SIT Kicks Off Series of Groundbreaking Ceremonies with Temasek Polytechnic

5 July 2012

The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP) performed the groundbreaking ceremony today for a new SIT building located at the grounds of Temasek Polytechnic. The groundbreaking at TP is the first of five SIT groundbreaking ceremonies, which will be held at every polytechnic site in the coming months as construction commences in each location.

SIT plans to house its current overseas university partners The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at its new building in TP when construction is completed by 2014.

Situated on a total site area spanning approximately 4,000 square metres, the new SIT building will have a total gross floor area of 11,670 square metres. It will comprise five stories of teaching facilities, academic offices and two large lecture halls. To accommodate the professional degrees offered by GSA and CIA¹, SIT has planned the construction of design studios, a culinary theatre, fully-equipped training kitchens and a training café. Other than the existing design and hospitality degree programmes, SIT has also set aside space for future expansion plans to house upcoming degree programmes that are still in the pipeline.

Located along the north boundary of the TP campus, the new building will be in close proximity to Bedok Reservoir. To take advantage of the site location, most of the facilities in the building have been arranged in a linear manner to facilitate a maximum frontage facing the reservoir. Common spaces and elevated activity decks also allow students a panoramic view of Bedok Reservoir. These same vistas will channel airflow into the building to allow for well-ventilated common spaces.

The design for the SIT buildings in Temasek Polytechnic was awarded to a consultancy team led by Forum Architects Pte Ltd.

1The Glasgow School of Art offers two degree programmes: i) Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Communication Design, and ii) Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Interior Design.

The Culinary Institute of America offers a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Culinary Arts Management.

About Singapore Institute of Technology

Established in 2009, SIT is an initiative of the Ministry of Education offering undergraduate degree programmes primarily for polytechnic graduates. In partnership with various reputable overseas universities, SIT has brought to Singapore some of the world’s top industry-focused degree programmes targeted at growth sectors of the economy.

Through a unique tripartite collaboration with its overseas university partners and the five local polytechnics, SIT represents a new model that is set to become a key pillar of university education. SIT adopts a distributed campus model to allow greater synergy and efficiency. Through this model, SIT’s degree programmes will be housed within an SIT building in each of the polytechnics to cater to an intake of at least 2000 full-time students per academic year by 2015.