Assignment Brief:

You cannot be creative with what you do not understand. Without the necessary creativity to address complex problems, value cannot be delivered to the producers and consumers of solutions intended to solve consumers’ problems. It is, therefore, important to develop understanding first to have a chance of delivering or gaining value. This philosophy underpinned the non-fiction story about the MEP design idea generation assignment given by the professor in charge, who was also the module lead for BIM for the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Design Studio.

The solution in this context involves the design of MEP systems for a high-rise building in Singapore. This group assignment was given to Year 2 students in the Sustainable Built Environment programme at the Singapore Institute of Technology. At the start of the module, the students had little or no knowledge and understanding of the key considerations for designing MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) systems in high-rise residential buildings in Singapore.

To develop the necessary knowledge and understanding, the students were tasked with undertaking investigations that included interviews with industry professionals experienced in MEP design, construction, and/or facility management of high-rise buildings in Singapore. They also conducted field investigations of MEP systems in high-rise buildings in Singapore and studied relevant Singapore codes and standards to gain a deeper understanding of the rules and guidance governing MEP system design for high-rise buildings in Singapore. The students later clearly articulate how the insights gained from their research would inform and enhance their design.

The journey of the students begins before the first day of the module and continues to the point of realisation of how the required knowledge and understanding they gained from the investigation would aid the creativity needed to produce a design of value for the stakeholders. The journey of the students is the focus of this non-fiction story.

Keywords: Design thinking; Cognitive enhancement; Building Information modelling; Applied learning; Storytelling; Sustainability

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Cite as: “Leow YZ, Choo JWL, Naing HM, Chin JWL, Rosmadi IB, and Fadeyi MO (2025). Exploring the design misery. Teaching and Learning Case Studies #08. ISSUU Digital Publishing.”