A Swiss-Singaporean team is tackling the global problem of burgeoning populations cramming into over-crowded conurbations with a multi-disciplinary research project.

Zurich's Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) has launched a collaboration with two universities in Singapore in an effort to produce a template for the modern sustainable city.

Many of today's cities are reaching breaking point in terms of pollution and sheer numbers of people, according to ETHZ professor for architecture Gerhard Schmitt.