Sky Timber: Mass Timber Architecture in the Tropics Lecture Series 1

At COP21 in 2015 in Paris, Singapore commits to reduce carbon emissions by 36% from 2005 level in next 15 years, as an initiative to mitigate the global warming. As an estimate, if we could replace all concrete usage in Singapore with timber, including buildings and infrastructures, 1/3 of carbon emissions from the entire Singapore economic activities were to be dispelled. Singapore adopted Eurocode in 2012, and its performance-based assessment enabled one of the first mass-engineered timber constructions in Asia. Currently, many other mass-timber projects are under planning locally; however, most projects are planned to use imported Cross-Laminated Timber or Glulam primarily from Europe due to its Eurocode compliance. This will not be sustainable to repeatedly transport mass-engineered timber components over long distances, which may eventually erode the positive effect of carbon sequestration. Southeast Asia is blessed with some of the oldest forests in the world, which have supplied large volumes of wood-based products internationally, however, overall deforestation in the region has not yet stopped, notwithstanding increasing efforts by the local and international timber and forestry sectors. Embracing the social mission, the Sky Timber project conducts feasibility studies of Mass Timber Architecture in the Tropics from technical, climatic and sustainable point of views, envisioning that it raises more awareness on prominent value of sustainable forestry in the region, mitigates regional haze issues and ultimately opens up ways toward symbiotic relationships between forestry and urbanism in Southeast Asia and beyond. The lecture addresses interim update on the project in collaboration with BCA, and overviews of the Sky Timber lecture series.