After obtaining her MSc in Advanced Structural Engineering at Imperial College London in 2015, Yvonne returned to Singapore to practice as an engineer for 3 years. Her practical experience and involvement in a wide range of projects in Singapore led to her understanding and interest in the design workflow and processes of the construction industry. She hopes that her PhD work can streamline and improve this design process, bringing value to the built environment she is passionate about.

My PhD research’s objective is ultimately to study the benefits of applying digital building regulations in the design workflow and processes in the Singapore construction industry. This is done through in-depth study and mapping of the entire design process involving building regulations and authority approvals using system engineering techniques and stakeholder analysis.

Opinions of main stakeholders on building regulations and submission processes to identify common workflow bottle necks in the industry is to be collected. Further on, useful data from industry partners on completed and ongoing construction projects (case studies) will be extracted and analysed. With these data obtained, a form of measure on productivity will be established to compare between systems of construction bureaucracy. My research concludes with a proof of concept on applying digital building regulations in the system in Singapore.

Apart from my main PhD work, my research interests also lie in design systems in structural engineering, social architecture, stakeholder analysis typology and architectural education.