pictured from the inside the courtyard, Saga College building is seen in the back.

Pericles Lewis giving a speech with a microphone in front of several people.

Oral History Interview

Professor Pericles Lewis discusses how the architecture and terrain contributed to the village-like feel of the campus.

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A Community Feeling

One of the primary objectives of the campus design was to facilitate the creation of a positive community feeling.

Elm courtyard, two tables, and greenery in the background. Three female students are sitting at one of the tables. One student lying down on the hammock in the background.

How do you create facilities that encourage informal interaction and out-of-classroom learning?

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan on how the campus helped shape the community.

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Outer facades of one of Yale-NUS College residential buildings captured from inside the campus. The sky gardens, windows and staircases are visible.

We call it ‘nested communities’.

Professor Pericles Lewis describes a series of student communities increasing in size from individual suites up to the whole of Yale and NUS.

Pericles Lewis in a suit and an orange tie.

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Seven students hanging out in a skygarden. Four of them are talking standing up while the other three students are sitting on the table with computers in front of them.Image credit: Jeff Goldberg. Esto

As part of these ‘nested communities’, sky gardens were placed in the Residential College towers. Equipped with picnic tables and benches, these outdoor garden spaces provided a space for small groups of neighbours to gather together.

Awards and Public Forum

A photo of the entire Yale-NUS College campus from afar, taken in air.

The success of the campus was demonstrated by the many design and building awards it received.

Eight people (a woman in white/green dress, six men in suits and a woman in a red dress) are holding awards on stage at BCA Awards. Background has a wall that reads “BCA Awards 2019” with pink light on the wall.

The Green Mark Platinum Award was received in 2013, before the campus was even complete, recognising the ecologically friendly design of the campus buildings.

Notable features included sensors to automatically turn down lights and air-conditioning, the maximising of natural light and the green roofs and sky gardens.

The award was recertified for a second time in 2021.

A photo of the entire Yale-NUS College campus from afar, taken in the air at night. The lights on top of the Yale-NUS College buildings are on.

We are delighted that our campus has been awarded the International Architecture Award which recognises excellence in the design, construction, planning and sustainability of our campus.

Professor Pericles Lewis on the College winning the prestigious International Architecture Award in 2016.

A ceremony for the Energy Efficient Building Award 2019, 11 people (4 women in dresses and 7 men in suits) are on stage holding an award each while one of them is given an award.

The College also won Southeast Asia’s highest award for energy efficiency and conservation in buildings and green buildings (in the ‘Energy Efficient Building – Tropical Building’ category). It was awarded by the ASEAN Centre for Energy at the ASEAN Energy Awards in 2019.

A poster of the “Architecture and the Academy” event, a photo of Yale-NUS College campus is faded in the background.

A public forum was held at the College on 13 October 2015, featuring presentations from the architects and discussions on the unique qualities of the campus.