Toyo Ito & Associates . Raglan Squire & Partners . + archdaily
Gaia – Asia’s most expansive wooden edifice – Named after the Greek Earth Goddess, Gaia represents a bold marriage between Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects, and RSP, showcasing excellence in the design of education environments and sustainable architectural expertise. The six-story construction serves as a hub for learning, research, and innovation – a place where NTU students, faculty, and staff connect and collaborate.
Singapore’s Gaia (NTU Academic Building South) is a 6-story Mass Engineered Timber (MET) building with teaching spaces on the 1st to 3rd storey, a research center on the 4th storey, faculty offices on the 5th to 6th storey, 1 basement car park and 1 single storey M&E ancillary block in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at Nanyang Drive.
The entire building is approximately 220m long, with a simple and efficient modular timber frame system. The MET components can be prefabricated off-site and assembled on-site. This reduces the construction time & manpower required on-site.
A highly renewable material, the use of MET contributes positively to environmental sustainability. Furthermore, its high strength-to-weight ratio makes it easier to handle than steel and concrete.
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