The Nanyang Technological University Academic Building South (NTU ABS) in Singapore will soon become one of Asia’s largest mass engineered timber (MET) buildings.
For this project, Aurecon won the Innovation and Sustainability awards at the 2022 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards Southeast Asia. The results of the two awards were revealed on 12 and 13 October 2022 through the RICS’s announcement videos.
Inspired by the environmental benefits and versatility of timber, NTU ABS demonstrates the adept and innovative use of MET. This construction material is highly sustainable as it is renewable and generates less waste, noise and dust. In terms of design and liveability, timber adds warmth for natural quality interiors, creating a conducive environment for learning and discourse. With its higher level of thermal performance, the heating and cooling costs of the building will also be reduced.
In this project, a modular design approach with the use of prefabricated timber components is adopted to go in line with the Building and Construction Authority’s push for Design for Manufacturing and Assembly as part of the Construction Industry Transformation Map.
Moreover, given that the timber had to be manufactured to precise specifications ahead of construction, detailed 3D-digital documentation and Building Information Modelling (BIM)-Revit were applied during the early stages.
Through precise digital design, the construction process and productivity have been enhanced, which led to a cleaner, quieter and safer construction site. —Construction+ Online
Sources: Aurecon; Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
