SINGAPORE, October 1, 2025 – The GEAR by Kajima (The GEAR) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) co-hosted the Built Environment Innovation Challenge Finals at The GEAR building, where student teams from polytechnics and universities across Singapore presented their ideas for the future of smart buildings. The competition served as a platform for students to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges in the built environment, from energy efficiency and facility management to green technologies and human-centric design.
Over the past few months, The GEAR building welcomed student challengers to visit and explore its facilities. Through these learning journeys and in-depth dialogues with researchers and facility management stakeholders, students gained first-hand experience and understanding of the real-life applications and technologies Kajima has implemented to build a smart building.
During the finals, students showcased their ideas on how emerging technologies can reshape the way buildings are designed, operated, and experienced. The event concluded with the announcement of the winning team, Team SP, comprising students from Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, and the National University of Singapore. Their proposal stood out for its multidisciplinary approach, featuring an AI-driven optimiser for facility management, a self-monitoring equipment system for enhanced reliability, and a scent-based spatial zoning concept to improve occupant wellbeing.
Judging Panel (from left to right): Michael Ng (Vice-President, Singapore International Facility Management Association – SIFMA), Luke Wu (Managing Director, The GEAR by Kajima), and Alvin Tan (Associate Director, Singapore Green Building Council)
Meet all the student teams and their pitch ideas (listed in pitching order):
- Team TP: Enhancing the Future Facility Management
- Team NTU: Cooling by Design: Breezig Sizzag
- Team SIT: ClimaDesk – a hotdesking system using artificial intelligence
- Team NYP: Kajima GEAR Lab Energy Generation Overhaul Proposal
- Team TP: Smart and Sustainable Solutions for The GEAR Building
- Team SP: GEARing up for Tomorrow – Cut costs, lighten workload, and improve comfort sustainability
Note: Note: Team names do not represent the students’ schools, each team comprised members from diverse disciplines.
The event not only highlighted how education and industry can work hand in hand to build a smarter, more sustainable future but also reaffirmed The GEAR’s mission to empower the next generation to dream big, think critically, and design a better built environment for all.
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For media enquiries, please contact Lili Luo at lili.luo@kajima.com.sg.
