BuiltExpo 2006 showcases BST students’ green building solutions

The annual BuiltExpo 2006 organized by the Division of Building Science and Technology (BST) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is showcasing over 90 final-year projects that integrate elements of sustainable development.

The exhibition demonstrates that CityU is offering a timely professional education that meets the needs of the real world and tackles current global issues such as environment protection.

This year BST chose “Implementing Sustainability—Reusable, Renewable, Revitalizing” as the theme for the two-day exhibition, which started on 7 April.

According to Mrs Julie Mo, Head of BST, this theme supports the government’s first sustainable development strategy. This strategy, formulated in 2005, encompasses three areas: sustainable solid waste management, sustainable use of energy and sustainable urban living space.

BuiltExpo was first held in 1994 and has become a major annual event in the BST calendar. The exhibition showcases final-year projects by associate degree students in architectural studies, building services engineering, construction engineering and management, and surveying. The top three projects from each category are selected by judges invited from local industry.

Ir Dr the Honourable Ho Chung-tai, a member of the Legislative Council (Engineering Functional Constituency) officiated at the opening ceremony on 7 April alongside Professor Richard Ho, CityU’s Vice-President for Undergraduate Education.

Dr Ho said he was very impressed by the exhibits. “Much to our delight, the students have proven their resourcefulness and creativity. They have come up with excellent ideas about how to pursue sustainable development,” Dr Ho said.

Hui Ka-chun, a student from the architectural studies stream, proposed building a sky and podium garden on top of a commercial building in Causeway Bay to make the surrounding environment greener.

The hotel development project proposed by Kirby Leang Sze-ting, Lii Kin-chiu and Lam Yu-leung, students from the construction engineering and management stream, took into consideration the government’s newly-implemented scheme that charges for the disposal of construction waste. “We suggest using recyclable dry walls instead of bricks for partitioning and using precast facades. This can reduce construction waste and costs,” Kirby said.

Lam Yung-yee, who was involved in a building services engineering project in a commercial building in Tung Chung, said students gained a lot from BuiltExpo. “I now appreciate much more the importance of team work and I have learnt better communication and presentation skills,” she added.

The exhibition is open from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm on 7 April and from 10:00 am to 4 pm on 8 April in the Purple Zone, 4/F, Academic Building, CityU. The public is welcome to attend.