【Report】Summary of the seminar delivered by Daichi Morishige

Title: Digital Transformation, Sustainability and Construction 5.0

On May 9, 2024, Prof. Ming Shan Ng of the Kyoto Institute of Technology gave a presentation on how architecture can contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at Ritsumeikan University.

She began her presentation by mentioning her research interest in the historical process of how construction has evolved and will likely develop in the future. She argued that understanding such a process is crucial in contributing to sustainability.

Prof. Ng explained three areas in which construction contributes to the SDGs. The first one is the environment. She explained that the use of timber is encouraged due to its lower carbon footprint. Prof. Ng shared examples of environmentally friendly construction styles, such as painting the roof white, placing shades outside the window, and inserting insulation for the wall outside the building and the concrete or brick wall inside. She emphasized that there is much to learn from other disciplines to achieve sustainability. As an example of an environmentally sustainable construction that she worked on, Prof. Ng introduced the Google headquarters.

The second area in which architecture can contribute to the SDGs is society. Prof. Ng explained a type of housing that encourages its residents to socialize by sharing their knowledge and skills with each other. She mentioned that the demand for this type of housing has been increasing in Asia due to rising housing prices.

Finally, sustainable construction contributes to the economic aspect of the SDGs as it can reduce costs. As an example, she mentioned a building in the United Kingdom in which architects renovated an old factory into a modern one.

In the final section of her presentation, Prof. Ng explained why digital transformation matters in construction and sustainability. She shared her current research with the audience, which examines the impact of digital transformation on the way construction can contribute to the SDGs.

During the Q&A session, the audience raised many interesting questions, such as those regarding social housing and social obstacles to constructing sustainable buildings.

Written by Daichi Morishige (PhD researcher at Ritsumeikan University)