Oral Answer by Ministry of National Development on technological improvements incorporated into building of HDB flats
Feb 20, 2017
Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development what technological improvements in engineering and material sciences have been incorporated into the building of our HDB flats in recent years to ensure enhanced structural integrity, higher noise insulation, improved ventilation and heat reduction.
Answer:
Over the years, HDB has enhanced the building performance and livability of our housing estates by leveraging on technology during the development of our HDB flats.
To enhance a building’s structural performance, HDB keeps abreast of improvements in concrete technology and introduces new materials after they have been tested for performance and cost effectiveness. For example, we have been continually improving the grade of concrete used in HDB developments. The higher performance concrete is denser and more impermeable to water, thereby mitigating problems of water leakage and spalling concrete.
About a decade ago, HDB also started installing Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) sensors in key structural columns of new HDB developments. These sensors help engineers better understand the behavior of building structures through its life cycle, and continuously monitor their structural integrity.
Separately, over the years HDB has been developing in-house expertise in Urban Environmental Modelling (UEM) to better take into account urban environmental parameters, such as wind flow, solar irradiance, shading and noise at the planning and urban design stage.
HDB started using UEM some years back in the planning and design of the Build-to-Order (BTO) development, known as Punggol Treelodge, and is now using UEM on a much wider scale in BTO projects in both Bidadari and Tengah. Through the model simulations, we are able to better understand how different housing typologies, building layouts and orientation, greenery provisions and road networks affect wind flow, solar heat gain and noise level, enabling us to refine our plans to improve livability.
To mitigate noise impact in buildings, advanced noise modelling is used to guide the orientation of HDB blocks and the placement of physical barriers to enhance aural comfort. Greenery features deployed at strategic locations identified through solar irradiance analysis help to reduce ambient temperatures as well as reflected heat and glare. The placement of communal facilities is also similarly optimised, by locating them in areas which tend to be shaded.