The ASCE-SEI Sustainability Committee and the ASCE
Geo-Institute Sustainability in Geotechnical Engineering Committee had a very
successful 2016 Geo-Structures Congress. We are happy to report that the two
committees had representation at five sessions; they presented on various
aspects of sustainable design. Since one of our main committee goals is to
spread the word on sustainable design aspects that the practicing structural
engineer can put to use, we’re posting the presentations here on our website. Have
any questions on these presentations or on how to make your designs more
sustainable, please comment below or contact Dave DeLong. Online copies of all of the following presentations are available here.
Track: The SEI Climate Action
Initiative
‘Introduction/The
Role of the Structural Engineer’ by Jim D’Aloisio
Raise awareness of the importance
of climate change mitigation and adaptation by structural engineers, and share
mitigation and adaptation ideas and strategies with the structural engineering
community
’Mitigation of
Emissions During Construction’ by Megan Stringer
My presentation discussed how
engineers can quantify and reduce the embodied energy and emissions from
buildings.
‘Rationale for
Concern’ byMark Webster
'Mitigation of
Emissions During Building Operation' by Dave DeLong
'The decisions that structural
engineers make in detailing the building envelope can influence the building's
R-value by a great degree. By detailing to increase this R-value, structural
engineers can reduce the heating and cooling loads - and, as a result, the
carbon impact - of the building over its service life
Track: Disaster Resilience –
Indispensable for Sustainable Design
‘Introduction /
Incorporating Life Cycle Assessment with Disaster Resilience’ by Tona
Rodriguez-Nikl
An introduction to the session,
putting forward the argument that disaster resilience must be considered as
part of sustainable design. / A summary of recent efforts to integrate life
cycle assessment with disaster risk methodologies. The goal of these studies is
to quantify how different levels of disaster resistance affect environmental
life cycle impacts.
‘Resilient Design Strategies for
Structural Engineers
My presentation discussed
resiliency, why it matters to structural engineers and how engineers can design
resiliently. The presentation also reviewed current legislation, organizations,
and rating systems that deal with resiliency.
‘Learning to
Survive: A global comparison of recovery from disasters’ by Erica
Fischer and Sal Gimbert-Carter
Disasters have catastrophic
impacts on countries economically, socially, culturally, and politically. This
presentation compares how three different countries responded to three
different disasters: 2004 Summatra Earthquake and Tsunami in Indonesia, 2005
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and 2010-2011 Christchurch Earthquake
Sequence in New Zealand.
