Feature | Sustainable development: Achieving the balance between design and materials
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
ACHIEVING THE BALANCE BETWEEN DESIGN AND MATERIALS BG&E provided Structural Engineering and Materials services for the iconic Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney.
BG&E Director of Materials Dr Daksh Baweja believes the Australian sustainability lobby over emphasises materials for reducing embodied carbon, to the detriment of the greater potential impact of structural design. Dr Baweja says, “We cannot continue to ignore the engineering in assessing sustainability.” “While a positive step in the right direction, popular sustainability benchmarks in Australia, such as the Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s (IS Council) IS rating and the Green Building Council’s Green Star rating can be achieved just by reducing materials with high levels of embodied carbon, such as cement.” However, BG&E research found that embodied emissions of a short column can be reduced by increasing concrete and the associated cement levels. The inclusion of higher strength grade concrete with higher cement content can enable use of less steel reinforcement and a reduction in the volume of materials used, reducing a structure’s overall embodied emissions. 20 Consulting Matters
Advanced carbon lifecycle assessment metrics, such as those by The London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), apply a more rigorous emphasis on the project lifecycle and the role of the design phase in determining materials used, construction processes, the structure and its performance. Dr Baweja says, “The sustainability landscape in Australia is where the UK was five years ago.” BG&E’s London office adopts both efficient design and sustainable materials to reduce embodied carbon by up to 55% for projects, in accordance with LETI’s sustainability metrics. However, it is promising to see the best practise method for optimal sustainability – the reuse or upcycling of buildings, is making inroads in Australia with the iconic Quay Quarter Tower (QQT) project, which will see Sydney’s 1970’s AMP building redeveloped to deliver a new contemporary neighbourhood with 52 storeys of innovative commercial space, five basement levels, 104 luxury residential apartments, prime retail, green spaces and artisan cafes.
