The design studies and the tools have been developed to compare various structural models based on composite systems of concrete in combination with Mass engineered Timber (MET), such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glue Laminated Timber (Glulam). The aim is to promote timber as a renewable and sustainable material for residential construction in Southeast Asia (SEA) – a region with massive urban construction in close proximity to vast forest resources. The design utilises the ease of adaptability and relative light weight of timber and applies them as infill elements to achieve flexible floor plans.  

Moreover, with connections that are more easily reversible than concrete joints, timber-based elements cater modularity in the assembly process and enable circular design strategies and design for disassembly, helping to reduce their Global Warming Potential (GWP).  

A circularity assessment method that builds upon the design-based life cycle assessment (LCA) tool has been developed to quantify the environmental potential of circularity, based on capturing the impacts of recycled materials and tracking the re-use of modules during a  building’s service lifetime – by correlating predictive demographic models on changing occupation demand patterns with re-used partition modules that would accommodate these changes.