Environmental Impact of Structural Systems

[masonrygeek]

Here's a topic that isn't discussed here very much - environmental impact of a building's structural system. In reading various architect's magazines/blogs/tweets, they seem to be very interested in the environmental impact of buildings. There is a lot of talk about making buildings more energy efficient and the conversation often turns to the "embodied energy" of the structure of the building. Different green building experts are telling designers to do a whole building life cycle assessment to determine which structural system has the lowest embodied energy or longest LCA. My questions for this group:
1. Have you ever been asked to do a life cycle assessment for differing structural systems for specific project?
2. If you have, do you conduct the analysis yourself or farm it out?
3. If you have done one, do you reuse the info for the next time it is asked or is it job specific?

It will be interesting to see if I get any comments or if no one really cares.

 

[12345abc6ttyui67]

https://www.steelconstruction.info/Sustainability

 

[BUGGAR]

When we did Navy work, for each major project, we did extensive research into concrete mix designs for strength and marine durability, based on locally available ingredients. In later years, the Navy added environmental requirements as well, but these were pretty much prescriptive and were changing all the time.