In the article, “Top Sustainable Technologies in Green Construction” by ConstructionClimateChallenge (2019) claims that green construction “makes buildings more energy-efficient and sustainable”. This article focuses on introducing sustainable construction technologies that enhance the environment. Three main topics that we are focusing on are the materials, applications, and design. Firstly, the technologies under materials: “Cool roofs”, “Electrochromic smart glass”, “Rammed earth bricks”, “Green insulation”, “Biodegradable materials”, and “Sustainable resource sourcing” suggest that it helps in the reduction of “heat absorption” and the harmful impacts on the environment by using recycled or sustainable raw materials. Secondly, applications which are “Water efficiency technologies”, “Sustainable indoor environment technologies”, and “Solar powers”. These applications intend to conserve resources and discourage the use of substances and materials that cannot be renewed while reducing damaging impacts on the environment. The last point is on design which includes “Low energy house and Zero-energy building design”, “Self-powered building” and “The use of smart application”. They are designed to conserve and produce energy for the building to generate sufficient power. Green construction not only makes buildings more sustainable by using resource-efficient and environmentally friendly processes but also reduces costs for building owners.
While I agree with
ConstructionClimateChallenge’s main assertion, despite having accessibility to
a wide variety of sustainable construction technologies available today, I feel that Singapore’s built industry has not
become much more environmentally sustainable because of three reasons,
construction practices, weather and space constraints, and cost. Although
Singapore aims to have 80% a building to be certified by 2030, as of 2017 only
30% of the buildings WERE green.
First of all, non- residential construction practices are one such reason why
Singapore’s non-residential construction practices have not become much more
environmentally sustainable. As stated by Yang (n.d) “Most builders or owners
are used to traditional building methods and do not know about the maintenance
savings”. In my opinion, builders or owners should adopt and be educated on the
importance of the entirety of the construction processes' need to be
environmentally-friendly by using materials and resources that are readily
available and are sourced sustainably. As stated by Chew (2010) “Sustainable
construction focuses on the adoption of materials and products in buildings and
construction that will consume less natural resources and increase the
reusability of such materials and products of the same or similar purpose”.
Rising methods of sustainable construction such as usage of green concrete or
the implementation of Environmental Management Practices for the construction
companies should be adopted to reduce the use of raw materials and the waste
produced during the construction process, as the entire lifespan of green, the building should be optimized to reduce its negative impact on the environment.
Secondly, weather and space constraints
are another concern regarding being more environmentally sustainable.
Singapore is in a unique geographical position that makes it hard to utilize
alternative energy. As Singapore is a small country with limited land area, it
is very hard to implement the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy
and wind power, with solar energy being the only potential source of renewable energy that could make an impact on the energy grid. Alternative sources of
renewable energy such as wind turbines in Singapore is impossible because of
the amount of wind speed needed to move the turbines and because of the lack of
space; as pointed by Tan(n.d), “wind turbines take too much space, casting of
shadow flicker” that can cause headaches.
Lastly, the initial cost of being
environmentally friendly is seen to be expensive. As describe by Yong (2018)
although “the return of investment can be recuperated within three to six years
within the typical lifespan of a building's mechanical assets”, the initial
start-up cost is expensive as these green products have to meet certain strict
requirements so as to achieve the required green certification standards. Aside
from the initial product cost, consultancy and construction fees have to be
taken into account, as stated by BCA (2017) there is “green building
recertification fees that recur every 3 years”. Although there are government
incentives provided to help accelerate the adoption of environmentally-friendly
green building technologies and building design practices, there are still not
many building owners that are willing to make the change.
Although Singapore is small with little
land, to make it this far environmentally is impressive. Singapore has grown
into a beautiful garden city, with the government making an effort to be
sustainable, I feel that Singapore needs to decrease the usage of non-renewable
sources to truly be sustainable.
Reference:
Cheong. Y. W. (2018, August 21). The
missing piece in Singapore's green building puzzle [Editorial]. Eco-Business. https://www.eco-business.com/news/the-missing-piece-in-singapores-green-building-puzzle/
K. C. Chew. (2010, April 30). Singapore's
strategies towards sustainable construction. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19373260.2010.491641#:~:text=In%20Singapore's%20context%2C%20Sustainable%20Construction,the%20same%20or%20similar%20purpose
G. Tan. (n.d). A case study of Singapore:
A garden city that is not so green. https://globuswarwick.com/2018/11/29/a-case-study-of-singapore-a-garden-city-that-is-not-so-green/
Building and Construction Authority.
(2017, September). Re-certification of green mark buildings. https://www.bca.gov.sg/GreenMark/others/EB_recert.pdf
R. A. Yong (2018 January 10). Green buildings cost up to 5 per cent more, but savings 'more than offset' costs. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parliament-green-buildings-cost-up-to-5-per-cent-more-but-savings-more-than-offset-costs
