How to design a more sustainable home with V-Zug

Guests were also treated to a canapés selection prepared by Chef Chef Juliana Ng and Chef Qifan Pah from the V-Zug Gourmet Academy. The menu, which was specially designed around the sustainability-themed concept, included savoury dishes such as Seabream Carpaccio served with ethically sourced fish, and desserts like a Strawberry Yuzu Financier which emphasised the zero-waste theme by repurposing the egg yolks in the filling. The highlight of the menu was a delicious soft-roasted Beef Tenderloin, cooked using an energy-efficient V-Zug oven that uses less heat.

Be it in the realms of architecture or interior design, the crowd was full of life and curiosity about the future of sustainable homes and eco-conscious design. Here, we give you an inside peek as to what unfurled during the intimate design-centric session, and share four key insights from the evening’s discussion that you can consider during your next home renovation.

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When selecting materials for your project, one thing to keep in mind is where the material comes from and how it gets to your site. For Edmund Ng, who has had the opportunity to work on projects in remote places in Nepal and Bhutan, using locally sourced materials is oftentimes a necessity. “For the site in Nepal, the location was along the Annapurna range where the elevation height is about 4,200m above sea level. To construct architecture at that kind of altitude, you’re more or less forced to source for materials from not more than 20 kilometres radius away from the site,” says Ng, founder of Edmund Ng Architects.

“We need to understand the local context, use whatever is available, and use traditional construction methods, of course, enhanced with our modern technology,” continues Ng, who also won the Best Use of Art category at the Singapore edition of the Tatler Homes Design Awards 2023. “The project turned out great–very sustainable, very low carbon footprint–since there was actually nothing ‘new’ that was created for the resort, but rather it uses existing material that has been repurposed, which was wonderful.”

“Let’s not forget buildings are not forever, unlike diamonds, so how do we design our buildings to have a second lease of life?” asked Razvan Ghilic-Micu, senior associate at Hassell. When it comes to the built environment, it is important to consider the entire design life cycle of every aspect of the project. For Ghilic-Micu, who is also chief editor of The Singapore Architect Magazine, this means thinking not only about the construction and assembly of a project, but also about its disassembly, and how long the building is going to be used for. “Even if you build the most “sustainable” building using the most “sustainable” products, if they get ripped out a few years later, or if you demolish that building, you’re essentially throwing it into the trash.”

Choosing sustainable materials and finishings is not always a straightforward process, especially with the rise in greenwashing. “One of the biggest challenges when it comes to choosing the right material is that sometimes even when installing something that is so-called sustainable, the substrate or the adhesive might not be sustainable,” cautions Terrence Quah, co-founder of Architology Interiors. “Even in the renovation of our own office, we had to rethink our first selection of materials because some of them had high VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) contents. So I think we need to develop a very holistic concept of what being sustainable actually means.”

One way to ensure that our renovations are truly sustainable is to select materials that are long-lasting and aesthetically timeless. “In outdoor areas, where timber might rot and deteriorate over time, we look at harder materials that can last longer and that look good at the same time. I think overall that will make for a longer lasting, more sustainable solution,” explains Quah, who was the winner of the Best Luxury Concept category at the Tatler Homes Design Awards 2023.

The introduction of new tools and technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing not only inspires designers and architects to explore more creative and experimental designs, but also enables them to use traditional materials in more sustainable ways. “In terms of applying new technologies, like 3D printing parts for example, it's a whole new world of possibilities that we have,” remarked Carlos Bañón.

“We can even use organic and raw materials in 3D printing like stainless steel,” explains Bañón, who is an associate professor at the Architecture and Sustainable Design faculty at Singapore University of Technology and Design. “With 3D printing, we use 80 per cent less of the stainless steel material and we can even melt it down again and recycle it. 3D printing is enabling traditional materials to be used in new ways.”

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