Inspiring Future Architects and Engineers to Actively Shape Sustainable, Low-Carbon Building

WILASA VICHIT-VADAKAN: Hi, everyone. Our talk today is entitled Inspiring Future Architects and Engineers to Actively Shape Low Carbon Buildings. We'll share with you how BIMobject Thailand and Autodesk collaborated on a BIM design competition in Thailand to spur the next generation's interest in creating low carbon, net zero buildings since, without a doubt, sustainable low carbon buildings play a pivotal role in environmental sustainability and economic decarbonization.

We guide the teams through digitalizing the conceptual design stage through systems thinking to help the students manage such a large open-ended question. My name is Wilasa Vichit-Vadakan. And I'm the Digital Construction Business Director at SCG, as well as the Managing Director of BIMobject Thailand, a joint venture between SCG and BIMobject AB. Let me introduce you to my co-speaker, Ken Soh. He's a senior engagement leader in AECO Strategy at Autodesk. Go ahead, Ken.

KEN SOH: Thank you, Wilasa. This presentation may include statements regarding future events and development efforts for our products and services. Our plans are not intended to be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services, or features. Purchasing decisions should not be made based upon this statement. Over to you, Wilasa.

WILASA VICHIT-VADAKAN: Thank you so much, Ken. I think you'll be fair to first justify why we invested a tremendous amount of effort in organizing this annual event to inspire future architects and engineers. Clearly, 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record, and we seem to be on a trend to be breaking that record every year.

Temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense and with more devastating consequences for people and the planet. As global citizens, we need to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As members of the building and construction sector, which contributes up to 40% of global emissions, we can make a difference.

However, globally, there's a shortage of talent. This is true for any technological transformations. Although there's a strong interest in BIM implementation by all stakeholders in the building's industry, the shortage of skilled BIM modelers and the variation between peak demands and typical demands are hindering progress. New BIM modelers often lack the necessary skills and design experience, making it challenging to meet peak demands.

Compounding these problems, it is unlikely that a BIM mandate will come about in Thailand. Without a BIM mandate in place, the private sector in Thailand must bear the burden of digitalizing without a national framework and without any tax or financial incentives. Although we clearly see that the construction industry as a whole will greatly benefit from this transformation, we struggle to identify who is responsible for pushing this transformation forward.

SCG is a publicly-traded company and also a crown property, meaning that over 40% of our shares are held by the King of Thailand. We started operations 111 years ago as a cement company. We've diversified to petro chemicals, as well as paper business and currently have a little under 54,000 employees. Our revenue from sales in 2023 was just under $15 billion US. We're considered one of Thailand's largest conglomerates.

Unlike our neighbors in the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, Thailand was never colonized by a European country. Although that preserved our culture very well, we lost out on the technological revolution that came with colonialization. In 1913, King Rama VI said that the development of Thailand would depend on the infrastructure and released a decree establishing the Siam Cement Public Company Limited.

Our first cement plant was located in what used to be the far northern suburbs of Bangkok, where our current headquarters remain. Our firm's first product, SCG Portland Cement, has since been exported to every continent in the world except Antarctica. In 2024, entering into our 111th year, SCG is actively integrating sustainable development strategies in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through the ESG 4 plus approach, emphasizing net zero, go green, reduce inequality, enhance collaboration, plus trust through transparency.

As one of the oldest crown property conglomerates, we felt strongly that we're in a position to help advance the construction industry by helping develop the next generation of architects and engineers to be adept at BIM in order to embrace the challenges in building a low carbon society. And BIMobject Thailand was assigned to the task of advancing this new generation. Our vision for this competition is to inspire future architects and engineers to build smarter, greener, and faster through digitization.

With this preface, I wanted to dive into why we're really here. We'd like to share our experience in making this annual competition a successful and sustainable event. We can't say that it was always smooth sailing and certainly can't say that we always correctly predicted many aspects of the outcome. However, as is often the case with working with students, most of the unexpected outcomes were surprisingly positive.

We felt that there are four different areas that we wanted to share with you that might be pertinent to someone thinking about organizing something similar elsewhere in the world. First and foremost, how did we engage college and university students who, like anywhere else in the world, do not typically prioritize independent learning over their personal interests in their free time? We also took advantage of being post-pandemic in order to remove barriers to entry.

