Building and Construction Authority
MND Cluster | BCA

Transforming Singapore’s Build Environment Sector

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) offers young talents, like Scholar Alvin Ng Sing Por, a fulfilling career with exciting opportunities in the built environment sector. Take your first step and join Alvin in the journey to make a difference in shaping Singapore’s built environment!
BCA - Alvin Ng Sing Por

Alvin Ng Sing Por is a BCA Local Undergraduate Scholar and has a Bachelor of Arts (Architecture) and a Master of Architecture from NUS. He is currently a Senior Architect in the Project Office of CORENET X, a project that leverages advanced technologies to integrate the whole-of-government regulatory approval processes for building developments.

As an agency under the Ministry of National Development (MND), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) champions the development and transformation of the built environment sector to improve the living environment for Singaporeans from all walks of life.

By overseeing areas such as safety, quality, inclusiveness, sustainability and productivity, BCA, together with its stakeholders and partners, constantly shapes the landscape to prepare for the future of Singapore.

Being passionate about the built environment, Alvin took his first step by applying for the BCA Local Undergraduate Scholarship and he is now rewarded with a fulfilling career in transforming the built environment sector and shaping a liveable and smart built environment for Singapore.


Alvin Ng Sing Por

Alvin Ng Sing Por

Balancing Creativity with Functionality

It may come as a surprise, but Alvin is an architect by training. “I’ve always been passionate about the built environment, but I chose architecture as the conduit to balance both my creative and methodological mind,” he shared.

Alvin is fascinated by how the spaces around us can shape behaviour, culture and even, cognitive well-being. “I once had an appointment at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and I remembered how impressed I was by the building design. It subverted the stereotypical white ‘clinical’ look of a hospital with lush greeneries and courtyards, including the toilets!” he exclaimed. It dawned on him that architectural spaces can be empathetic and impactful at a personal level, by nurturing a healing environment.

Therefore, it is no wonder that Alvin chose to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (Architecture) and a Master of Architecture in NUS. “Architecture has fundamentally taught me to contextualise and consider the imbrication of issues from all aspects. It has also taught me how to balance my creative vision with functionality and practicality,” he said.

Indeed, Alvin’s architectural training has benefited him much for his work at BCA. “It taught me how to distill, package, and present or solve complex narratives in the best possible mode and medium for a layman to understand. This is important as hard work is only half the battle won, until you can convince the other party,” he mused. Having honed these skills, Alvin now finds it easier to visualise, organise and communicate the fruits of his team’s labour to colleagues, management and industry stakeholders.

“I wanted to be involved in the transformation of the built environment sector. There are various schemes that BCA spearheads including Universal Design and Green Mark, that help to build an inclusive, holistic, and sustainable society for Singapore.” Alvin Ng Sing Por

Alvin Ng Sing Por

Alvin Ng Sing Por

Taking The Right Steps

Alvin chose to take up the BCA Undergraduate Scholarship as he wanted to be involved in the transformation of the built environment sector and there are various schemes that BCA spearheads, including Universal Design and Green Mark, to help build an inclusive, holistic, and sustainable society for Singapore. Moreover, the scholarship offered him the opportunities to do a secondment under MND and its statutory boards and participate in inter-agency projects within the MND family.

BCA Scholars like Alvin are given the opportunity to intern in at least two departments during their studies. This gave Alvin a glimpse of the meaningful work that each department offered and allowed him to explore his career interests early on.

BCA also invites studying scholars for social events like the Annual Dinner and Dance, to ensure they feel being part of the BCA family. “This makes the transition from school to working life less daunting,” Alvin shared, “I was also assigned to a mentor, a Director in BCA (also an NUS Architecture alumni), whom I can tap on for support and guidance.”

Alvin was also grateful for the financial support from the scholarship for his exchange programme in Munich, Germany. “The exchange expanded my learning through a different architectural pedagogy and even to the simplest of detail in how people live and behave in another continent. It has also afforded me to choose overseas-based studio projects where I had travelled to South Korea and Philippines, to design for buildings in a different context,” he explained.


A Myriad of Opportunities

There is a myriad of opportunities for all BCA officers, such as job rotations to the different groups and clusters – from operational site inspections, policy making, building and structural plans processing to industry development, and industry attachments to build technical competencies and gain relevant experience for their Qualified Person (QP) or Professional Engineer (PE) qualifications.

Alvin’s current portfolio is CORENET X, a whole-of-government project that serves as a one-stop integrated digital shopfront for the industry to make regulatory submissions regarding building developments to all the relevant agencies.

His work entails strategic change management and communications to agencies and industry. He has developed internal competency training courses to ensure that agency officers can progressively and confidently transit to the new CORENET X system. He is also working on policy and legislation reviews to support this transformation.

“One should be adaptable to different situations and be resilient when the going gets tough. More importantly, learn to be okay with being ‘uncomfortable’ in a new territory, as it is a growth opportunity to upskill and reskill,” Alvin shared.

A project full of challenges, but he is game for it. In fact, he is proud to be part of this game-changing project. “It is an ambitious project (involving 11 agencies) that leverages advanced technologies to integrate the whole-of-government regulatory approval processes and sits at the forefront of regulatory processes transformation!” he enthused.