Over the past decade, Surbana Jurong (SJ Group) has grown from Singapore’s nation-building roots into one of the world’s leading integrated consultancies for the built world. SJ is marking the milestone by deepening its commitment to catalysing the transition to a regenerative future through new partnerships that bring nature, technology and people together.
In partnership with the National Parks Board (NParks), SJ will support Singapore’s City in Nature vision with an S$1 million donation to NParks’ registered charity and IPC the Garden City Fund. SJ will also contribute up to SGD1 million in in-kind consultancy support, leveraging the Group’s expertise in nature-based solutions and climate resilience to create more liveable, sustainable spaces.
SJ has undertaken several meaningful projects with NParks islandwide as its appointed consultant, including feasibility studies, coastal protection and biodiversity restoration for Pulau Ubin, East Coast and Changi shorelines. With valuable experience and knowledge about the environmental challenges and needs of our changing climate, the contribution further deepens the partnership in designing nature-positive, climate-resilient solutions for a sustainable future.
NParks dedicated an orchid, the Vanda Surbana Jurong, in recognition of SJ’s support and partnership recently. The long-standing tradition from Singapore Botanic Garden’s Orchid Hybridisation Programme under NParks has registered more than 700 Garden hybrids since 1932, including Singapore’s national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim (Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim). The Vanda Surbana Jurong hybrid is an emblem of resilience, reflecting SJ’s enduring commitment to support transformative projects and apply its expertise towards building a climate-resilient future together. The flower was revealed at SJ Client Day, the Group’s 10th anniversary celebrations, in the presence of Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister of National Development as Guest-of-Honour.
Hwang Yu-Ning, CEO, NParks, said, “We appreciate SJ’s support and contribution towards greater nature-positive climate resilience in Singapore. We are heartened to see growing awareness and interest in the community and welcome more of such partnerships as we work together to fulfil our City in Nature vision.”
SJ’s Global Headquarters — the award-winning SJ Campus that opened in May 2024 — is a 742,000-square-foot biophilic flagship in Singapore’s Jurong Innovation District. It reimagines the workplace as a space where community, nature and technology come together. Serving as a living laboratory for sustainability and innovation, SJ campus tests new technology in its live environment such as smart diffusers, under-floor air distribution and digital twin systems.
SJ is expanding its innovation ecosystem on Campus with the SJ Digital Experience Centre (SJDEC) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) Design and Artificial Intelligence (D•AI) Fab Lab @ SJ.
As part of SJ’s 10th-anniversary celebrations, the Group has launched the SJ Digital Experience Centre (SJDEC). The SJDEC serves as a Centre of Digital Excellence for integrated digital delivery, offering an interactive environment where clients, partners and industry stakeholders can see how strategy, technology and design intelligence converge to unlock value across the entire asset lifecycle. By integrating real-world data with design and engineering insights, the Centre showcases how digital ecosystems drive sustainability, efficiency and long-term performance. The Centre integrates SJ’s most advanced tools and platforms, including:
- Building Information Modelling (BIM): enabling coordinated design, multidisciplinary collaboration, and unified project data management.
- Digital Twins: allowing real-time visualisation, monitoring, and performance optimisation of assets.
- Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR): creating immersive design reviews, stakeholder engagement, and scenario simulations.
- Internet of Things (IoT) and AI-driven analytics: delivering predictive maintenance, performance optimisation and data-based decision-making.
Beyond demonstrating technology in action, the SJDEC is a collaborative environment where clients co-develop digital strategies with SJ’s multidisciplinary teams. It empowers asset owners, developers and operators to make more informed decisions on performance, cost and carbon, while closing the feedback loop between design and operations. Ultimately, the SJDEC strengthens SJ’s commitment to advancing digital capability in the built environment — helping partners turn data into strategic advantage and shaping the future of sustainable, intelligent cities.
Alfred Fox, Chief Executive, Integrated Solutions, SJ, said, “The Digital Experience Centre is built for our clients. With AI at the core, we are reimagining operational processes and disrupting traditional workflows to manage costs, tackle labour shortages and drive more value for their assets.”
Established through an MOU between SJ Group and SUTD, the D•AI Fab Lab @ SJ will be the first of its kind hosted by a private-sector organisation. Located within the SJ Campus, the D•AI Fab Lab @ SJ will bring together industry and academia to nurture ‘trilingual’ talent — innovators who are skilled in combining design, AI and domain expertise — to create value for their organisations.
Grounded in SUTD’s 16 years of nurturing design innovators and SJ’s global experience in design excellence, engineering and technology innovation, both parties will accelerate prototyping and innovation to tackle complex urban, infrastructure and environmental challenges.
Professor Tai Lee Siang, Deputy President and Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer, SUTD, said, “The AI future that once seemed so remote has arrived. It will be a new world where humans work in partnership with machines to co-create. As the first Design AI University in the new world, SUTD is poised for this future. Our collaboration with SJ through the SUTD D•AI Fab Lab embodies this vision — where educators, innovators and industry players converge to redefine how we design, build and operate the built environment. Together, we are empowering a new generation to harness Design AI to shape the future of the world.”
Jason Vollen, Global Head of Innovation, SJ, added, “The partnership with SUTD reflects our shared belief that innovation happens where ideas and disciplines intersect. By combining design, data and artificial intelligence, the D•AI Fab Lab @ SJ will give our people and partners a space to experiment, prototype and learn together. It’s about turning imagination into impact. It’s about creating solutions that are as intelligent as they are humane.”
Commenting on the two partnerships, Sean Chiao, Group Chief Executive Officer, SJ, remarked, “These partnerships may look different, but they are guided by the same belief, that the future will be shaped by bringing nature, technology and people together. It is what defines the next chapter of SJ.”
Mr Chiao added, “As a company born from Singapore’s nation-building journey, we carry forward a spirit of intentional design, building with purpose, discipline and imagination. Our partnership with NParks strengthens our commitment to the environment and future generations, while our collaboration with SUTD redefines how design and AI can serve humanity. Together, they reflect who we are and what we aspire to be: a company that leads with care, that dares to reimagine and that creates futures worth inheriting.”
With these partnerships, SJ builds on its decade-long foundation to deliver the next generation of digitally driven, sustainable solutions that scale beyond Singapore. Together, they will generate research, insights and innovations that strengthen Singapore’s and SJ’s shared sustainability and innovation landscape — ensuring that knowledge created here continues to unlock real impact for cities and communities worldwide.
