From Zurich to Singapore: What Two Very Different Cities Taught Me About Bold, Intelligent Buildings

By Lucy Han, Business Line Leader, Building Automation, ABB Smart Buildings

Today is Day 3 of World Green Building Week. So far, we’ve heard why bold leadership matters and why electrification must be tuned to local realities. I want to share my own perspective – not from a textbook, but from personal experience. I recently relocated from Zurich to Singapore, and when I moved, I didn’t just change time zones. I stepped into an entirely different climate, culture, and way of running buildings.

Two cities, two lessons

In Zurich, I remember watching the first snow settle on rooftops, knowing the buildings around me would quietly shift from cooling to heating mode almost overnight. Swiss precision isn’t a stereotype; it’s built into the infrastructure. Regulations, efficiency standards, and retrofits all drive a culture where every kilowatt is accounted for.

In Singapore, I quickly learned a different lesson: cooling isn’t a luxury, it’s survival.

I still remember arriving for my first meeting, stepping out of the tropical humidity into a boardroom so chilled I almost wished I’d brought a scarf. Nearly 80 percent of households in Singapore now have air conditioning¹, and by 2030 cooling demand will make up almost a third of peak power use². In this scenario optimization isn’t optional – it’s mission-critical for both comfort and cost.

Climate contrast

The contrast couldn’t be clearer. In Zurich, the challenge is with older buildings that consume up to 200 kWh/m² of energy if space heating and hot water systems haven’t been upgraded³. Smarter automation can cut that dramatically, with the city aiming to halve heat demand by 2050⁴. On the other hand, in Singapore and other Tropical regions, hybrid cooling systems – combining fans with slightly higher air conditioning (AC) setpoints – have been shown to cut energy use by 32 percent, while improving comfort⁵.

Two very different climates, but the same lesson: buildings must be able to adapt.

Cultural expectations

But it’s not just climate, it’s culture too. In Switzerland, people expect a system to be precise and compliant – seamless and invisible. I’ve noticed that when building controls feel too technical, people simply override them. A system that needs constant correction isn’t truly ‘smart’.

That’s why automation has to be intuitive. It needs to learn from behavior, adjust in real time, and respond without asking too much from the people inside.

Grid realities

Electrification also plays out differently across these two worlds.

In Europe, where grids are mature, the focus is on decarbonization and integrating renewables. By 2050, electrification in European commercial buildings could reach nearly 80 percent⁶, driven largely by smart automation and heat pumps. In Asia, grids are growing at record speed, with electricity use for cooling up more than sevenfold in just 30 years⁷. Here, bold automation is about managing surging demand without overwhelming the system.

That’s why national strategies like Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 put energy-efficient buildings and cooling at the center of the country’s sustainability ambitions – bold targets that demand equally bold solutions.

Being bold on buildings looks different depending on where you are. In Zurich, it means upgrading older stock to meet tough efficiency goals. In Singapore, it means finding smarter ways to cool without overwhelming the grid. But in both, boldness is about acting with intelligence, not excess.

Bold automation adapts

So, what do these two cities teach us? That bold buildings aren’t defined by their location. They’re defined by their ability to think and respond in real time, wherever they are.

Whether it’s the crisp winter air of Zurich or the humidity of Singapore, the principle is the same: automation is about making better decisions, every second, for the people inside and the planet outside.

Tomorrow, my colleague Raimondo Salandra, Business Line Leader, Home Solutions, will take this conversation home – literally – showing how bold solutions can blend style, simplicity, and sustainability in the spaces where we live.

About the author

Lu Han (Lucy) is Business Line Leader Building Automation in ABB’s Electrification Smart Buildings Division. As a member of the Division Management team for Smart Buildings, Lucy is responsible for driving the ambitious strategic growth plan for the Building Automation business worldwide. Leading a global team supporting customers, the business is core to the Division’s innovation strategy. Its digitally led portfolio drives customer value by enabling the more efficient use of energy, making homes and buildings safer, smarter, more sustainable and people’s lives more comfortable.

Lucy has over 20 years’ experience in the building automation industry, with her career to date spanning across China and Switzerland. Her focus has been on sales, strategy, and product management. She joined ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings division from Siemens, where she held the position of Senior Vice President for the connected devices business segment. In this role, she led global teams for six product lines and was involved in developing new Internet of Things (IoT) offerings. Lucy is based in Switzerland. Lucy holds a master’s degree in Management Technology & Economics from ETH in Zurich, Switzerland, as well as an MBA with the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.