It has been a celebratory month for Pomeroy Studio, with the collection of several green accolades. The designers and thought leaders of sustainable built environments were awarded the Singapore Building and Construction Authority’s [BCA] Green Mark Platinum Award for B house – the first operational carbon negative landed property in Singapore which is scheduled to commence construction imminently.

The lessons learned from Founder, Jason Pomeroy’s design of the Idea House, (the first zero carbon prototype house in Asia and the recipient of the first Green Mark Platinum Award for an overseas residence in 2011), provided the starting point for the Studio’s design. Though on this occasion, instead of reinterpreting the Malay kampong tradition, they looked towards the indigenous black and white bungalow for inspiration.

The B House, led by Jason Pomeroy and supported by Associate Principal Yoshi Shimada, is a house that pushes the envelope of passive green design to optimize natural light and ventilation and drastically reduces energy and water consumption to the point of being almost zero carbon. But the installation of PV cells to the roof, equating to under 1.5% of the building budget, makes it carbon negative – generating more energy than the house occupants can consume. Despite its far-reaching green design, the house is the same cost of average landed bungalows in the vicinity.

At the BCA ceremony at Resorts World on May 22, Pomeroy Studio’s Sustainability Consultant Deepshi Bhogal commented, “We’re delighted to see B House receive the recognition it deserves in order to demonstrate to developers and designers that the key to zero carbon design is a return to passive design with optimized environmental performance”. Mayank Kaushal, a certified Green Mark Manager with the Studio who undertook simulation studies on the house added, “The sooner we can de-bunk the myth that it is more costly, the sooner we can have a greener built environment”.

Jason Pomeroy was also the recipient of the BCA-SGBC Young Green Advocate of the Year Award for his commitment and services in promoting the green agenda both in Singapore and abroad. Recognised for his passion in bridging the gap between design innovation and research; his recent book, ‘The Skycourt and Skygarden: Greening the Urban Habitat’, his popular architecture travel TV series, ‘City Time Traveller’ - in addition to his designs for buildings, cities, and landscapes.

“I’m delighted to receive the Young Advocate Award, with a particular emphasis on the young, as it belies that I have a mind and memory of a 76 year old! In all seriousness, I am very grateful to be honored, which comes timely with the research and project work that we are pursuing”.

The awards come hot on the heels of the Studio becoming a member of the Singapore Green Building Council. The council has also certified Pomeroy Studio for their Environmental Sustainability Design services as well as their thought leadership in green roof technologies, resulting in Pomeroy becoming a member of its Green Roof Taskforce.

His continued professorship at the University of Nottingham and his research into sustainable tall buildings and vertical urbanism, for which Pomeroy is one of the World’s leading experts, has also been joined by a recent appointment to Professor by the University of Venice. The subject matter remains close to his heart, and will be explored in a summer school at the University of Venice this July with Prof Luigi Croce.