Sustainable Design

Factors involved in a Sustainable Design for Structural Engineers

Modern buildings are the largest source of energy consumption across the globe. As such, early design decisions can result in a more sustainable design and considerable reduction in energy usage. It is obvious that the sustainable design practices are playing a major role in the design and planning of modern construction industry than ever before.

There are different ways in which a structural engineer can shape a building's sustainability such as exploring and using the most efficient materials or designing buildings for scalability and reuse. Let's explore various factors involved for a sustainable design.

Material Selection

The structural engineers can adopt a design strategy of minimizing embodied energy and maximizing design efficiency. Embodied energy is the energy consumed in manufacturing, processing and constructing building materials. Appropriate material selection can help a lot in reducing waste both for construction as well as renovation. During the design process, structural engineers can rightly influence the overall energy use and carbon footprint of the building. As such they can reduce the impact that the buildings may impose on the environment.

The design of any structure becomes a crucial phase to evaluate how to maximize the use of sustainable materials. There are many factors involved in choosing the most appropriate building material, but many engineers do not consider sustainability when doing so. The prime choices for most residential and commercial structures are steel and reinforced concrete (RCC), chosen primarily for strength, availability and design adaptability. Based on total energy involved, steel and concrete are comparable and neither offers any considerable energy advantages.

Structural engineers can also leverage important building materials that reduce energy consumption and maximize the use of natural daylight. For example, structural engineers may agree architects to use structural concrete as finishes for walls and floors and evaluating passive energy systems.

Designing for Longevity and Future Upgrades

Engineers have a distinctive opportunity to design new buildings for future scalability. Engineers that explore structural needs for better loading could keep in mind that less cost and material is required in building original structure compared to support future load requirements. The structural engineer may also take into consideration longevity factor - helping the builder to avoid the need of future upgrades and costly maintenance.

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