Green Libraries

We prioritise sustainable construction practices such as the use of carbon-neutral and eco-friendly building materials, as well as emphasising carbon footprint reduction in every aspect of our facilities.

Medicine+Science Library Redesign

The Medicine+Science Library (pictured above) was officially opened in 2023. We partnered with University Campus Infrastructure to introduce key sustainability features and embed them into the very design of the building. This includes:

• Creating a skylight at the Cascade mini-amphiteatre space, which utilises Singapore's abundant sunlight to illuminate the area, reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day.
• Large-scale industrial fans installed in the central atrium to encourage natural ventilation to enable the air conditioning system to be turned off in the evenings, dramatically reducing power consumption.
• Green planters sited at drop-off area to promote growth of indoor plants, which contribute to cooling and reduce power consumption.
• Building designed to preserve and highlight existing natural features. For example, a two-decade old raintree was carefully incorporated into the building's architecture, with a central glass panel giving the tree pride of place in our study space, while letting in natural light, reducing reliance on artificial lighting.

Central Library Redesign

NUS’ Central Library (pictured above) underwent a major renovation from 2018 to 2021, working with University Campus Infrastructure to improve the overall quality of facilities, as well as re-organise internal layouts to create more study spaces and new teaching and resource facilities. This allowed us to introduce more sustainable features to the building, which resulted in up to 48% energy savings! Some of these features include:

• Energy efficient chilled water plant (operating efficiency – 0.58 kW/RT)
• Energy efficient lighting system (>60% savings over baseline)
• Use of motion sensor-controlled lighting for toilets and staircases to further reduce power consumption
• Extensive greenery around main entrance foyer to improve natural cooling
• Extensive use of sustainable building materials, such as tropical Mass Engineered Timber (MET)
• Naturally ventilated circulation space to adjacent buildings
• Provision of 460 kWp photovoltaic system to reduce reliance on power grid and take advantage of Singapore's abundant natural sunlight

Sustainable Building Materials

The Central Library BookBridge (pictured above) is a first-of-its-kind bookshelf made from tropical Mass Engineered Timber (MET), a renewable, sustainable building material for architecture.  This award-winning showpiece was the result of a close collaboration between NUS Libraries, Professor Shinya Okuda from NUS Department of Architecture, and Roger&Sons, a homegrown woodworking firm in Singapore. The 31-metre BookBridge was launched in March 2021 and proudly displays a selection of NUS Libraries' rare book collection.

Automated Occupancy Monitoring

Our libraries have automated occupancy monitoring of library spaces. This enables efficient space usage as patrons can quickly gauge the number of people in each library at any given point in time. The data collected over time also helps libraries to monitor the occupancy and adjust our opening hours or space availability accordingly to reduce electricity consumption from air conditioning and light usage.

• Decreasing energy consumption by switching off lights and closing levels during vacation (levels 3 and 6)

Seat Booking System

Managing limited library space efficiently and sustainably is a challenge, especially during peak periods when demand is high. Ensuring equitable access while preventing overuse and resource wastage is essential to maintaining a sustainable study environment.

Partnering with NUS IT, as well as NUS Agility Office's uNivUS team, we leveraged the existing campus-wide uNivUS mobile app to co-develop and deploy an online seat booking system. The app-based service was rolled out for the Central Library and Medicine+Science Library, and was positively received by users. The service helped minimise wastage of space and ensure that resources are used optimally.