URSA AIR air conditioning ducts in Singapore's first net-zero emission bank

DBS Bank, Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets and one of the largest in Asia, has opened a new headquarters in Singapore after significantly refurbishing the 30-year-old Newton Green building.

DBS Newton Green is the first net-zero emissions financial institution building in Singapore and is part of the banking company's decarbonisation strategy.

Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS, said, "While renovating older buildings to improve their sustainability standards is a much bigger challenge than designing and building new, it is our commitment to a more sustainable future".

Various measures have been implemented to minimise energy consumption and prioritise installations that generate renewable energy. More than 50% of the façade is covered with plants. Air conditioning has also been carefully studied to favour lower energy consumption and the emission of fewer pollutants into the atmosphere.

For the air-conditioning ductwork, the project managers (KAIA Architects, the mechanical and electrical engineering firm CCA & Partners, and the sustainability consultancy GreenA Consultants) chose the pre-insulated duct system made with URSA AIR Zero P8858 Panels.

According to Óscar Pérez, URSA's export manager, "this choice aligns with the design and execution team's desire to seek materials and equipment that guarantee energy efficiency, such as our duct construction panels".

Recycled materials have been prioritised. For example, the paving has been made with reprocessed asphalt waste and recycled plastics. The ducts made with mineral wool panels have at least 50% recycled material. "Taking care of the circularity of our materials is paying off as planners and developers base their choice of materials on recycled and recyclable products," says Perez.

For Kenny Lim, director of Difuze (S) Pte Ltd, supplier and installer of the ducting, "the excellent sound absorption of the URSA AIR Zero system and the acoustic reduction criteria were also decisive in the choice of the ducting system".

DBS Newton Green has been certified as a Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy development to ensure zero CO2 emissions. The building has also received the Singapore Good Design Mark 2022 for Sustainable Design award from the Design Business Chamber of Singapore in recognition of the high quality of the building's design.