Sustainable timber prefabricated architecture in Singapore

Abstract

The role of the urban in addressing sustainability issues is becoming more widely recognized. The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, or Brundtland Commission) defines sustainable development as "development that meets the demands of the present without compromising future generations' ability to satisfy their own needs." This necessitates a careful balancing act between meeting human economic and social demands mainly through economic growth and preserving the environment and natural resources (Seetoh & Ong, 2008). Maintaining this delicate balance between development and the environment will protect future generations from gaining a standard of living that is at least as outstanding as ours. The overall goal of Sustainable Development Goal 11 is to make cities "inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable" (United Nations and Nations, 2014). Cities must now, more than ever, grow in an environmentally sustainable manner. This paper gives a brief overview of timber prefabricated building system in Singapore, aims to achieve sustainable planning. The concept of prefabrication system has been proved in reducing to 52% of waste construction on to 35% of time savings on site. Economy, speed of construction and improved environmental performance are critical variables that challenge the modern construction industry to strike a balance between. Several case studies have been referred to obtain an in-depth appreciation of interest, in its natural real-life context. It was found that precast timber construction methods to be environmentally beneficial, and using lightweight modern engineered timber materials can reach excellent economic efficiency. As a result, there is an increasing demand for extensive assessments on the possible environmental benefits of prefabrication, particularly in the areas of built-in energy savings via waste reduction and improved material efficiency.