Draft 2

According to the “Sustainability Efforts” (n.d.) webpage taken from Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) website, heavy emphasis has been placed on achieving environmental sustainability. Firstly, GBTB uses their lake system to filter water naturally with aquatic plants. This system aims to promote the importance of clean water and how plants can play a significant role in our ecosystem. Also, the web page further explained the two conservatories which consume lesser energy due to the specially chosen glass, along with the incorporation of thermal stratification and “Combined Heat Power (CHP) steam turbine”. Some “Supertrees” in GBTB act as the exhaust air storage while others have solar cells to collect solar energy. I acknowledge the effort GBTB did to reduce pollution and conserve energy however

Environmental sustainability start by protecting our environment. We should be protecting our ecosystems by not wasting any resources (Mason, n.d.). Protect our environment from any preventable damage will be the key to this sustainability. 

References: 

Sustainability Efforts (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html 

Reader response  

In my opinion "The Garden By The Bay" did a great job to conserve energy and reduce pollution.The Dragonfly lake and the Kingfisher lake is able maintain the aquatic ecosystem for the fish and dragonfly living in the lake by using reed beds and aquatic plants for the water cleaning process, like provides the benefit of nutrients and pollution absorption  . It does not requires a lot of energy input hence it is very environmentally friendly (“Reed-Beds,”n.d.).  

The meaning of Sustainability , is the ability of a system to maintain its function over a extended period of time. Hence it also mean that sustainable is design to be made of recycled material, renewable energy ,non toxic to the environment. (Gardens By the Bay and its sustainability"[October 2013])  All the method stated in the webpage is telling us how it is able to conserve energy, preserve habitat for animals, without showing any evident or statistic to support the claim.However it can prove to be true if the "Gardens By The Bay " is able to endure the test of time and maintain the conditions for the next few decades. Since it is sustainable infrastructure, the function should not only be a tourist attraction but also a function as a research institute and help to educate public the importance of energy saving.   

The "Super Tree" is a large structure that is made of reinforced concrete wrapped with a steel frame . Planting panel are installed on the trunk. It is as tall as a 16 -storey building. Some of it have photovoltaic cells to harvest solar energy for lighting up the Supertrees, while the other is build with the Cooled Conservatories and serve as air exhaust receptacles. 

Sustainability is important in both developed and developing nations around the world, a lack of, or compromised access to, clean water, sanitation, energy and transportation severely compromises well-being and the economy.  Sustainable infrastructure design is not just about new infrastructure. It is about rehabilitation, reuse or optimisation of existing infrastructure. This will reduced the cost of building a new building , it will also conserve more energy, material and minimising the waste produce. The aim of  "Sustainability" is to reduce the waste as much as possible , as to prevent the problem such as global warming to get worst then it is now.                   

References: 

Gardens By the Bay and its sustainability(October 2013)  https://sites.psu.edu/designthinkingksk/2013/10/30/gardens-by-the-bay-and-its-sustainability/comment-page-1/#comments 

Supertree Grove(n.d) Retrieved September 19, 2016http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/supertree-grove/facts-and-figures.html 

Sustainability Efforts (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/aboutus/sustainability.html

Three thing I need to work on my writing this trimester

1) I have to improve on the use of correct tenses
2) Sentences structure.
3)Improve my bank of vocabulary.

Draft 1: Summary + Thesis + Reader response

In the article "Sustainability in Gardens By The Bay" (n.d).  Much effort was made to plan and design for sustainability for water and energy throughout the Gardens. Two lake , Dragonfly lake and Kingfisher lake. Water from the lake is cleansed by the aquatic plant before going to the reservoir. The treated water is also used in the built-in irrigation system for the Gardens. The lake system depicts the role and importance of plants in the healthy of our ecosystem. Aquatic plant played an important role in nature and highlight the significance of clean water in sustaining biodiversity. The conservatories are a statement in sustainable engineering and apply a suite of cutting-edge technologies for energy. The technologies can save 30% energy consumption compared to conventional cooling technologies. Furthermore,  in the article the "supertrees" are able to harvest electricity and light up at night as these trees are install with photovoltaic cell. I like the fact that the article describe how the garden conserve energy however it did not state why it is important and the problem it is facing. 

References: 

Sustainability Efforts (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/aboutus/sustainability.html 

Reader response 

In the article "Sustainability in Gardens By The Bay" (n.d). It had describe how the design of "The Gardens By The Bay" is able to reduce the amount of energy required for it to operate. By reading the article I had a idea of how the it is possible for the Dragonfly lake and the Kingfisher lake is able maintain the aquatic ecosystem for the fish and dragonfly living in the lake. It also check for problem such as mosquito breeding. 

