Technical Report: Pitch Script

 Technical report goal: Appeal to government/BCA, and related Academic & industry stakeholders to increase and expedite research, experimentation, and adoption of Mass Timber construction and MET in Singapore’s built environment.

 

Mass timber construction refers to the use of large, prefabricated slabs or panels of engineered wood products (EWP) for architectural or structural elements in the design and construction of buildings (Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc., 2023).

 

Mass Engineered Timber (MET) refers to EWP with improved structural integrity that can be used for the construction of various types of developments such as infrastructure, commercial, residential, and institutional buildings.

 

There are several variations of MET materials used in the modern construction industry. The two more prominently used types of MET are Cross-laminated timber (CLT) and Glued-laminated timber (GLT or glulam).

 

Internationally, the use of MET has been studied and proven to provide multiple benefits to building stakeholders and occupants, builders, and the environment.

 

Mass timber construction allows for enhanced construction productivity due to wood’s strength-to-weight. Also, the utilization of prefabricated MET components allows for efficient assembly on-site. The usage of MET also creates better construction environments as most construction work is completed offsite. Thus, less dust and noise are generated during construction activities. Worksites would be cleaner as virtually zero construction waste is produced through design for manufacturing and assembly.

 

METs as an alternative construction material offer enhanced thermal, sound, and fire protection performances. This is resultant of the general properties of engineered wood and the process in which MET is manufactured.

 

Studies have also been increasingly favorable towards the beneficial biophilic aspects of organic building materials such as wood. These positive effects include improving occupants’ physical and mental well-being as well as enhancing communication, learning, and healing.

 

Production of and construction with METs have been shown to produce less air and water pollution in comparison to that of traditional materials such as concrete and steel. Also, engineered wood used in mass timber construction are harvested from sustainably managed forests. This means that the MET elements are made from renewable materials and that overall carbon emissions can be reduced as forests would absorb and sequester carbon from the earth’s atmosphere.

Despite its benefits, there are a number of barriers and disadvantages restricting the widespread adoption of MET in construction.

 

Firstly, the lack of expertise of key stakeholders in the industry (namely, architects, builders, and engineers) and of technical information is a hindrance to the adoption of MET. The construction industry is highly risk averse and as such, builders are understandably cautious about using this newer innovation with little to no professional consultancy.

 

Secondly, insufficient manufacturing facilities resulting in immense challenges to obtaining raw materials have frustrated MET’s progress in Singapore. Given that Singapore does not have any natural sources of timber, it is necessary to import them internationally. This increases the total costs of building construction and also adds to the carbon footprint left by the building.

 

Thirdly, the public perception of wood has limited its adoption as a structural material. The general populace associates wood as a combustible material and knows wood to be hygroscopic. This leads to misconceptions of wood as an inadequate structural or architectural material. The receptiveness of MET is further deteriorated due to the fact that Singapore is known to have termite infestation issues year-round.

 

Lastly, MET has yet to be tested as extensively as more traditional construction techniques and hasn’t received the same level of building code support due to its relatively recent introduction into the industry. Given the lack of understanding of MET in Singapore, there has been only limited adoption of this technology.

 

However, these factors would change with adequate research and experimentation. As the manufacturing, environmental, and architectural benefits of mass timber become evident and better publicized, testing and development will accelerate, and so would code recognition. And as code acceptance widens, the uncertainties that stakeholders have will diminish, and adoption of MET will increase. With an increase in demand, manufacturing, and supply will step up, with costs gradually falling in line.

 

 

The proposed goal of this technical report will be to conduct extensive and thorough research about the pros and cons of MET in construction. Furthermore, possible solutions will be proposed to counteract the various disadvantages of using MET in the context of Singapore. In doing so, the hope is to garner excitement and motivation from related academic & industry partners, as well as the relevant Singapore authorities, to increase and expedite research, experimentation, and adoption of Mass Timber construction and MET in Singapore’s built environment.