APPLICABILITY OF HYBRID MASS TIMBER CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY IN THE TROPICS

Abstract

Mass timber construction (MTC) made from engineered wood is gaining popularity in Europe, however, there are some limitations as to what MTC can do. Before a building is constructed, important issues such as fire safety, acoustics and privacy or longer spans etc. has to be tackled. These issues can be mitigated by introducing Hybrid Mass Timber Construction (HMTC), a modification of MTC with addition of concrete and steel, harnessing the advantages of the different materials. However, neither MTC nor HMTC is common in the tropics. There are barriers to entry which make it difficult to construct a multi-storey HMTC building in Southeast Asia (SEA). HMTC can help to resolve tropical issues such as termite, weathering, humidity etc. Such a construction system can only be sustainable in SEA if tropical wood species are used as they are made regionally. This paper seeks to analyse how HMTC deals with the different issues mentioned above through the construction system, detailing and the use of material.