The “Master of Architecture (MArch): Fall Design Studio 2022”, organised by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) took place on 6 September 2022, at the Knowles Building, the Architecture Department at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Through this new learning format, the students can interact and learn from senior architects practitioners via relevant case studies.
Benoy Design Director, Gregory Kovacs (attended in-person) and Architect Associate Director, Jason Tan (attended virtually) were invited as guest speakers on the topic of ‘Building Code’. Benoy participated in a studio-based design project work undertaken by students of HKU. The purpose of the session is to examine the salient aspects of the building codes of three cities — Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore, to highlight the differences in understanding how they can uplift living environments when transported into sites in Hong Kong for design projects. The team at Benoy discussed the Building Code for Singapore while two other consultants discussed Hong Kong’s and Shenzhen’s respective building codes.
Committed to reviewing and directing information on Singapore’s code, Gregory and Jason presented the building codes of Singapore and took the students into a deeper analysis of Singapore’s building code through real-life projects.
What are the requirements for the Building Setback from the boundary and how should we comply with the Building Height? In line with the Greenery requirement, how should the Grass Plot Ratio be computed based on the location and development type? What are the rules for Gross Floor Area apportionment?
Citing example of Singapore’s landmark buildings, Gregory and Jason also shared their personal experience and advice to the young people. Senior Associate Director, Azaria Lee then joined virtually to take questions from the audience in the final Q&A session.
Benoy will also be providing a site visit in later September and participating in a symposium with the students in early December 2022.