Throughout the events, we carefully identified key stakeholders and took the time to understand why they got involved and wanted to stay involved. One of the key stakeholders is sponsors, and their takeaway is very important for such an event. Let's first start with the heart and soul of this competition-- the students.

As any parent can understand, engaging a typical young adult in independent academic pursuits can be challenging. However, when the pursuit happens to be aligned with their passion, the jet engine seems to just self-propel. We got off easy on the subject of sustainability since that really hits home for a large proportion of students.

As they learn the skills of architects and engineers, which may seem to be a disconnect to the needs of the real world, the students can get quite engaged to the idea of being able to use their skills in a competition. Even encouraging these future architects and engineers to form teams together was surprisingly easy, even though it's quite rare for them to academically interact on a college campus. What we discovered was that the ability to demonstrate their design skills in sustainable design and green innovation really tugged at their hearts.

In 2022, we chose a theme that was tangible to everyone. Years of pandemic lockdown made the co-working space a familiar place. This was the student's chance to actively design out the things that they did not like and design in the things that they felt would contribute to a sustainable co-working space. The scope was small and quite well-defined because we, as organizers, were not sure how the students would be able to handle such an open-ended challenge. They certainly stepped up to the plate in full force and left us in awe of their abilities.

In 2023, with more confidence that the students can handle quite creative questions with open-ended questions, we decided to further broaden the scope to encompass any building function. But sustainability is measured quantitatively with an embodied carbon calculator. Furthermore, with Autodesk launching Forma just a few weeks prior to the launch of the design competition, BIMobject Thailand and Autodesk collaboratively worked together to entice the students to explore the Forma platform. The student's response was remarkable, and we'll be showing you some of their submissions at the end of this talk.

This year, we wanted to further exploit Autodesk Forma and allow the students to expand their imagination in order to be able to innovatively unlock public spaces. This is a risky challenge. But the preliminary submissions, once again, are beyond our expectations. Time and again, youthful passion never ceases to amaze us. What we've discovered along the way is that generative AI can help close the experience gap and really help the students who struggle to start when staring at a blank screen.

Although passion can go a long ways, we must be realistic with life's responsibilities also. The students are, first and foremost, students, so we respect respected. We respected their commitments to their classes as the utmost priority. We work closely with universities in Thailand to align the competition schedule with academic schedules, starting the competition a few weeks after classes have started so that the students know what their schedules would be like.

We have the first major deadline right after mid-semester break, which avoids midterm exams and allows the students to work uninterrupted creatively during their break. The final submission for the top 10 teams was strategically scheduled to be a few weeks before final exams to avoid further conflicts. By doing this, the students could achieve and even outdo our level of expectation for their design.

Furthermore, professors and university administration are eager to work with us to open new opportunities for their students because we consistently prioritize academics first and foremost. Not all universities in Thailand are capable of teaching BIM. Furthermore, there's not one universal approach to teaching BIM yet. Therefore, it is essential to create a level playing field with solid technical training, as well as systems thinking in order to teach students how to handle large, complex problems effectively.

All the training offered by the competition was free and online. We work collaboratively with Autodesk, as well as professionals in the field, especially the judges, to design and execute training. We also opened all training sessions to the professional BIM community here in Thailand, since the training is done through Facebook Live. We consistently had hundreds of non-students join in and stayed for most of the session.

The first Forma of training session that was collaboratively taught by Autodesk and a lead from an architectural design firm in Thailand had over 500 participants and over 80% of them stayed for over 90% of the duration of the training session. Professors from smaller universities that lacked hardware resources even took advantage of the competition to ask their university for funding and space for BIM labs. As you can see, the impact of just a little design competition can be significant with far-reaching benefits that we never anticipated.

Because Thailand is such a small country, we need to remove barriers to entry to ensure that this design competition will reach any students anywhere. As I had described earlier, we worked closely with universities, large and small, to make sure that everyone is aware of the competition and everyone is able to join the competition without scheduling conflicts. We also work with professors to help them provide sufficient resources to support their students, including hardware, software, and broadband high speed internet.

We also hosted all training sessions on Facebook Live, allowing students to watch the training on their phones while trying things out on their computers. The training sessions were designed collaboratively between Autodesk and our judges to ensure that the students can use the skills effectively. By opening the training sessions to professionals in the field, we've been able to align the language of BIM so that new graduates can easily understand and be integrated into professional settings.

