Singapore firm to have more green buildings

Do you know what the most popular mantra is at the moment? Neither has it hailed from Hinduism nor from Roman Catholicism. It is the green building. Amazed? Well, there is nothing to get amazed and the developed world, on account of worldwide downturn, is counting on it more than ever before. What’s more, according to economic pundits, the precise implementation of the same can help nations to get rid of the brunt of ongoing recession. USA is one of the adherents of this notion and the latest to join this list is Singapore.

Let’s delve into the concept of green building in the beginning. Green building happens to be the outcome of a design which concentrates on increasing the efficiency of resource use — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building’s lifecycle, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal.

In short, green buildings are designed to lessen the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by means of efficiently using energy, water, and other resources; protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity; reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation. Are you getting the message?

A similar concept is natural building, which is generally on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.

What are the plannings of Singapore then? The aspirations of the country came to the fore through the National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who called on the building industry to get greener and ‘build more with less’, in recent times.

The revered minister was found to emphasize his call by stating that the government may adopt stern measures, given that the pertinent industry fails to adopt more environmentally sound materials and recycling practices. What can be the consequence? The government can legislate the entire process.