Especially right now, Sri Lanka is going through some unimaginably tough times. Did I regret being there while things were so uncertain? Not at all. I felt safe, I felt the people appreciated tourists being there, since they rely heavily on tourist dollars. Please keep an eye out for Sri Lanka and when you feel comfortable going, do go – it’s a magical island with so much to see, do and of course… eat.
A fishing boat on the Southern Coast
A street corner in Galle Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka
Lauren Raps is AWA's Corporate Relations Manager. She moved to Singapore in January 2021 with her husband and three boys. She is the President and Founder of Travel Prospect, a full service leisure travel planning company.
A Wild Urban Concept
Renewable Replacements for Concrete and Steel by Suellen Lee When the average person thinks of sustainability, we often think of our everyday consumption habits – how much energy we use in the home, taking public transportation more, eating ‘greener’, wearing sustainable clothing, and the long quoted principle, “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Rarely do we consider whether the materials used to put the roof over our heads and the buildings we learn, work and shop in everyday could be made of sustainable, Earth-friendly, materials. Considering that nearly 40% of global carbon emissions come from the built environment, moving towards renewable or recycled materials could make a potentially significant impact on stemming climate change.
Instead of steel, the frame of the +Pavilion structure is made of ‘glulam,’ short for glued-laminated timber, which is an engineered wood product that is both renewable and as strong as concrete and steel. Glulam is also lighter than steel or concrete, allowing for faster installation time, making the greenhouse gas emissions for the manufacturing of glulam beams lower compared to steel beams.
The recently launched exhibit - +Pavilion – thus aims to showcase a hugely “wild” concept in the minds of the average, conservation-minded citizen: that the future of steel and concrete can be Earth-friendly and renewable! The +Pavilion exhibit, launched on May 26, 2022 at the Marina Barrage (Instagram @pluspavilion), showcases the creativity and committed collaboration of the private, public and non-profit sectors here in Singapore to develop the technology needed for the future of sustainable building and construction as part of the global effort to combat climate change. Kenaf plants and playfully designed furniture in cork and rattan by Vitra 12
AWA Magazine July/August 2022
