Thriving in a Climate-changed Future: Regenerative Design for High-Density Cities
Regenerative design has recently emerged as a promising urban development approach for high-density cities to thrive in a climate-changed and resource-constrained future.
Last updated 19 March 2025
Lecture details
Thriving in a Climate-changed Future: Regenerative Design for High-Density Cities
13 March 2025
3:00pm – 5:00pm.
URA Function Hall, Level 5,
URA Centre, Singapore 069118
2 SILA Pts, 3 BOA-SIA Pts, 2 SIP Pts.
This lecture has ended.
Source: (left to right) Bidadari Park (Singapore)/Ng Sze Xuan; Quay Quarter Tower (Sydney)/3XN.
Synopsis
Regenerative design has recently emerged as a promising urban development approach for high-density cities to thrive in a climate-changed and resource-constrained future. Going beyond minimising a city’s environmental impact, regenerative design aims to improve liveability, enhance natural ecosystems and optimise urban resources.
In this lecture, experienced practitioners will share and discuss (i) the application of regenerative design for high-density cities through strategies such as nature-based solutions, carbon-sensitive development and resource circularity, (ii) how enablers like planning and design, policy, financing and technology play a role in regenerative developments, and (iii) exemplary case studies from Singapore and other high-density cities.
Resources
About the Speakers
OPENING REMARKS
Hugh Lim
Executive Director ,
Centre for Liveable Cities
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Professor Cheong Koon Hean
Chair, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities,
Singapore University of Technology and Design
Prof Cheong Koon Hean is a Practice Professor and the Chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (SUTD), as well as the Chairman of the Centre for Liveable Cities Advisory Panel under the Ministry of National Development. Prof Cheong is also currently Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Finland and on the boards of NUS, Capitaland Group and Surbana Jurong. As a former Deputy Secretary of MND and CEO of HDB and URA, she oversaw the development and management of over one million public housing flats and played a key role in the development of major areas such as Marina Bay.
MODERATOR
Chintan Raveshia
Director,
Cities Business Leader, Southeast Asia, Arup
Chintan Raveshia is a Director and the Southeast Asia lead for the Cities business in Arup, a global planning, design and engineering consultancy. An architect and urban designer, he has worked with governments to shape and implement national, regional and precinct-level urban planning and design strategies, and deepened his local understanding and knowledge across many geographies. He sits on Design Singapore Council’s Advisory Board, ULI Singapore’s Executive Committee, is a visiting lecturer at the National University of Singapore, and leads Arup Singapore’s Markets & Clients strategy.
In over 20 years, he collaborated on and led some of the most iconic projects around the world including Indonesia’s new capital city, Smart Urban Habitat Masterplan in Singapore, Singapore’s food masterplans, London’s Stratford City, and Dongtan – world’s first eco city, in China. Passionate about climate action, Chintan is undertaking research and work that galvanises the built environment against climate risks while exploring opportunities in food resilience, regenerative design, and active mobility. He heads Arup’s Centre for Climate Action in Cities and is also a World Cities Summit Young Leader alumni.
PANEL SPEAKER
Fred Holt
3XN Partner
Fred Holt, joined 3XN in Copenhagen in 2010 and became a Partner in 2015. He has experience in a wide range of phases from design and programming through documentation. However, Fred’s primary focus is on the front-end of projects focusing on the concept design creation and then carrying the design through detail development. Based on his experience through a variety of building typologies, Fred brings a level of expertise to projects that have a proper balance between design and “know-how. While at 3XN, Fred has led or been a key design team member on some of 3XN’s most notable projects.
Most recently, Fred was the design lead and partner-in-charge of competition commencement through to completion of the adaptive reuse, Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney, Australia, which won the International Highrise Award 2022/23 and CTBUH’s and WAF’s Building of the Year in 2022.
Since 2017, Fred Holt has been 3XN Australia’s Creative Director and oversees a wide range of projects in Australia and the wider APAC region. This currently includes the new Sydney Fish Market, a commercial office tower at Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, the new Riverside Theatre Redevelopment in Parramatta, Sydney, Chungnam Arts Center in South Korea, a central Tokyo Residential development and a 60,000 sqm office development in Fukuoka, Japan, now under construction.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Wong Mun Summ
Founding Director, WOHA and Professor (Practice),
National University of Singapore
Mun Summ Wong co-founded the Singapore-based architectural practice WOHA in 1994. He is a Professor in Practice at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Architecture and co-directs the Integrated Sustainable Design Masters Studio. He was also appointed to the Seidler Chair in the Practice of Architecture at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He sits on the Nominating Committee of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, the Design Advisory Board of DesignSingapore Council as well as a Member of the CTBUH Masters of Tall Building and Vertical Urbanism Advisory Panel, in collaboration with the Illinois Institute of Technology.