TABLE OF CONTENTS - The Professional Green Building Council

Theme B: Creating a livable, healthy and environmentally viable citiesIn Table 1 above, it is clear that maintenance expenditure on the older buildings isgreater. It can also be seen that the repair cost drops significantly in the 1980’s whichwas the time when mechanization and prefabrication was introduced.3. ENHANCEMENT OF QUALITY AND WORKMANSHIP OFSTRUCTURAL WORKSWith a strong strive to enhance the quality and workmanship of structural works, theHousing Department responsible for the construction of the public housing hadmandatorily introduced the use of large panel steel formwork and associatedmechanized construction in the mid 80’sFigure 3:Mechanized and Prefabricated ConstructionThis is not only a pioneer environmental initiative to reduce the use of timber, but alsogives assurance to the accuracy in lines and profiles of the structural elements. Thesurface finish of off-form concrete is also much enhanced with no more unevensurfaces and/or left-in peeling off timber pieces in concrete.In the early 1990’s, another great step forward in the public housing construction wasthe mandatory use of precast facades. The main purpose of the move was toprefabricate the complicated concrete profile of the facades in a factory instead of384