Forum on prefabricated wood structures for rural construction in Fujian province
On August 21, Canada Wood China (CW China) organized a forum on “the Application and Development of Modern Prefabricated Wood Structures in Rural Construction” in Fuzhou, the provincial capital of Fujian. This event was organized in tandem with the publication of the Wood Construction Standard Design Atlas of Fujian, which will serve as an important guide for architects and engineers in the province. Organized in partnership with the Fujian Survey and Design Association, the Fujian Strait Cultural Tourism Creative Industry Association, and the Fujian Young Architects Association, the forum included discussions on advancements in prefabrication, county and rural development planning, localized designs for modern wood structures and cultural and tourism projects in Fujian Province.
The forum featured a list of expert speakers who shared case studies, technical information, design concepts, innovation trends, and best practices for regional improvements of county and rural development. The Senior Director of Business Development for CW China, Jim Wang, shared updates on the improvement of national codes and standards for wood projects, and the growing recognition of wood structures across all levels of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD). Driven by policies to encourage green buildings, energy conservation, characteristic towns, beautiful villages, healthy buildings, elderly care, and prefabrication, the development of wood structures has made remarkable progress in China. Wood materials and prefabrication technologies can help improve the carbon footprint of buildings throughout the life cycle of material production, construction, operation and maintenance. The low-carbon benefits of wood offer an important contribution to carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets in China.
The Chairman of the Fujian Survey and Design Association, Dai Yimin, gave a speech about the advantages of wood such as the high strength to weight ratio, impact resistance, easy processing, and the rich textures and colours of wood materials. He said that the development of modern prefab wood structures is of great significance to the diversification of building structures, to improve resource utilization efficiency and realize energy conservation and emission reduction targets aligned with green and low carbon development.
The President of Fujian Strait Cultural Tourism Creative Industry Association, Shi Wei, said that rural revitalization is not only an important national strategy but also a significant opportunity for economic development. As a part of rural revitalization strategies, cultural tourism industries will play a key role in the popularization of rural accommodations.
The forum featured a list of expert speakers who shared case studies, technical information, design concepts, innovation trends, and best practices for regional improvements of the county and rural development. The Senior Director of Business Development for CW China, Jim Wang, shared updates on the improvement of national codes and standards for wood projects, and the growing recognition of wood structures across all levels of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD). Driven by policies to encourage green buildings, energy conservation, characteristic towns, beautiful villages, healthy buildings, elderly care, and prefabrication, the development of wood structures has made remarkable progress in China. Wood materials and prefabrication technologies can help improve the carbon footprint of buildings throughout the life cycle of material production, construction, operation and maintenance. The low-carbon benefits of wood offer an important contribution to carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets in China.
The Fujian provincial branch of MOHURD has released the 14th Five Year Plan for the Fujian Construction Industry, which serves as a definitive outline for economic planning. They emphasized the importance of green building, which reinforces the opportunity to promote wood and prefab structures for local green building evaluation standards. There are 96 demonstration villages in Fujian province, which can serve as a substantial platform to build and promote prefab wood structures. Working with local partners such as the associations and institutions that supported this forum, CW China will establish more channels to reach out to those villages to tap into the market opportunities they offer for prefab wood construction.
This event builds on the ongoing efforts of CW China to engage in Fujian province over the last couple of years as a region to expand market development campaigns for Industrialized Construction and Non-Residential Projects. CW China has built relations with local industry stakeholders such as officials, design institutes, associations, and wood builders to grow awareness and expand local capacity for prefab wood structures. Through events such as this forum, CW China can work with local partners to build new platforms for capacity building, such as the platform established in Fujian for young architects to exchange the experience on rural housing design with prefabricated wooden structures. This can lead towards new projects such as a resort facility to develop about 13 hectares (200 mu) of rural land, which is an investment project led by the New Youth Association, which is interested to build the facilities with wood. This encourages local builders to develop WFC at a higher level in the market, compared to previous examples such as smaller temporary wood properties. This forum in Fujian province received prominent media coverage, with reports featured on national level media such as the People’s Daily, the Economic Daily and Chinanews.com.