Dow Corning’s silicone technologies were discussed as alternative materials used in the sustainable construction of green buildings at the Green Buildings Asia conference, a leading construction event dedicated this year to sustainability products, technologies and practices in green roofing, mobility and energy-efficient building systems, February 22–25, in Singapore.
Across Asia, governments seeking to balance rapid economic growth with environmental sustainability efforts have recognized that green buildings contribute significantly to energy efficiency targets. In Singapore, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) has set a green building target to have 80 per cent of all buildings certified as ‘green’ by 2030. With this in view, in December 2010, Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority revised the criteria for the Green Mark scheme, increasing the minimum energy efficiency standard for all new buildings.
As a global silicone solutions provider, Dow Corning’s silicone sealants and adhesives are a durable, long lasting choice for green building designs in Asia. “We’ve been involved in many of the landmark buildings around the world for more than 60 years. With the growing interest of Asia in energy efficient solutions for buildings, we believe that silicone technology can help meet the demand for the sustainable design and construction of more green buildings”, said Dow Corning Corporation’s Technical Manager, Narelle Skinner.
Dow Corning’s silicone-based materials are versatile and can be used in many aspects of a building to achieve design freedom. They are used in structural glazing, weatherproofing and insulating glass building applications that are subject to Asia’s extreme weather conditions, which include high winds, typhoons, earthquakes, acid rain, humidity, and regional high and low temperature conditions. They seal potential air and water leaks, promoting thermal efficiency, and improving the air and water tightness of facades, which lowers energy consumption thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Construction teams across Asia have worked to implement best practices in building sustainability using Dow Corning’s silicones and other building materials. Our silicone technology solutions help customers achieve green building ratings or certificates through GBI, GBCI, BERDE, VGBC, LEED and similar agencies throughout the region. Dow Corning has been involved in major building projects in Asia such as:
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Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur. Dow Corning was selected as the exclusive provider of all silicone sealants used in constructing one of the world’s tallest twin buildings. Architecturally inspired by the symmetry of Islamic art and built to withstand environmental factors, Dow Corning’s durable silicone sealants helped contribute to sustainable structural design elements used to glaze, seal and install the aluminum, glass and stainless steel curtainwall units on the exterior.
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New Beijing Poly Plaza, Beijing. Dow Corning’s silicone sealants were used to weatherseal the world’s largest cable-net-supported glass curtain wall in the New Beijing Poly Plaza. Resembling a folded Chinese lantern, the plaza also has Beijing’s highest skyscraping atrium. Dow Corning’s silicone sealants were also used in the construction of energy efficient and environmentally friendly vertical stone sun blinds to ensure maximum sunlight during the winter and protective shading in the summer.
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Burj Khalifa, Dubai. Dow Corning materials were used in the construction of the world’s tallest building. An iconic and structurally challenging project, its design was inspired by the patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture as well as the harmonious structure of the Hymenocallis plant, which is native to the region. Dow Corning silicone sealants were used to glaze the high performance reflective cladding panels which were specified to save energy. Dow Corning worked closely with the building’s structural engineers to provide the right products that met their project design standards.
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Kaohsiung World Games Main Stadium, Taiwan. Dow Corning provided products for the first stadium in the world powered by solar energy, which was awarded the “Green Building Certification” by Taiwanese authorities. Dow Corning provided four-sided structural sealant glazing products to bond the glass solar panels to aluminum sub-frame, which maximizes the daylight exposure for generating clean solar energy by the solar modules.
Dow Corning continues to offer its products, expertise and knowledge in silicone technology solutions to help its customers shape the future of energy efficiency and green buildings in Asia.