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.

Kenaf plants and playfully designed furniture in cork and rattan by Vitra

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.

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.

'Glulam' is lighter but as strong as steel

For the roof, or waterproof ‘skin,’ of the +Pavilion, a fiberglass-like biocomposite made from the kenaf plant is used. Kenaf is a hardy, fast-growing tropical plant; the stem can be processed into a natural fiber alternative to materials such as fiberglass, while the harder kenaf core can be combined with an industrial-waste lime slurry to produce a 90% plant-based replacement for concrete, called Kenafcrete®.

Under the cool shade of the +Pavilion is a great space to sit, relax and engage with other innovative building materials – the furniture is made of cork, rattan and recycled polypropylene, a product made from recycled household waste. The base of the +Pavilion showcases the efficiency of modular design, pre-fabrication and precision engineering to reduce construction time and heighten the health and safety standards of the construction process.

The +Pavilion exhibit at Marina Barrage

Situated a stone’s throw from the Sustainable Gallery of the Marina Barrage, the +Pavilion exhibit provides a renewed invitation for the public to envision and engage in discussions about sustainability within our built, everyday environments.

Multiple workshops and gatherings will be planned from the launch at the end of May through July 2022. For information, go to Deloitte's website.

The +Pavilion is designed by StudioKLM and Haring Group. Partners and sponsors include: Affordable Abodes, Deloitte Center for the Edge, EHL Campus, Embassy of Switzerland, Hilti, Nespresso, PUB, Sustainable Singapore, UBS, Vitra.

Suellen moved from San Francisco, California to Singapore in 2019 with her husband, three sons, and geriatric cat. She runs, sometimes writes, and is a California licensed Clinical Psychologist.