Wednesday January 31, 12:17 PM
Sand ban a wake-up call for industry: architects
ADVERTISEMENT
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]
