Living Steel galvanises its mission for sustainable housing development across the globe at this year's Green Building Congress. In Chennai, India on September 22, Living Steel's Communications Manager Sheetal Chabra will address the environmental, social and economic benefits of using steel construction for housing in highly urbanised nations such as India.

According to the United Nations, 180,000 people are moving to urban cities each day and the world's urban population is set to double in 38 years. Furthermore, it is estimated that by 2030, there will be a need for 40% more housing and basic infrastructure services than existed in 2005. And nowhere are the effects of population more visible than in the cities and urban fringes of India. The United Nations Population Fund estimates India's population at almost 1.1 billion with a growth rate of 1.5 per cent.

Managed by the International Iron and Steel Institute, Living Steel is a worldwide programme developed by a collaboration of the world's steel-makers to stimulate innovation in the design and construction of housing.

Sheetal Chabra explains that while steel hasn't traditionally been used widely in residential construction, it is uniquely placed to help communities across the globe meet the challenges currently faced in a sustainable, responsible manner.

"As a residential construction material, steel is in a unique position as it is an inherently adaptable material.  As a residential solution, homes made from steel are affordable, durable, faster to erect and low maintenance," she said.

Steel building solutions can effectively respond to housing demands with durable, low cost, pre-fabricated solutions that are quick to build and require little maintenance, which means the rapid development of large accommodation projects are possible with steel.

Moreover, steel's functionality also makes it suitable for a variety of climates. Not only is it earthquake resistant, it can be used effectively in extremes of temperature.

Ms Chabra continued: "In order to combat the high temperatures of Indian summers for example, residential steel designs feature natural ventilation solutions and finishes that reflect heat, resulting in cooler homes and ultimately energy savings for the consumer."

"Furthermore, because steel is manufactured on a large scale in India and steel materials are produced locally, further costs are saved on the material's transportation," she said.

Featuring in the presentation Ms Chabra will deliver at the Green Building Congress are a series of case studies that overview the winning and short-listed residential steel buildings designed to be built in Kolkata, India for Living Steel's global sustainable architectural competitions.

The competitions, which have been designed to inspire architects to develop innovative and responsible housing designs and then bring those creations to life through demonstration constructions around the world, have been coordinated by Living Steel to realise sustainable housing projects in India, Poland, China, Brazil and the UK.

"Some of the world's leading architects are beginning to embrace steel not only for its functionality, but for the relative creativity afforded to them by the material. More and more architects throughout the world are seeing the unique freedom that steel as a material is offering them," commented Ms Shabra.

"As a material, steel offers design freedom in colour, texture and shape that cannot easily be matched by other building materials and allows for a broad range of design parameters," she said.

www.livingsteel.org

Living Steel, a worldwide programme to stimulate innovation in the design and construction of housing, was launched in February, 2005. The International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) provide project management of the five-year Living Steel programme. The programme comprises three key initiatives including market research, knowledge management and the competition and demonstration building to promote steel-based solutions for sustainable housing.

Members of Living Steel include Arcelor Mittal, Baosteel, BlueScope Steel, CELSA Group, Corus, Erdemir, IMIDRO, Posco, Ruukki, SeverStal, Tata Steel and associate member Saint-Gobain Gypsum.

The Living Steel International Competition for Sustainable Housing was launched to develop innovative approaches to meet sustainable housing needs. Underlying the competition was a desire to address the economic, environmental and social aspirations of a growing world population. The Competition was developed with the guidance of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and consequently follows the provisions of the International Recommendations for Competitions in Architecture and Urban Planning adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 27 November 1978.

www.uia-architectes.org

The UIA is a democratically structured body that represents over a million architects throughout the world through national architectural associations that form the UIA Member Sections.

The UIA is an international non governmental organisation founded in Lausanne in 1948 to unite architects from all nations throughout the world, regardless of nationality, race, religion or architectural school of thought, within the federations of their national associations.

The International Union of Architects was conferred the authority of ensuring the observance of conditions for the launching and carrying out an international architecture and town planning competition, according to the UNESCO-UIA international competitions and town planning regulation, adopted by the UNESCO General Conference.

For more information, please contact:

Sheetal Chabra
Project Manager, Communications, Living Steel
T : + 91 98 102 11586
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