Enviro News Asia, Yogyakarta – A research team from the Faculty of Engineering at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has developed an environmentally friendly house using cross-laminated timber (CLT) materials. The house, named Nusantara Cross Laminated Timber Pavilion, also incorporates smart technology and uses locally sourced acacia wood as its structural component.
The house has already been constructed as a prototype on the premises of UGM’s Faculty of Engineering. In addition to using timber, the house employs a hybrid off-grid solar power system equipped with solar panels and deep cycle gel batteries to convert sunlight into a zero-emission electricity source. According to a press release from Universitas Gadjah Mada, the house also features smart light control that adjusts the brightness of indoor LED lighting based on the amount of natural sunlight received. Additionally, it includes an IoT Smart Garden system for automated irrigation of the facade plants.
Ir. Ali Awaludin, S.T., M.Eng., Ph.D., IPU., ACPE., a lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UGM and a member of the research team, explained that the CLT Nusantara Pavilion uses small wooden boards arranged in an odd-numbered cross-laminated pattern. The boards are bonded together using a lamination technique. “We use small boards that may not have much commercial value,” he said.
Ali elaborated that for one wooden layer, the second layer is placed perpendicular, followed by a third, and so on. “We use an odd number of layers depending on the desired final thickness, which in turn determines the load-bearing capacity of the panel,” he explained.
He also mentioned that the house does not require conventional columns and instead relies solely on CLT walls and floors for structural strength. “We deliberately chose acacia wood because it is inexpensive and readily available,” he added.
To protect the wood from sun and rain exposure, the research team planted climbing vegetation around the house’s exterior. “We previously tried growing passion fruit, but it didn’t work. Now we’re planting luffa (sponge gourd), and it’s doing quite well,” he explained.
Interestingly, the plants do not require manual watering thanks to sensor-based technology that enables automatic irrigation. “So there’s no need for staff to water them daily—the system takes care of it and helps the plants grow well,” said Dr. I Wayan Mustika, S.T., M.Eng., another team member.
This lecturer in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology emphasized that this zero-emission house serves as a model for environmentally friendly housing that uses renewable materials and energy. “We hope this house can maintain sustainability. At some point, we must set targets to reduce emissions, and ultimately reach zero emission. This house is already a working example. It can serve as a pilot project for future buildings,” he stated.
Although environmentally friendly, Ali Awaludin acknowledged that the model has its weaknesses, particularly in terms of wood durability due to humidity and fungal attacks. “We continue to innovate to better understand these challenges and find solutions to improve the design moving forward,” he concluded.
