Building for the future

Panelists:

The Business Times: For the first time, more than half of the world's population is now living in urban areas from this year. How is the urban landscape changing? How prepared are we for the increasing pressure on urban spaces and facilities?

Lisa Bate: We must innovate and collaborate to rethink and redesign the way we use the spaces around us to overcome the increasing pressure on urban spaces and facilities, and to build resilience to future proof our built environment.

We are already seeing some interesting cases in cities around the world where public spaces are being redefined, such as streets being developed as shared spaces, roads re-routed underground to create more community spaces and facilities above ground.

Here in Singapore, the Underground Masterplan is in place to unlock the potential of subterranean space for rail lines, roads, utilities, storage, warehousing, etc to free up valuable space for housing, businesses and community spaces.

Chris Luebkeman: Nothing is changing and everything is changing. Urban areas remain the places for citizens to gather; to search for opportunity and connection; the methods for doing this is changing profoundly. Seamless and integrated mobility remains a prime focus for many in a city; the typology of the options is changing profoundly. The need for shelter has not changed; our expectations of what and how it is provided is changing profoundly.

Our preparedness depends upon the place. There is no single answer to this question. Some cities and governments are well prepared while others are not at all. So much depends upon the stability and capability of those in government service.

Wong Chee Herng: Urban living has changed significantly over the last few decades. In Singapore, our urban planners have allowed plot ratios to go higher and buildings to go taller. It is no longer a single usage approach anymore. Mixed usage that integrates different needs has become common sight. The new urban landscape must cater to not just living as transportation, social and entertainment needs are considered.

What role does the built environment industry play in improving the living conditions for the large population shift to urban areas?

Lisa Bate: As well as ensuring urban spaces are optimised and more liveable and sustainable for the increasing urban population, the built environment industry can improve living conditions on a larger scale, and not just directly for the people working or living inside buildings.

Sustainable buildings have social benefits such as positive community impacts, providing jobs and economic growth, ensuring a just transition and improving construction industry in terms of ethical responsibility and natural resource efficiency and productivity.

To enable this transition, close collaboration and engagement with the multiple stakeholders within communities is required and we must ensure there are win-win solutions to opposing priorities and requirements.

Chris Luebkeman: The built environment industry is the backbone for both the provision, and improvement of the places and spaces that citizens inhabit. It is, however, the role of government to have strong parameters and expectations for the design, construction and management of these assets.

The built environment industry should be holding itself responsible and accountable for excellence and a strong future vision. It should only be designing and building zero carbon assets.

Wong Chee Herng: The complexity of needs today pushes the built environment industry to respond accordingly. First and foremost, the quality of the finished product must improve. It is no longer providing a roof over your heads. At the same time, we need to constantly explore technologies to aid in the speed of delivery. Not forgetting that safety standards cannot be compromised.

With the increasing demands being placed on the built environment industry, how is it transforming itself to meet the new challenges that it is facing?

Lisa Bate: The built environment industry may have earned a monolithic reputation since it is highly fragmented with tall silos, and to date, engagement has been often minimal between the multiple stakeholders within communities. But the industry now recognises it must adopt new thinking, technologies and practices while leveraging well established principles and solutions.

Silos must be broken down and collaboration improved along the value chain to ensure we find solutions to the challenges presented by rapid urbanisation. There are signs of this happening, such as through the increasing use of digital solutions, augmented and virtual reality, big data, drones, robotics, Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), etc. These are key enablers, but leadership is required to truly transform the industry at the right pace.

Chris Luebkeman: The integration of AI and ML (machine learning) into the designers toolkit has made a big change in how we understand the expected and actual performance of our built assets. Increased collaboration and integration of global knowledge is already happening. The full integration of 3D models with digital twins is a good example. Or fully prefabricated elements leading to more fabrication of assets rather than construction is another. Or the integration of circular economy considerations in decision making is another.

Wong Chee Herng: The transformation takes place on a few fronts. One is quality. BCA, working with the industry, has over the last few decades raised the quality standards significantly. Average CONQUAS scores have improved across all types of projects. For residential projects, voluntary adoption of Quality Mark certification by developers further enhances this quality push.

