A concept developed in the UK for building homes that are both “green” and “intelligent” is being showcased at an exhibition in Hong Kong, with the main exhibit provided by Skanska’s local company Gammon Skanska.
Called the INTEGER Hong Kong Pavilion, it is modelled on a similar event held in the UK in 1996 and aims to provide a glimpse into the future of high-rise construction in Hong Kong. It is the first time the unique INTEGER “home of tomorrow” Pavilion has been hosted in a city outside the UK.
Skanska UK chief executive and Gammon Skanska chairman Keith Clarke joined Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office Dr Dennis MacShane for the launch. The UK Government is helping to sponsor the exhibition in a partnership that includes suppliers, developers and the Hong Kong Government.
The Pavilion is an exhibition and research facility aimed at transforming construction techniques in Hong Kong by promoting housing that is more cost effective to build, efficient to maintain and offers better quality of living. It demonstrates how this is achievable through integrating intelligent and green technologies, a concept from which the name INTEGER derives – intelligent, green.
Gammon Skanska is looking to apply the INTEGER principle in Hong Kong with a system that involves building high rise accommodation using modular units pre-fabricated off-site and transported to a project where they are assembled.
The two demonstration flats within the Pavilion were built by Gammon Skanska using this technique and feature recycled water technology, solar energy, light sensitive shading devices and energy efficient solutions for air-conditioning. The flats also come with moveable interior walls to allow inhabitants to customise their living area.
Skanska’s Hong Kong company estimates that its modular construction techniques illustrated at the Pavilion can speed up build times by nearly 20 per cent for high rise living accommodation in Hong Kong. Underlining this, it predicted that four blocks of 40-storey residential buildings, which would normally take 30 months to build, can be erected five months earlier using modular construction.
Gammon Skanska believes that its system offers better quality of finish, as well as creating less waste and noise disruption from fewer materials and construction activities. By using re-cyclable products, the buildings will also be far easier to de-mount in the future, another big issue for land development in Hong Kong.
The INTEGER concept is also focused on created homes that have a more efficient consumption of energy, water and other utilities. It was originally developed by Watford based BRE.