CHARMSbio: Building sustainability – Establishing a Competence Centre for Bio-Based urban development in Thailand
The CHARMSbio project involves developing and validating sustainable construction methods based on local biomass in Thailand, and integrating them into teaching, further education and applications. The project's goal is to reduce energy consumption, establish cities as CO₂ sinks, and improve the quality of life in urban areas in Southeast Asia in a sustainable way.
Bio-based building materials are being used to make buildings in cities such as Bangkok more energy-efficient. At the same time, the aim is to increase interior comfort and, consequently, quality of life. The pilot house made of typha developed by the CHARMS project in 2024 is showing initial success. © King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang (KMITL)
The rapid growth of cities in warm, humid climates, such as Bangkok in Thailand, is increasing demand for cooling. Using CO₂-intensive building materials increases emissions, worsens heat islands and reduces indoor comfort. So far, the scaling up of bio-based construction methods has been hindered by a lack of standards and codes, fragile local supply chains, skill shortages and deficits in planning and approval governance.
The CHARMSbio project is supporting King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) in Bangkok by establishing a competence centre for sustainable, bio-based urban development. The aim of the 'Competence Centre for Bio-Based Urbanism' is to develop and validate bio-based construction methods using locally available raw materials, such as typha (cattail) and rice straw, and to integrate these methods into education and practice, adapting them to the climatic and social conditions of Southeast Asia. This will make cities in the region measurably more energy-efficient and enable them to act as carbon sinks. At the same time, the quality of life of urban populations is to improve. The project targets academic leaders, transfer managers, municipal stakeholders, and construction industry professionals, combining research, training, and application to implement the planning principle of 'the city as a CO₂ sink' in practice.
CHARMSbio is built on a solid foundation. In the previous project CHARMS (research and development phase, 2021–2025), a 'typha pilot house' was constructed on the KMITL site to serve as a real-world laboratory. Measurements taken there show that interior insulation with typha has significantly improved interior comfort, thus proving the basic feasibility of bio-based renovations. Acceptance factors were systematically recorded, including a typology of residents' perspectives and the use of the 'SenseMaker' tool. Meanwhile, the Sustainable Heritage Masterclasses established formats for the direct transfer of knowledge into regional professional practice.
Despite this solid foundation, the widespread adoption of these solutions is hindered by several obstacles. Carbon-intensive building materials still dominate in rapidly growing urban areas, and inadequate building envelopes and high cooling requirements lead to increased operational emissions and reduced comfort levels. Climate-adequate standards and codes for bio-based solutions are lacking, supply chains and qualification profiles are incomplete, and governance deficits exist in planning and approval. Furthermore, the measurement results obtained to date must be validated and systematically expanded. For example, they could be supplemented with air quality data to consolidate the scientific basis.
During the implementation phase, CHARMSbio will operate across three modules. Firstly, local resources and bio-based materials will be recorded, developed and tested in a real-world laboratory setting. At the same time, the requirements of the involved stakeholders will be identified. The second module will see the KMITL establish a competence centre for bio-based urbanism, providing a platform for research, teaching and knowledge transfer. The third module will see the results put into practice through trainer qualification, the development of teaching materials and online modules, targeted technology transfer, and the involvement of municipal stakeholders in urban development.
CHARMSbio aims to provide municipalities, universities, and small and medium-sized enterprises with a complete, implementation-oriented package for bio-based construction in hot and humid climates. The project aims to close knowledge gaps in areas such as resource availability, material performance, building physics and acceptance. This knowledge will be institutionalised in the form of a sustainable competence centre at KMITL, and transferred into construction industry practice in Thailand through training courses tailored to specific target groups.
Project lead:
Henrik Beermann
Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Leipzig location
Martin-Luther-Ring 13
04109 Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 231039 145
E-Mail: henrik.beermann@isi.fraunhofer.de
Project partners:
- Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI
- Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP
- Bau Bildung Sachsen e. V. (BBSN)
- Manufacturing Cities Urban Development & Consulting
- King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL)
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