Firms promote more sustainable, longer-lasting building methods

Leading construction and building-materials companies from around the world are pledging to help make Chinese residential and commercial properties more sustainable and with longer life spans, helped by the continued development of various advanced prefabricated and eco-friendly materials.

Speaking at 2014 Shanghai International Building Industrialization Exhibition last month, some suggested that compared with overseas buildings those in China still suffer from a reputation for rapid depreciation.

But experts said they now believe the increased use of steel structures, the integration of more industrial parts in home construction, and more attention given to fireproofing technology, will enable Chinese new builds to achieve much longer lives, in some cases almost four times the current average of 30 years.