As you can see, online training has far-reaching benefits, many of which are very nice surprises. Because the competition extends over a few months, we need to maintain an open line of communication with the participants. Therefore, we utilize chat rooms to not only make announcements but also create engagement, such as games with prizes given out and sent to the students.

With students from many different universities, we often see friendly rivalry brewing. We monitor the chat rooms and rarely see the conversations moving away from the design competition itself. We notice peak activity levels in the chat room after the training session and during looming deadlines, which is a chance for us to gauge the level of interest and, oftentimes, the quality of submission.

It also allows us to help students in urgent situations, such as losing power within hours of the submission deadline. We feel that these chat rooms are quite effective in engaging the students and maintaining the momentum over months-long competition.

It doesn't really matter how much I qualitatively describe the impact of our competition, but the numbers will always be the exclamation mark. At the start of the competition, we host online roadshows and typically have well over 300 participants from over 30 colleges and universities. The chat room has over 400 members. Training sessions typically have over 500 live views, not including those who came back to watch the recorded sessions.

For the final round, which is done in person and broadcasted live on Facebook Live, we have over 8,000 live views and over 1,200 continuous live views for over an hour. These are just some of our competition statistics. In order to make all these accomplishments come true, we need to understand the back office-- a critical step.

In conceptualizing this design competition was to quickly identify and engage key stakeholders. And I just wanted to share some of our experience with you. There are three groups that play key roles in the competition-- The professors and other academics at universities, the judges that volunteer their time for this competition, and the sponsors that find value in this competition.

Professors play a crucial role in encouraging students to participate in the competition and also in keeping momentum moving forward in order for the students to keep up with the breadth of the project. They not only teach, but become coaches and mentors to the students. These professors inspire students to exceed their perceived limits and strive for excellence. The relationships that we see develop becomes very close relationships, which has always been the highlight of the competition from the perspective of the students.

Furthermore, professors take pride in representing the universities at a national level. This pride is evident even as small colleges from the provinces, often make it up to the top 10 teams, showcasing the professors impactful support. In order to acknowledge the contributions that professors have made to this competition, BIMobject Thailand encouraged professors that participated in the design competition to submit their experience in the competition, as well as the overall BIM program at their respective universities for consideration in the Autodesk ASEAN Innovation Award.

Assistant Professor Dr. [INAUDIBLE] from the Faculty of Architecture, Urban Design, and Creative Arts from Mahasarakham University in the Northeastern part of Thailand, won the top entry in country in Future Pillar of the Year Award for her work in recognizing and pursuing the use of BIM to educate the next generation of engineers.

Another critical group of volunteers for this competition are the judges. From the very beginning, we wanted the panel of judges to have representation from architecture, engineering, and building materials producer. This diversity in backgrounds ensures a well-rounded evaluation of the student's work. Each judge has been affiliated with a top-tier organization, some with global recognition. Their prestigious background help inspire students and lend credibility to the competition.

These judges must uphold high performance standards while providing constructive, educational feedback. We found that it is both the character of the individual judge that is important, as well as the chemistry of the panel of judges. We recognize that the optimal balance-- we recognize the optimal balance when each judge would follow up with us after the competition, wanting to continue to volunteer to work with this competition.

The third and very important stakeholders is the sponsors. We have two main groups of sponsors who support financially and those who support in-kind. There's no doubt that financial sponsors are critical for such an event. And repeat sponsors are particularly valuable for long-term success and sustainability of the event.

We felt that the financial sponsors should get more out of their experience than just a logo on the backdrop. Therefore, we wanted to encourage students to be familiar with their sponsor's products. We allocated 10% of the submission score for the use of their sponsor's products. Because generic objects are discouraged in this competition, the students actually take the time to understand and justify the objects that are used in their design. This approach has provided meaningful engagement and better exposure for our financial sponsors.

We want to also acknowledge the importance of in-kind contributions. We typically use in-kind contributions to enhance the final prize package, making the competition more attractive. However, we also use in-kind contributions for the great games that we play in the chat rooms to create engagement. What we found is that contributions from companies, especially those offering technological tools like computers, are highly valued.

Therefore, we often use these in-kind contributions for special prizes, such as the Most Engaged University award. From the perspective of the competition host the benefits of sponsorships are endless. However, in order to keep sponsors coming back to help us, we need to understand their perspective also. With that said, let me hand this over to Ken to share his experience as a sponsor. Go ahead, Ken.

