Congratulations to Mathieu Côté on earning his LEED AP BD+C credential which will allow ELEMA to help clients develop green building strategies through an integrated design approach.
Read below on how structural engineers can help projects save energy, use fewer resources, reduce pollution and contribute to healthier environments for their occupants and the community.
Buildings have a major role to play in sustainability through their construction, their operation, and their reuse or disposal. In fact, buildings account for 38% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States [1]. Also, a building’s structure accounts for about 25% of the building’s embodied energy but only 10% of the building’s cost [2]. Thus, reducing the environmental harm of a building’s structure will lead the greatest change for the lowest cost. As Earth’s population continues to increase, construction and renovation of buildings expand even more rapidly. It is estimated that about 60% of today’s buildings will still exist in 2050, and will represent slightly less than half the total floor space [3]. Therefore, the value that structural engineers bring to projects seeking LEED certification is their knowledge of building materials and structural systems with special consideration to structural adaptability for future use.
Structural engineers play a major role in integrative project planning and design. In fact, decisions having a great impact on the building’s form are taken early in the construction process jointly with other professionals. These decisions include building massing, building envelope, column layout, lateral load resisting system and structural material. Those decisions have a tremendous influence on the material quantities as well as on the energy performance and program layout.
With regard to LEED certification projects, in the sustainable sites credit category, structural engineers can provide insights for the site assessment as the site location will have an influence on the loads the structure will need to resist and on the construction schedule. Also, to protect or restore the site’s habitat, modular construction has the benefit of allowing off-site construction of units and erection at a later stage granting less site disturbance.
In terms of energy and atmosphere credit category, the choice of material will have an influence on the energy performance of the building. As an example, concrete has a low thermal conductivity and high specific heat capacity allowing it to act as a heat sink therefore optimizing the building’s energy performance.
In terms of material and resources credit category, a structural assessment will provide insights on the condition of an existing building for a historic building reuse and for the renovation of an abandoned or blighted building. Also, for a whole-building life-cycle assessment, the structural material quantities have a great impact on the overall global warming potential and structural insights will be necessary to obtain a significant reduction compared to a baseline building. Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction is a regional priority credit in Quebec and other regions, thus providing additional points to a project. Moreover, the recycled content of structural materials such as steel and concrete and the use of wood products is beneficial for leadership extraction practises in sourcing of raw material. Furthermore, designing for flexibility is a major concern in the design of healthcare facilities. Designing for future vertical or horizontal expansion and providing an unconstrained space increases the building flexibility and ease of adaptive use over the life of the structure.
In terms of indoor environmental quality, the use of an exposed wood structure is beneficial as engineered wood emit low levels of volatile organic compound complying with the South Coast Air Quality Management District requirements.
Below are some of our recent projects having obtained or aiming for LEED certification:
– Humaniti Complex
– Soprema Manufacturing Facility
– The Phoenix
[1] U.S. Energy Information Administration (2018). Annual Energy Outlook 2018. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/
[2] Cole, R.J. and Kernan, P.C. (1996). Life-Cycle Energy Use in Office Buildings. Building and Environment 31(4), 307-317.
[3] Delay, T., Farmer, S. and Jennings, T. (2009). Building the Future, Today. London, UK: Carbon Trust. Retrieved from https://www.carbontrust.com/media/77252/ctc765_building_the_future__today.pdf
