Sustaining the future of development
0 Comments | New Straits Times, Sep 3, 2010 | by Nicholas Leong
THE term “going green” may be in danger of becoming a meaningless cliche if we continue to use it callously.
In the construction and development realm, it should mean more than regreening a project site in an attempt to reduce its ecological impact. To make what we build count, we have to design, build and maintain sustainable structures to exist as part of the environment and not in spite of it.
This is the growing consensus among those in the development industry who are keen to improve and be more conscious about the way we build.
For them, going green goes beyond fitting solar panels and rainwater harvesters or using heat reducing glass windows and paints for the walls. It is also about building with preservation of natural resources in mind and reducing the negative impact on the environment by reducing material wastage, something the industry has long been guilty of.
The vision has motivated a number of organisations to lessen such environmental impact by the very thing that has often been accused of threatening it: Technology.
Among them, international software engineering company Tekla Corp of Finland has been helping to change the way we build by addressing the issues of construction speed and accuracy – and therefore less wastage – at the onset of the development cycle, which is the design stage.
It has been in the business since 1966 and today, it has regional offices worldwide including Malaysia.
According to Tekla Malaysia Sdn Bhd director Ungku Ibrahim Ahmad, the company believes the biggest challenge the industry will face in the more environmentally conscious future is to push the boundaries of architectural and design concepts so that it accomodates sustainable construction methods that preserve natural resources.
Ibrahim, who has more than 20 years experience in the building and construction industry, believes the answer lies with building information modelling (BIM), a software tool that allows the structuring of a building’s physical model (in 3D) to accurate size, weight and volume, hence removing much of the guesswork that exists in traditional design methods.
“Furthermore, our BIM software, called Tekla Structures, offers intelligent management of data such as information on materials, components and the construction timeline all on soft copy even before the projects take off,” he said.
Tekla Corp’s global alliances director Stacy Scopano added that software enables advanced 3D BIM and manages vast amount of data related to the construction itinerary and then renders a virtual image of the structure for the user’s review. Changes can then be made with instant adjustments to the overall structural image.
“2D modelling has plagued our field for years. It is time consuming and waste is accumulated, as making one single update would mean an additional drawing,” Scopano said.
“Tekla Structures allows us to create complex visuals and handle data such as glass, pipes, steel and concrete used as well as does the scheduling for us.”
A recent example of the Tekla Structures at work is the Finnish pavilion at this year’s Shanghai World Expo in China. The design of the structure and the speed in which it was raised have received much acclaim.
In line with the expo’s theme of “Better City, Better Life”, Tekla opted for the Finnish pavilion, dubbed the Kirnu (also known as the Giant’s Kettle), to take a more sustainable path.
It was not only designed to be easily fitted onsite to minimise wastage, but the detailed modelling also allows it to be systematically dismantled and reattached when required. Also, upgrades to the building’s structure can be easily done.
The real achievement with the Kirnu, said Scopano, was the speed in which the entire project was completed – from design to construction – despite the complexity of its design which utilised interweaving curved steel to form an asymmetrical structure.
Aside from Finland’s pavilion, Tekla Structures also has had a part in the modelling of pavilions from the US, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Macao and China, the themed pavilions and the performance centre.
Tekla Structures has been used for various major projects around the globe
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