Penang South Islands Consultancy

Pedro Santa served as the Lead Consultant for Coastal Resiliency and Blue-Green Infrastructure input for Bjarke Ingels Group’s Penang South Islands (PSI) 4500 acre Masterplan, from 2020-2021. The “Penang BiodiverCity” proposal was awarded first place in the international competition, out of 124 submissions from 26 countries. During the competition stage in Q1-Q2 2020, Pedro was appointed as the lead consultant to provide input to BIG while still serving a Senior Associate position at Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl Singapore. Once the full awarded consultancy was launched in Q4 2020, Pedro Santa was seconded by Ramboll and joined the Bjarke Ingels Group’s Landscape & Planning team to serve as the Local Project Manager in the Malaysian Time zone. His scope was to lead client engagement and direct Input for Stormwater Management and Nature-Based Solutions for Inland and Coastal Resiliency.

Project Credits: Bjarke Ingels Group, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, Hijjas, Gamuda Land, AJC, Walrus

Image source: penangpropertytalk.com, archdaily

United Nations – Climate Action SDG Jury

In Q2 2018, Pedro Santa was nominated and selected as a jury panelist for Climate Action SDG in a United Nations event held in Singapore. Titled – “Innovation Lab 2018 UNLEASH” – the event served as a Global Innovation Program for all United Nations SDGs. It hosted talents from across the world to collaborate on solutions incorporating UN SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). As part of the Jury Panel for Climate Action SDG, Pedro Santa focused on nature-based solutions, blue-green Infrastructure, climate policy, design-engineering-ecology, and interdisciplinary problem-solving.

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Blue-Green Lead for Punggol Digital District

Starting Q3 2017, Pedro Santa was appointed at Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl as the Project Manager for the blue-green infrastructure consultancy for Punggol Digital District. Working in partnership with diverse project consultants and WOHA Architects (the Qualified Professional, Architect, Masterplanner, and Lead Consultant of the Project), Pedro Santa fostered innovative strategies which incorporate building-integrated landscape systems, nature-based solutions, ABC Waters engineering procedures, and urban design principles, to form a 21st Century Industrial Estate, that cultivates education, technology, environment, and innovation. Project Credits: JTC | WOHA Architects | Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl | Diverse Consultants

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Singapore’s Resilient Coastline

Achieving a Resilient Coastline is Singapore’s peak blue-green infrastructure project. Living and working in Singapore since 2011, Pedro Santa of Urban Hydrologics has noticed that Singapore has mastered the application and implementation of blue-green infrastructure networks throughout its inland waterways, communities, and reservoirs. The coastline has yet to receive the same attention concerning using Nature-Based Solutions for coastal resilience and sea level rise adaptation. Pedro Santa states that the Coastline will be Singapore’s crowning achievement as the world’s leading blue-green resilient island. It holds massive potential as a culmination project for an island nation that strives for water resilience and ecological vibrancy. The coastline’s design and engineering can incorporate diverse natural elements. Urban Hydrologics’ has composed a menu of coastal defense ecologies most compatible with Singapore’s context, industries, and future-proofing aspirations. The hybrid coastal networks can incorporate recreational amenities, such as the Round Island Route, which Singapore plans for execution in the coming years. We are excited to be a part of Singapore’s Resilient Coastline transformation as a group focused on Holistic Water Resilience – inland and coastal.

Managing Urban Runoff Handbook

Developed for the Singapore Public Utility Board, the “Managing Urban Runoff” handbook serves as a holistic stormwater management solutions guide for developers, designers, planners, and engineers. During employment at Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl Singapore, Pedro Santa served as the project manager, lead author, and content coordinator – providing leadership in WSUD, ABC Waters, Stormwater Management, conducting inter-agency meetings, and delivering presentations to the client-agency PUB throughout the production of the document. Project Credits: PUB, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl.

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Lead of WSUD Proposal for Kallang Riverside

In 2012, Atelier Dreiseitl was awarded first place for Kallang Riverside Landscape and Urban Hydrology Masterplan, where Pedro Santa served as the design lead for the competition proposal and subsequent consultancy. He crafted and sketched the visionary concept argument – that developers should avoid the “old paradigm” of urban development – where buildings impose themselves onto the landscape – and embrace a “new paradigm” – where ecological landscape, & resilient infrastructure are prioritized.

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ABC Waters Professional Courses in SG

The ABC Waters Professionals Courses has been instituted in Singapore to increase professional competencies in water-sensitive urban design. Training courses to improve knowledge and skills of integrated water management is an essential step to integrate vital professional sectors involved in delivering climate-resilient infrastructure and urban stormwater management. The development and accreditation of professionals with formal training in the concept design, design development, and implementation of water-sensitive urban design will increase high-performance landscape infrastructure throughout the city. This climate adaptation infrastructure will increase the proliferation of co-benefits for people, water quality/quantity, ecology, and economy.

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Urban Hydrologics Thematic Lecture

In May 2012, Pedro Santa presented the first Urban Hydrologics thematic lecture at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. The presentation covered the principles, concepts, and technical strategies needed to develop Water Sensitive Urban Design Masterplans and climate-resilient urban regions, focusing on transdisciplinary designs, blue-green infrastructure configuration examples, and implementation alternatives for nature-based solutions in tropical cities. The Lecture was hosted by the INDA Design Program of Chulalongkorn University.

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Holistic Stormwater Management: Unlocking Financing for Livable Cities & Solving Multiple Issues

One of Urban Hydrologics’ core arguments is that Holistic Stormwater Management is the key to unlocking financing towards solving, directly and indirectly, many of the issues of the contemporary city. Many agendas, such as connectivity, pedestrianization, alternate mobility, urban safety & health, business improvement, innovation, biophilia, tourism revenues, property value increases, and other livable city measures, can all be unlocked, in one way or another, through increased investment in stormwater management solutions that employ nature and blue-green elements for quantity and quality management. This idea and conceptual framework is one of the key arguments that set the foundation of the Urban Hydrologics Approach when the group was launched in 2009.

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