The meaning of Sustainability , is the ability of a system to maintain its function over a extended period of time. Hence it also mean that sustainable is design to be made of recycled material, renewable energy ,non toxic to the environment. All the method stated in the article is saying how it is able to save energy, preserve habitat for animals. But it did not show any evident or statistic to support the claim. 

However it can be prove true if the "Gardens By The Bay " is able to endure the test of time and maintain the conditions for the next few decade. Since it is sustainable infrastructure, the function should not only be a tourist attraction but also a functional research institute and help to educate the public the importance of saving energy. The "Super Tree" is a large structure that is made of reinforced concrete wrapped with a steel frame . Planting panel are installed on the trunk. It is as tall as a 16 -storey building. Some of it have photovoltaic cells to harvest solar energy for lighting up the Supertrees, while the other is build with the Cooled Conservatories and serve as air exhaust receptacles. 

Sustainability is important in as both developed and developing nations around the world, a lack of, or compromised access to, clean water, sanitation, energy and transportation severely compromises well-being and the economy.  Sustainable infrastructure design is not just about new infrastructure. It is about rehabilitation, reuse or optimisation of existing infrastructure. This will reduced the cost of building a new building , it will also conserve more energy, material and minimising the waste produce. The aim of  "Sustainability" is to reduce the waste as much as possible , as to prevent the problem such as global warming to get worst then it is now.                   

References: 

Sustainability Efforts (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/aboutus/sustainability.html 

Gardens By the Bay and its sustainability(October 2013)  https://sites.psu.edu/designthinkingksk/2013/10/30/gardens-by-the-bay-and-its-sustainability/comment-page-1/#comments 

  

Supertree Grove(n.d) Retrieved September 19, 2016http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/supertree-grove/facts-and-figures.html 

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering Programs
Singapore Institute of Technology
10 Dover Drive
Singapore 138683

10 September 2016

Brad Blackstone
Lecturer
Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering Programs
Singapore Institute of Technology
10 Dover Drive
Singapore 138683


Dear Brad,


Simple self introduction

I am Calvin Lim Yong Sheng from Singapore Institute of Technology(SIT) , Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering(land) program. Before I am enrolled into SIT, I had studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Singapore Polytechnic. I had taken both my GCE N-Level and O-Level at Gan Eng Seng School which is located at Tiong Baruh Park.


I had learn some basic electronic circuit , soldering and engineering math during my time at Singapore Polytechnic. I also pick up some interest during my time at Singapore Polytechnic, like rollerblading and Futsal. I enjoy doing these activities during my free time even thought I not very good with them. I will continue with these activities in SIT.


My current goal for the first trimester of Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering(Land) is to learn and understand the module. I want to understand the module as I had always just study for the exam while I am in Secondary school and Polytechnic, without really understand the concept of the class. I hope that I can change the way I studied in SIT. I realized that I had forgot most what I had learn in Singapore Polytechnic after I completed my national service.


My short term aim is to pass all the module in the program with good grade. After receiving the degree I hope to work either in the LTA as a Engineer or sign on with the SPF as a senior officer. These currently are the goals that I had set for myself to work on to reach within the next five to eight years.


Thank you.
Your Sincerely
Calvin Lim,


commented on
Jerry
Dannish
Adam

My English Language Journey 

The English Language Journey had been tough for me since I come from a family that communicate in either Chinese or Hokkien(a type of Chinese dialect). I did not had any contact  with English until i went to a primary school.

English had always been the subject that I dislike the most as I always fail the test. I could not even form a proper English sentence before primary school. It didn’t help that I communicate with most of my friend in Chinese. I did not take English seriously as I did not understand what my teacher is saying and I did not feel the need of learning English as I felt comfortable speaking in Chinese. I only realised the importance of English when I almost retained in Secondary three as I did poorly for my English. Because of not willing to learn when I was younger, hence I have weak foundation which mean I had been struggling with English throughout my Secondary education.

I started to appreciate English after I went to Singapore Polytechnic, as some of my friend introduce some English comedy and drama to watch. I enjoy them a lot but I was not able to understand some of the joke in the comedy as I am weak in English. This make me more eager to learn English as I started to find that English can be fun too. I started to improve my English by reading newspaper and story book daily. I also when to some addition English classes when I am having a school break. I enjoyed those classes as the teacher was humorous and friendly. He not only teaches me English, he also made me love English and appreciate the beauty in it.

I had improve the proficiency of my English language since my Polytechnic education. I now can communicate fairly well with people in English. But it still had not overtaken Chinese as my main language. Currently I am still better in Chinese than English, even thought I have improved my English by a lot during the past few years. I will continue to improve my English, and hopefully it will be on par with my Chinese by the time I graduated form Singapore Institute of Technology .

Hi all!

This blog is created for the purpose of reflecting, analysing, learning and unlearning the various types of ways for effective communication. There will be different range of topics throughout this space. Feedback and comments are much appreciated. 

Thanks! 

Calvin,