Second is safety. Like quality, safety standards have been rising over the last few decades. The built environment industry has put in effort to shed the image of an unsafe industry. The industry works towards the mentality that any accident is one too many. A lot of efforts are put in to enhance accident prevention. One of which is the Design for Safety initiative to create buildings that are safe to build.

Then there is the PQM Procurement Model. With the investment to deliver better quality and safer standards, many government procurement entities are adopting the PQM procurement model. This is to give significant weightage to the non-price component when evaluating tenders. The lowest price tenderer is no longer assured of winning the tender.

What are some of the changes that in your view are required for the built environment industry to be up to speed?

Lisa Bate: For the industry to be up to speed means it must recognise the need to transform to meet the global challenges such as rapid urbanisation and the urgent need to accelerate decarbonisation to achieve crucial climate targets.

On Sept 23, World GBC will issue a call to action report setting out a pathway for the built environment industry to completely eliminate carbon emissions from all stages of the building and construction lifecycle.

Achieving this vision requires an overhaul of how the industry operates. Committing to take leadership action and improving collaboration between industry and policymakers is integral to bringing the industry up to speed and to leverage the strength of the industry to provide solutions to global challenges.

Chris Luebkeman: We need to help the entire value chain be a part of the necessary move to longer-term considerations. We need to push for global expectation of zero carbon solutions and only use regenerative design principles. We should all be utilising the power and potential of 3D modelling and VR to ensure that we understand the designs we are commissioning.

Wong Chee Herng: Firstly, the built environment industry is not attracting enough talent. Local engineering graduates are becoming a rarity. Tertiary institutions need to work closely to promote this industry. Secondly, the adoption of technologies and digitalisation must go beyond the larger companies. More subcontractors (all SMEs) must embark on this journey together. Thirdly, the understanding and adoption of DfMA is not gaining sufficient traction.

What in your view is the built environment industry transformation required through its whole value chain?

Lisa Bate: Simply put, transformation of the industry will not happen unless there is a radical shift in how the whole industry works together. As the saying goes, "the chain is as strong as the weakest link". The entire value chain must collaborate: the silos will need to be broken down and the players within the industry will need to be on board.

This requires innovation in engagement, rethinking of business models, courage to try new things, and action to ensure the vision and plans are fully executed.

World GBC's upcoming report presents a pathway of actions that designers, investors, manufacturers, government, NGOs and researchers across the whole value chain can take to address current market barriers.

Wong Chee Herng: My focus on the built environment industry transformation will be on DfMA. For this transformation to take off, the current hierarchy of decision making needs to change significantly.

To ensure certain design that is friendly for manufacturing and subsequently assembly, the manufacturers' input - who are currently last in the hierarchy, needs to be considered early before design decisions are made.

Modular design in the eyes of designers does not necessarily translate to manufacturing efficiency. One way is for the developer, who is the project financier, to consider different available DfMA solutions first before setting design parameters. Designers will encounter certain restrictions initially but will eventually be accustomed to this approach.

How can digitalisation help in the built environment industry's transformation?

Lisa Bate: Tech and digitalisation will play key roles in the built environment industry's transformation. Adopting and leveraging use of sensors, analytics, predictive and artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced imaging systems, augmented and virtual reality, digital platforms for financing, etc will enable the industry's shift to an agile, productive, optimised, data driven industry where new business and engagement models can be developed.

Again, I will emphasise, digitalisation enables, leadership delivers.

Chris Luebkeman: It is inevitable. Those who embrace this will win. Those who do not will lose. We need more winners in our industry since the demands which will be placed upon it because of our climate crises will only exponentially increase. And we need to be ready.

Wong Chee Herng: Digitalisation can help the transformation in a few ways. The availability of both affordable hardware and software makes 3D visualisation a reality. This enables virtual construction to take place before actual, reducing rework significantly downstream.

Secondly, better and effective collaboration is enabled among different stakeholders through an effective digital platform.

Thirdly, it attracts a new crop of personnel with different skill sets. This allows new job roles to be created.