KEN SOH: Thank you, Wilasa. I'm excited to share with you the incredible contributions and take away from the competition, particularly from the perspective of the sponsor. As a sponsor, Autodesk makes significant contribution by offering free educational access to our solutions, including Autodesk Forma and Revit. These tools were critical in enabling students to design innovative, low carbon building.

Additionally, Autodesk went a step further by providing comprehensive training, ensuring that students could quickly and effectively get up to speed with Autodesk Forma. At the outset of the competition, we had some reservations about whether students would be receptive to this new way of working, particularly with outcome-based team. However, we are pleasantly surprised by how quickly the student embraced both the new working methods and the powerful capability of former technology.

I'm delighted to share with you the three key takeaways from my recent competitions that are crucial for our collective future. First, it's essential to foster a green mindset to address the climate crisis effectively. Our competition highlighted the innovative and sustainable solutions proposed by students, showcasing their ability to think outside the box and tackle environmental challenges creatively.

This underscored the importance of integrating climate education into the curriculum to instill a green mindset from a young age. These students are not just participants. They are future leaders who will champion sustainability in their professional life, driving positive change. Their projects have real-world applications, illustrating how a green mindset can lead to tangible environmental benefits.

Second, the competition reveals the immense potential for the young generation in tackling talent shortage. Young professionals bring fresh perspective and new ideas that can rejuvenate industry facing this shortage. They are often more adept with the latest technology, which is a significant asset in the AEC industry. Investing in training programs and internships is crucial to prepare students for workforce and bridge the talent gap. There are vast career opportunities in the AEC industry, and it's imperative to encourage students to pursue careers where there is high demand for talent.

Lastly, collaboration is key to address the lack of BIM mandate. It's essential for educational institutions, industry leader, and government bodies to work together to promote the adoption of BIM. Establishing share standards and practice for BIM ensure consistency and efficiency across projects. We must encourage the exchange of knowledge and best practices through workshops, seminars, and conferences to foster a collaborative environment.

One of the most significant takeaway from this competition is the clear demonstration that driving sustainability as an outcome is not just a lofty ambition but an achievable reality. By fostering a green mindset, empowering the young generation, and promoting collaboration, sustainable and innovative futures can be realized.

Now that we have shared with you why we embark on this journey and how we executed it, I would like to highlight what we have achieved. To me is a remarkable accomplishment to see 88 submissions from students from various universities in Thailand. This not only showcase the incredible talents and creativity of our young minds, but also underscore their commitment to innovation and sustainability.

In addition to evaluating design concept, the competition also considered whether each competing teams utilized BIM technology and programs such as Autodesk, Forma, and key carbon. We also look at the adoption of environmental friendly building materials to create detailed low carbon buildings. With the help of our esteemed judges, we were able to carefully review all submissions and ultimately select the 10 finalists out of the 88 remarkable entries.

With that, I'd like to share with you the top three submissions in details. I'd like to start by introducing the second runner up, Team Spear Studio. Their inspiration arises from the gap.

Between shophouses caused by the demolition of original building-- while many might see this as mere vacant space, the visionary mind at team Spear Studio see them as unique opportunities to create something beneficial for both the city and our planet. Their project, Plern Shophouse, is a shining example of this vision. It reimagined the traditional shophouses as a multifaceted space, a cafe, a workspace, and an exhibition venue, inviting everyone to stop by and enjoy an environment that is friendly to, both, users and environment.

Using Autodesk Forma, the team meticulously analyzed wind direction, sunlight, noise pollution to optimize their design. They decide to set the building back from the road and install facade panel and trees in front to reduce noise. The building features an open space in the middle, connecting each floor and allowing natural light and air to circulate freely.

The front and the back of the building are designed with openings to enhance air circulation, while the facade is equipped with a sensor system that respond to changing weather conditions. Solar cells on the roof generate electricity, and rainwater is collected to irrigate the plant on the facade. They also prioritize sustainable building materials. The facade is made from environmental friendly forest wood, a responsible alternative to cutting down natural forests.

Prefabricated wall and beam from CPAC green solution were used to minimize construction waste, and the glass walls are covered with solar glass that help reduce heat from the outside while reflecting low light, ensuring minimal disturbance to neighboring shophouses.

In conclusion, Plern Shophouse is a testament to the innovative and sustainable vision of team Spear Studio. Their projects show how forward thinking design can create spaces that are not only functional but also beneficiary to the environment and the community.

