Educulture

Singapore is a growing country full of innovations and prosperity. Through our research of Singapore we understood that at our site the sun is the strongest on the western side and that the strongest wind currents mostly flow in from the southern direction and that Singapore is mostly urban. From that our scheme was to create a living tower, where food can be grown, eaten and sold; creating social and economic growth within a tower. By incorporating hydroponics to farm this would make it possible for the crops to be transported right into the cafeterias and markets and allow it to be consumed by those living in the tower. 

Since Singapore had major influences from Chinese culture we decided to incorporate a cultural element into our design. In traditional Chinese literature the “hexagon” shape symbolizes all six directions: North, South, East, West, together with Heaven and Earth, which are translated into “completeness”. It also denotes how life thrives incessantly in an endless unlimited manner. For our design we incorporated the hexagon as a main blueprint of our tower. We took the hexagonal shape and extruded it out from the ground like a tree taking root into the ground. The floors are hybridized with housing, farms and food sources, the educational sections of the tower includes collaborative labs, wood shops and studios with classrooms in the same vicinity. To make it more aerodynamic, we broke up the facade into 3 parts and transformed them to twist around the core creating a protective shell.

The way our building uses water is by collecting rainwater and filtering it for use throughout the building. A big part of our tower is the sloped roof that collects rainwater it contorts inward to create a funnel/drain to collect the water into a filtering box. Once it is purified it travels through the middle as an exposed waterfall and extends through the floors, which would then spiral the water downward throughout the building. The idea is for rainwater to be purified, utilized, and returned back to nature. 

The tower name Educulture comes from the intermingling of majors. In resistance to the typical school cliques, students of different studies have the opportunity to work with one another. The collaboration between engineers and medical students through shared labs promotes endless educational possibilities. From the shared discoveries to solutions to problems chemical engineering and medical students could solve together. Other examples include a wood shop shared by the surrounding studios of architecture and art students, a hospital for medical practice and student and faculty convenience, and the cultivation of food for residents. The efficiency and layering of perspectives creates a community based on knowledge. 

Housing is a large part of Educulture. Students and faculty have the ability to attend classes, eat, shop, and socialize all within one walking distance of their living space. Living near colleagues and mentors encourage the sense of community in a work and living sense. A day consists of socializing in the market cafeteria, collecting crops in the vertical farms, studying in the gardens, or working in a studio or designated workplace. Considering the wellbeing of residents, bright, morning sunlight from the east shines through the living spaces. On the west side of the tower, sections of the facade open up to fresh air and sunlight, enclosing a well-maintained space for vegetation to grow and provide shade.

Overall, Educulture establishes a natural flow of systems. A vertical rainwater purification system aiming to store, purify, utilize and release water, an educational system that incorporates microsystems establishing productive collaboration, and an agricultural system focusing on the growth of crops and the transference of energy and nutrients to the residents of Educulture. The various systems work together to create a culture in itself. Ultimately, a university goes above and beyond the typical educational facility. A university is also a place to connect, the foundation for future students, and a shared experience that creates a cultural connection through the students who interact and grow together. Implementing this vertically into a university tower should be no different. If anything, the compactness of a tower pushes for a sense of interconnectedness. Taking the concept of “it takes a village to raise a child,” this new dynamic way of living and learning envelopes this village into a university tower.