The Importance Of Sustainable Structural Engineering

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Sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Commission, 1987). It is about delivering sustained improvements to quality of life now and for generations to come, within the context of preserving and enhancing the natural environment (John Bennett, Andrew Crudgington, 2003).
What the Brundtland definition does not convey is the important distinction between sustainability and sustainable development or the primordial principle that all human activities need to be maintained within the biophysical limits of the environment (S.Parkin, 2000).
Brunei is now faced with challenges to conserve their scarce energy and also responding …show more content…

In a research article by Grace S. Kang et al. (2007) and a Guide Book by Meg Calkins (2009), structural materials provide the structural engineer with real opportunities to contribute to a project’s sustainability. Engineer can further contribute to the overall sustainability by considering and exploiting the efficiency, availability, recycled content, reuse, and impact of the material has on the environment as well as considerations of benefits and disadvantages of some of the major building materials such as concrete, masonry, steel and …show more content…

The assessment criteria were: launch date, rating scales, information gathering, assessment, third-party validation, certification and labeling, update process, governance, required qualification of assessors, assessor AP CPD requirements, compound annual growth rate, assessment fee, certification fee, cost of appeals, credit interpretation request costs, number of units certified, number of domestic and non-domestic building already certified, and availability of assessment information. Another Appendix 2 (Exhibit 8) highlights the considerable variation across the four tools. When the process of certification was evaluated, differences existed. For example, CASBEE has a six-stage process from start to finish, whereas Green Star has nine steps to certification, LEED has eight, and BREEAM has six (BRE, 2008). Appendix 3 (Exhibit 10) shows that when BREEAM, LEED, Green Star, and CASBEE are compared across a number of sustainability issues, there is variation in the standards of each scheme. For example, BREEAM sets higher standards for building management compared to LEED and Green Star. LEED and BREEAM score equivalent scores for energy and transport while Green Star falls behind. In terms of health and well-being issues, BREEAM again exceeds the other schemes.
Finally, the topic of attachment in relation to the applications and practice

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