German European School Singapore (GESS) recently officially opened its SGD135 million campus at Dairy Farm Lane. The 30,500-square-metre campus has a capacity for 2,000 students, catering to the European community.
Guests of honour at the official launch ceremony on 13 September 2018 include Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and Andreas Michaelis, State Secretary, The Federal Foreign Office, The Federal Republic of Germany, along with 10 European ambassadors and country representatives.
The new campus is designed upon a schools-within-schools principle, with all GESS campuses under one roof. It features a wide range of facilities—from science labs and design and technology studios t cooking labs—that will act as incubation spaces for students of varying interests and talents. Other facilities include sports amenities—such as an Olympic-sized swimming-pool, football field and indoor sports hall—and creative spaces—such as a 400-seater auditorium, black box theatre, visual arts studios and music rooms.
The three libraries—catering to pre-school, primary and secondary schools—boast a combined collection of 25,000 media items and breakout rooms for inquiry building and collaborative understanding. Some of the facilities are open to the local community based on availability.
In line with the push to build a greater pool of STEM professionals, GESS has also officially launched the Junior Engineer Academy. It is the first school outside of Europe to offer training programmes for budding engineers through collaborations with universities and engineering companies, such as the National University of Singapore, Pomeroy Studio and Bosch. The programme will focus on sustainable urban living spaces and will see the students involved in building GESS’s very own green wall.
“With this new campus and with programmes like the Junior Engineer Academy, we hope to mould our students into confident, environmentally conscious, global citizens who are future-ready and able to contribute not only towards Singapore’s Smart City future, but also to cities round the world,” said GESS principal, Christoph Zaenglein.
GESS received the Gold Plus Award in 2016 even before it was built as it had exceeded the standards of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark. Features include a green façade with vertical greenery, an energy-efficient water-cooled chiller plant and energy-efficient light fittings.
In support of the school’s sustainability initiatives, the canteen will also feature Green practices, with re-usable serving plates and biodegradable plastic. As the new campus is located near two nature reserves, GESS will also be integrating environmental education into its curriculum and working together with the community on environmentally-oriented activities in surrounding areas. — Construction+ Online
PROJECT DATA
Project Name: German European School Singapore Campus
Location: Dairy Farm Lane, Singaproe
Completion Date: August 2018
Site Area: 30,582.5 square metres
Built-up Area: 47,000 square metres
Building Height: Six-storey Education Block; two-storey Sports and Recreational Block
Owner: German European School Singapore
