The NUS High School is located at Clementi Avenue 1 in a quiet residential neighborhood within 2 km of NUS. The school campus sits on a 4.67 ha plot of land which will accommodate a steady state student population of 1250 by year 2010.
Design
A key feature of the campus is a keen sense of openness which is evident from the vast open spaces designed to encourage interaction and discussion, as well as to stimulate students’ passion in exploring new scientific ideas.
The NUS High School with its resident block will serve not only as a container for support of learning and teaching but also foster community spirit among staff and students throught it multitude of shared gathering spaces. It is envisaged that the learning is not confined within the walls of the classrooms or laboratories, but will extend to the outdoors and natural environment as well.
Facilities
The school has an integrated environment that caters to the cognitive, physical, social and effective needs of students and staff. The school’s wireless network and facilities using high-end technologies provide a seamless and efficient system for learning and communication. Special features that manifest aspects of the scientific and mathematical worlds in the façade of the school include the Eco-learning Trial, the Pi Wall, and the “Periodic” Façade and the observatory. These features elements will complement some 50 classrooms, a 700 seat auditorium and a concourse of well- equipped laboratories.
The Observatory
Sitting atop the NUS high school residential block, the observatory boasts of a 14 –inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a state-of-the-art star tracking and navigation system. It is equipped with a host of other accessories including a complete array of eyepieces, color filters, polarizer, solar filters and CCD cameras. The observatory will eventually be able to provide a live telecast of the various celestial bodies via internet connection. The NUS High School observatory provides the most avid stargazers among the student population a most satisfying experience.
Features Highlights
A) The Nanotube
Located near the driveway to the main administration block, the Nanotube is a prominent cylindrical structure, with an outer coat of vivid turquoise that greets visitors arriving from clementi Avenue 1. Detailed to represent a magnified segment of an exposed carbon nanotube, with its combination of hexagonal lattice and metal mesh colored in dark grey, it embodies one of science' most recent discoveries. Nanotube exhibit extraordinary strength.
B) Periodic Table
Elements of the periodic table are color-represented in the curtain glass wall located at the main road facing the facade of the administration and auditorium building block. While it is not a literal indication of a periodic table with elements’ symbols shown, an observer who has any knowledge would immediately be able to indentify the various chemical elements’ specific location due to the position of the colored glass panels. Needless to say, the multitude of colored glass panels gives an interesting facet to the otherwise large building which houses a 700 capacity Auditorium.
C) Pi Feature Wall
Numbers of Pi are shown in the colour permutations of the aluminum perforated panels located above the concourse. The Pi numbers shown are limited up to the extent of coverage. The aluminum panels are not only a mathematical indication of the infinite Pi but serves a practical architectural feature as well, in providing shade from the tropical sun and reducing the extent of rain water entering into the concourse space.
D) Concourse Science DNA Structure
The basic strands of life, DNA components: Adeline guanine, cytosine and thymine serve as inspiration for the false ceiling structures that highlight the double volume space of the large multi-function Concourse. The Concourse is a main thoroughfare that links up all the school blocks. Not only are the structures decorative, they are a true chemical representation of the above mentioned 4 different nucleotides.
