Wednesday January 31, 12:17 PM
Sand ban a wake-up call for industry: architects
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SINGAPORE : The recent Indonesian ban on the sale of sand to Singapore has been an effective wake-up call for the industry, say architects.
Sustainable construction and alternative materials are now the buzzwords.
The Singapore Institute of Architects has also proposed a million-dollar research programme to look into solutions.
400,000 tonnes of sand from a regional country arrived at Jurong Port on Monday, just a week after Indonesia, the main supplier of sand to Singapore, banned all sand exports.
Architects say over-reliance on traditional sources and materials is due to a lack of research into sustainable construction now.
Tai Lee Siang, Council Member, Singapore Institute of Architects, said, "It does mean that what is really the new material that builders architects can depend on? There is a lack of research in the industry, even from the institute's point of view. We noticed that because of the good growth.
"There is a lack of research to anticipate problems to prepare for rainy days, so we want to embark on a research programme, we want the industry players to spend more on research to prepare ourselves, as sustainability issues are very great and environmental changes very great and all these will impact how we build."
Architect Tay Kheng Soon, who has been one of the key voices for sustainable development in Singapore, agrees that more needs to be done.
Tay Kheng Soon, Architect, Akitek Tenggara, said, "It is a great opportunity to rethink our building systems. Any change that happens has to be driven by certain forces - the sand ban is one of them, but the big question is really sustainable development."
And many ideas are already being explored - like those by architect Jeremy Chan, who is looking at dry wall construction and triangular steel frames to reduce the amount of steel used.
He said, "Our industry is very used to using reinforced concrete in most of our construction, so this kind of really throws us into the deep end to think of a totally new way to conceptualising architecture and maximising a different material and expressing it in a different way."
Architect Mak Hon Yue has done an experiment on seacrete or sea concrete - which is an alternative to concrete.
Seacrete can be grown by passing an electric current through sea water to build up minerals and eliminates the need for sand.
He said, "There must be a culture of looking at alternative materials which is not really apparent in Singapore. And without that culture, we can't move ahead, we can't begin to develop alternatives if people are not interested in it, or they can't find commercial value in it, they won't pursue it, and I think that's very important.
"The reason why seacrete is not widely used, talked about is because people have yet to see the commercial viability of it - it's definitely sustainable - it's just to get people to see the commercial viability of it."
And the potential for seacrete is huge.
Mr Tay said, "In about 10 years, If you start now, theoretically, you could have a gigantic floating platform out there, outside Pasir Panjang and we could use it for our new seaport or resorts or whatever. We can live without sand."
The Building & Construction Authority has already come out to encourage the industry to adopt new construction materials and methods, while the proposed research programme by the Singapore Institute of Architects will also go some way to reduce the dependence on imported raw materials like sand. - CNA/ms
Sinkapore boast again!!!
Shellfish create their shells mainly out of Calcium carbonate, which like salt is suspended or dissolved in sea water. In addition to salt there are at least 56 other minerals available from sea water.
In the mid 1970's Professor Hilbertz from a Texas (USA) university was looking for methods to prevent metal from rusting and discovered a way to produce material very similar to shell fish shells. Which has been called by a variety of names, but we will stick with seacrete.
He discovered that if you run a small electrical current through a wire mesh immersed in the ocean, the material, mainly calcium carbonate, accretiate or is formed on the wire. The greater the current the more the minerals accretiated. Using a small electrical current in a few months it had become over an inch thick. It was both lighter and stronger than reinforced concrete. He went on to create some large structures by this process.
The technical article (tab above left) explains how it works and the formula for making it work, plus more information.
We have not yet looked at applications for this, although within visions, from the home page you will find some ideas as to how this might be able to be used.
In our opinion, in the longer term, this will form a major way for quality structures to be created, as very low cost. Clearly at this point it is less well understood than Ferrocement, and offers the opportunity for great developments.
It should be remembered that sub assemblies as well as complete structures can be made with this method.
Shells are often patterned, and very decorative, and we would see in the future the scope to grow whole structures or sub assemblies with colored patterned built in.
Very much of what has been said about Ferrocement from strength in box structures to the effective use with pods can also be said about seacrete. We have however not duplicated all the information within this section.[/color]
