Joe Lam
Principal
Arup
ABOUT
Er. Joe Lam is a Principal in Arup and leads the property business in Arup’s Singapore office. Working across markets in Macau, China, Hong Kong and Singapore for the past 20 years, Joe has managed high-rise, large-scale, multi-disciplinary projects including CapitaSpring, Marina Bay Sands, South Beach in Singapore.
An advocate of whole-life carbon assessment, Joe actively drives the need to account for both operational and embodied carbon, and considerations around reusing and repurposing existing assets and recently circularity to scale low-carbon and net zero buildings with an end goal to shape better outcomes for people, places and the planet.
Panellist – Retrofitting the Future: Transforming Urban High-Rise Buildings for Sustainability
Track 1B: Reimagine, Retrofit, Renew | Thursday, 10 July 2025, 3:00 PM
As urbanisation accelerates, cities face an urgent imperative: how can we decarbonise the towering skylines we’ve already built? Buildings account for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, with aging high-rise buildings representing a critical—and often overlooked—piece of the sustainability puzzle.
Unlike new constructions designed with green principles from the ground up, retrofitting existing urban towers presents a complex web of technical, financial, and logistical challenges. Yet the potential impact is staggering: strategic retrofits can dramatically slash energy use, extend building lifespans by decades, and futureproof assets against tightening climate regulations—all while enhancing occupant health and productivity.