It is my great pleasure to introduce the first runner-up, the Inner Circle Architect team. The challenge that the Inner Circle Architect set out to tackle was a profound one. How can a 24-hour building be environmental friendly? The innovative answer to this question is Oasis, a remarkable building that serves as a 24-hour coworking space, hostel, and retail space located in the bustling Silom area.

Inner Circle Architects employ several strategies to significantly reduce the building energy consumption. The first strategy was to optimize the building layout and install solar panels using daylight analysis data from Autodesk Forma to ensure maximum efficiency. This thoughtful design ensured the building harnessed the natural energy provided by the sun to its fullest extent.

Taking the next step in sustainability, the team installed solar cells on the building to produce renewable energy. But their commitment to eco-friendly design did not stop there. Rainwater collected on the roof is treated and reused, showcasing a comprehensive approach to resource management. The building also features a chimney with an opening at the top, allowing for natural ventilation and reducing the need for artificial cooling.

They did not just focus on energy efficiency. They also carefully selected sustainable building materials. The solid part of the building uses prefabricated wall from CPAC green solution to reduce embodied carbon. Additionally, the chimney in the middle of the building is covered with reclaimed wood, further reducing embodied carbon and adding a touch of natural beauty to the structure.

Oasis is more than just a building. It's a testament to what can be achieved when innovative design meets sustainable thinking. It exemplifies how a 24-hour facility can operate in harmony with the environment, setting a new standard for eco-friendly architecture. In conclusion, the Inner Circle Architects have delivered an outstanding project that balances functionality, sustainability, and aesthetic appeal. Their work on Oasis demonstrates their commitment to creating spaces that are not only efficient and sustainable but also inviting and practical for everyday use.

It is my honor to introduce the winner, the Green Building Kits team. Their winning submission challenged the very essence of the buildings we encounter in our daily life, such as convenience stores. Nowadays in Thailand, convenience stores are so pervasive that we can just walk three, four steps and find one. While this is convenient, it also results in significant carbon emissions. Their mission was to question whether these ubiquitous structures are environmental friendly. And if not, how could they be redesigned to reduce their carbon footprint?

With this vision in mind, they chose to place their convenience store prototype in the heart of Hong Kong, a bustling area that would benefit greatly from sustainable development. The design began with strategic decision, setting the building back from the road and planting trees in front to reduce noise and filter dust.

The building features a three-tier gabled roof designed to allow indirect light and reduce heat. The long eaves help minimize sunlight entering the building, thus contributing to a cooler interior. On this expansive roof, rainwater is collected and stored for watering the roof to further reduce temperature. This collected water can also be treated and reused, showcasing a comprehensive approach to resource management. The team conducted a detailed study of the wind direction using Autodesk Forma to optimize the placement of the building opening, ensuring natural ventilation and reducing reliance on artificial cooling system.

When it comes to materials, the Green Building Kits team make environmentally conscious choice. They selected products and services from CPAC's green solutions, such as CPAC precast concrete system and CPAC's 3D printing solution that emit less carbon than traditional concrete. Additionally, they opt for [INAUDIBLE] steel and low-carbon hardwood, which can be removed and reused without creating risk.

This new convenience store prototype is more than just a building. It's a bold statement about the future of urban development. It demonstrates how everyday structure can be reimagined to be both functional and environmental friendly, paving the way for more sustainable world. In conclusion, the Green Building Kits team has not only designed a building but has set a new standard for what convenience store can and should be. Their work is a testament to the power of innovative thinking and sustainable design practice.

Please sit back and enjoy the video. We showcase the brilliance and dedication that have made this event so extraordinary.

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KEN SOH: As we bring this class to a close, I'd like to leave you with a thought from Eleanor Roosevelt. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." This would resonate deeply with the spirit of the BIMobject Green Design Competition 2023. Even though the world is grappling with the challenge of global warming, witnessing the innovative solutions and passion of the new generation from this competition fills us with hope. It reassures us that a better, more sustainable world is not just a dream but an achievable reality.

This competition has showcased the incredible potential of young minds to drive positive change, leveraging advanced technology and sustainable practices. To all the students, their creative and dedication is truly inspiring. The students will be the torchbearer of the brighter future, and their work have demonstrated that with the right mindset and tools, we can indeed make a significant impact. Thank you to everyone who spent their time with us. Let's continue to believe in the beauty of our dream and work together towards a sustainable and innovative future.