NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ground was broken on July 6th for the Yale-NUS College campus, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in collaboration with Forum Architects of Singapore.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120712/NE38004 )

Jointly created by Yale University and the National University of Singapore, Yale-NUS College is the first college campus established by Yale outside of New Haven, Conn. The campus opens in 2015 and is designed to achieve the highest rating under the Green Mark, Singapore's benchmark for sustainable design.

Comprised of three residential colleges for 1,000 students, and balancing the traditions of Yale with the cultural and climatic influences of Southeast Asia, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects developed a contemporary architectural language of clear and inviting processional entrances, sun and rain-screened colonnades and roof forms with generous eaves.

"Much like the educational mission of the college, the architecture of Yale-NUS is keenly attuned to its antecedents and committed to the ideas and responsibilities of today," explains Fred Clarke, senior principal of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. "In this way, it is also a vision for the future."

Set in a lush landscape, the 62,000-square-meter campus is comprised of courtyards punctuated by residential towers and a community of learning and social spaces. At its heart is a campus green flanked by academic and administrative buildings, including the learning commons, auditorium, sports hall, and an open-air, sheltered gathering place -- the Agora.

The residential colleges, each home to 330 students plus faculty, form nested academic communities. Tower floors are grouped into neighborhoods around skygardens. The tower designs and those of the courtyards, dining halls, and common rooms will differ in each residential college.

The new campus design is based on original programming, a master plan and early architectural plans developed by KieranTimberlake and Pfeiffer Partners Architects.

About Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

Founded in 1977 and led by Cesar Pelli, Fred Clarke, and Rafael Pelli, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects has designed some of the world's most recognizable buildings, including the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the International Finance Centre in Hong Kong and the National Airport in Washington D.C. The firm has also designed buildings and master plans for many distinguished universities.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects has a long history with Yale University. Cesar Pelli was dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1977 to 1984 and Fred Clarke was a visiting critic at the school from 1977 to 1982. The firm's work for Yale includes buildings such as the Daniel L. Malone Engineering Center and the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine.

SOURCE Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects