|
December 2005, Issue #44
Hot Topics
The JETS Pre-Engineering Times Hot Topics column highlights current research related to the featured engineering discipline each month. JETS wants you to know the new field advances being made through the exciting discoveries of research.
This month's research focuses on LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the growing industry of Green Buildings.
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution. LEED standards are currently available or under development for:
The Benefits of Greener Buildings
Because traditional buildings consume large amounts of energy and other natural resources and can harm the environment around them, there's a swelling interest in designing, building, and occupying more environmentally sensitive structures. By integrating natural resource, human health, and community concerns into building design and construction, architects, and designers can create buildings that are cleaner and healthier for occupants and the environment, and which deplete fewer resources. Moreover, a well-designed "green" building can be cheaper to build and operate over the building's lifetime.
Commercial and residential buildings use one-third of the energy consumed in the United States, and two-thirds of all electricity. Buildings produce roughly a third of carbon dioxide emissions and other emissions that harm air quality and contribute to global warming. Additionally, buildings generate waste during construction and operation; can have poor indoor air quality, affecting worker health; and often don't consider the impact made on the community through increased transportation, sprawl, and cultural and historical impact. Green buildings address a wide range of topics, including:
- water conservation
- waste management
- renewable energy sources
- nontoxic materials
- recycled/reused materials
- energy efficiency
- reduced environmental impact on the building site
- wise use of space/reduced building size
- balance of environmental and economic considerations
- consideration for cultural and historical factors of the site
- proximity to transportation
The Clearview Elementary School in Hanover, PA, is a 43,000 square foot new construction project. Some project highlights include building commissioning, a building integrated sundial, a 30 percent reduction in water use, a 40 percent reduction in energy use, detailed attention to materials selection, superior indoor air quality, controllable building systems, and construction waste management.
Who's Interested Green Building Practice?
- Designers and architects are finding a growing market for green design and construction, and are quickly gaining expertise in the area.
- Builders are becoming increasingly familiar with green building issues, as clients seek projects using more environmentally responsible materials, more efficient fixtures and appliances, and more healthful finishes and furnishings, and are requesting that builders conduct on-site recycling of construction and demolition debris.
- Retailers and manufacturers of energy-efficient and environmental products are developing and selling products that are easier on the environment and building occupants than conventional products.
- Building owners and their tenants or occupants are seeking living and working spaces that are less environmentally damaging, cheaper to maintain and operate, and less harmful to human health.
- Federal, state, and local governments increasingly are embracing green-building principles and practices, and some are developing policies mandating that new or renovated buildings they own or operate be constructed according to green-building minimum standards.
The Bottom Line
"Green" buildings typically are healthy buildings. They also often are profitable buildings, boasting reduced energy and maintenance costs. However, constructing or renovating buildings in an environmentally responsible manner requires a great deal of planning, as well as educating and prodding architects and contractors to seek greener materials and construction techniques. While their resistance at times may seem formidable, many companies have worked successfully with construction professionals to reduce the impact of their buildings.
Sources: GreenBiz.com, U.S. Green Building Council
For more information: http://www.usgbc.org/
Speaking of Green ...
Another interesting area of research in civil engineering and the environment is the hurricane affected buildings in New Orleans, LA.
Most people know that a damp basement can cause mold and mildew to grow. Well, that's what's happening now in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In fact, a team of researchers led by Jennifer R. Woertz, assistant professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, and Wilasa Vichit-Vadakan, the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at Notre Dame, is studying the mold in the Big Easy — what kind of mold is growing in the buildings affected by the flooding, how rapidly it is growing, and if it can be safely removed, for the health of construction workers, future inhabitants, and the homes themselves.
This project is being funded by the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program, which was initiated by the National Science Foundation in September 2005, to study the human aspects of Hurricane Katrina. Woertz and Vadakan, along with co-investigator Dustin Poppendieck, assistant professor of environmental resources engineering at Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA, have been sampling mold growth in Orleans Parish and areas in the Lower 9th Ward. The knowledge they are gaining could impact decisions regarding the level of construction required in order to limit potential health risks to future occupants while also maintaining the structural integrity of the buildings in New Orleans and, more broadly, affect how flood damage is assessed and mitigated worldwide.
This is an interior photo from one of the houses they are studying during the three-month project. The team will be taking samples several times over the course of the study.
|
