Increasing climate and decarbonization challenges surged the demand for eco-construction buildings in Asia

---

Print Email

---

With a period of adapting growth projections and shifting standards, the Indian construction industry is anticipated to go through a period of revival and economic expansion in 2022. Additionally, increased construction costs and skilled labor demands continue to pressure the construction industry to develop innovative, challenging, and distinct ideas. 

Consequently, innovative low-cost construction materials are one such method that is adopted by the construction companies to meet the shifting needs of the construction industry. Therefore, the industry is witnessing rising partnerships and investments in timber construction. For instance, 

• Due to the increasing need for low carbon construction in the country, a UK-Singapore joint venture introduced Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) in April 2022 to substitute the traditional building materials for building houses in India and other South Asian countries. 

Notably, timber design and construction company Venturer Pte Ltd, in a partnership with Singapore’s Woh Hup Construction Group, is building Chennai Engineered Timber prefabrication hub. The company is working with a team of designers and engineers with locally-sourced timber to develop this project.

The company intends to further scale up the low-carbon construction through the use of engineered timber which would reduce global emissions by nearly nine percent. This would further be in line with 2030 targets of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, substituting conventional building materials such as steel and concrete will further help in reducing the construction phase emissions by 69 percent.

Construction companies are expanding their businesses in Asia since there is a huge market for timber housing in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, coupled with the availability of good grade timber responsibly sourced from the region. 

Also, by 2030, it is estimated that around 300 million new homes and structures like schools, clinics, and workplaces will be required in the region. Therefore, Venturer, which had already started working on construction projects in the region for building resorts in the Maldives, is trying to meet this demand by expanding in India. However, timber construction is only achievable with an increasing trend of planting and replanting trees globally, assuring a steady timber supply. 

• In 2022, one of the largest wooden buildings in Asia will be presented by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore at 40,000 square meters. As one of the leaders in adopting sustainable materials and innovative construction methods, the university is building Academic Building South (ABS) using Mass Engineered Timber (MET). Additionally, MET will be used to build this six-story ABS with a combination of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam).

Notably, the project was developed by an engineering company, Aurecon, which opined that the material would be sourced from forests and prefabricated for on-site assembly. Thus, through this utilization of MET technology, the building supports the Singapore government’s move towards productivity-driven economic growth and also the transformation of Singapore’s built environment sector.

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the construction market in the Asia Pacific, click here.