STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS’ ROLE ON BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY
BUILDINGS ARE BUILT-UP MASS. AND THIS MASS CONTAINS VALUABLE RESOURCES THAT ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SCARCE AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY CO 2 EMISSIONS. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS IN PARTICULAR CAN MASSIVELY REDUCE MATERIAL CONSUMPTION.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS: They are popularly known as structural engineers, although structural engineering is not the only part of their work. They are also responsible for ensuring that the building is given a welldesigned, economical and appropriate supporting structure and, of course, that it is sustainable in the end. They deal with everything that forms the skeleton of the structure, the bones that are usually not visible. They exchange with the architects or the building services planners. The role they play in detail naturally depends on N ! ÂŽ
than a sports arena. However, for integrative and thus optimal planning, they should be there from the start, i.e. already in the interdisciplinary planning competition. Unfortunately, this is often not the case in reality. The primary task carried out by engineers involves calculating the loads and stresses that will be generated in a building and then providing a solution that will enable the structure to withstand the loads and stresses. The key part that is often overlooked by most engineers is doing this in an economical way. Most buildings end up structurally sound and overdesigned which makes them expensive to build and increase the carbon footprint. Engineers are responsible for selection of suitable construction material. Materials are a core driver of sustainability. A sustainable built environment would also require more ambitious and updated building codes in order to limit energy consumption, reduce pollution and protect natural areas. The use of contemporary materials like timber and steel boxes (containers) have taken off all over the world, with ourselves still to catch up to this highly sustainable idea. The construction of steel framed buildings should be examined, as this system offers speed of construction and savings in cost over mere traditional construction methods. However the system must
be designed to resist the high force winds and to be resistant to corrosion. Reusable materials should top the list of construction materials if things are to be turned around. Project supervision and management is another of the facets that N 7 Ž Q - . V resources depleting, it has become of utmost importance to ensure that construction crews limit waste and reuse as much as is possible. Sustainability is focused on eliminating waste, and supervision to ensure little waste is produced, goes a long way in preserving natural resources. It is the role of the engineers when managing a project to educate the client and encourage the use of modern improved construction methods. One area we can look at is the use of premix concrete versus site-mixed concrete. Apart from the fact that premix is cheaper, it also supports a key sustainability principle, water conservation. Premix concrete uses only enough water as required to achieve certain strength. However, on site, it’s drastically different. The crew mixing concrete tends to add more water than required to make it easier to mix, this means that water is being wasted at the same time, the strength of the mixture is reduced. WHY STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS SHOULD TAKE THEIR ROLE SERIOUSLY TO ENHANCE SUSTAINABILITY: For a long time, the discussion about sustainability in construction was primarily centred on saving energy. The big issue of today and tomorrow, however, is also on the consumption of resources and the associated CO 2 emissions. Considering that between 80 or 90 percent of the resources are in the shell construction, i.e. in the foundation, supports, walls, etc., the structural engineers is presented with many options for working in terms of sustainability. 4 N 7 Ž necessary knowledge and appropriate advice. ISSUE 36
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