Are Sustainable solutions popularity growing?
What does sustainability mean?
Sustainability is a concept that is challenging to pin down to one agreed upon definition. John Elkington co-founder of Sustain-Ability saw ‘sustainability’ through a multifaceted lens involving the environment, economics, and society. Many see sustainability relating to environmental conservation. Lance Hosey, Author and Architect, writing for The Huffington Post concludes ‘sustainability’ is not a fashionable jargon, it is a value.
Why is sustainability important?
The global climate is changing. The whole world witnessed the hurricanes in Florida and Texas, and this year the devastating fires in California were all over the news. We breathe in more polluted air every day. Global energy demand is growing and more than 70% of the growth has come from fossil fuels according to an article in the British Newspaper the Guardian.
There needs to be a change in mindset and approach fueling the movement towards a more sustainable environment and an increased environmental conscientiousness.
The following are examples of exciting sustainable engineering solutions developed by engineering firms driven to provide design projects that benefit the community. Our sustainable journey through engineering design begins with the Seaport Office Tower located in an area in Boston called innovation district. Sounds like a suitable place for a building that captures the imagination.
Sustainable Engineering Projects
Among the most iconic and eye-catching buildings in Boston’s Innovation District is the Seaport Office Tower. It has a wide range of unique sustainable features in its design. The buildings elliptical shape saves energy and cost due to less glass and materials used.
In contrast to rectangular shape office towers, Seaport’s aerodynamic shape reduces surface exposure to the sun. This produces energy savings of 15% and reduces cooling and heating costs. Seaport’s curve-like shape creates less shadow on surrounding public spaces. This also generates a warm and welcoming feel for residents and visitors. Among the challenge’s engineers faced is that the building is located above an underground transit line. Rather than being an unpassable obstacle, engineers were able to think of imaginative sustainable solutions that overcame this issue.
Workforce Housing
From the iconic Seaport Office Tower, we travel to San Francisco where FIVE88 have developed affordable workforce housing.
FIVE88 have constructed affordable housing for San Francisco residents working in public education and healthcare. This project is located in a fast growing area close to the new UCSF Medical Center. This is the largest 100% affordable development project in this metro area in the last ten years. This new work housing project provides 200 apartments-72 one-room residences ($1,090-$1,320/ month) and 128 two-bed flats ($1,299-$1,576 / month) – plus a 10,079 sf retail arcade. Other features include a large communal space and a ground-level courtyard located on the eastside of the site.
Sustainable features implemented in the project include domestic solar hot-water panels and drought-tolerant landscaping. Designers also made space for 200 secure bicycle parking spaces and visitor bicycle parking.
Sustainable Bridge Design taking place in Muskingum County, Ohio.
Sustainable innovation is also growing in rural areas such as Muskingum County in Ohio.
County engineers face a challenge in balancing the different needs of the public and local federal authorities when working on building or repairing bridges. This calls for creative problem solving and innovative engineering solutions with public safety as the top priority.
The Muskingum County Office Engineering team in Zanesville, Ohio, created a cost effective sustainable solution for constructing and repairing short span bridges. County engineers used steel for a variety of their bridge projects. When possible they also use repurposed steel beams from out of service bridges. The last Green Valley Road Bridge, built in 1952 was a 52-foot span painted- steel pony truss with reinforced concrete. The bridge needed replacing due to its worsening condition. The Muskingum Engineering Office team used repurposed W33-141 beams recovered from a previous bridge replacement project in the county. The new bridge, completed in 2014, is the county’s fifth bridge replaced with repurposed steel beams. MCEO says that the repurposed beams saved an estimated $51,000 in superstructure costs.
How Engineering Clients mind set is changing to embrace sustainable design?
Remember we spoke about changing peoples’ mindsets. Well, it is happening now. Ten years ago, engineering firms made every effort to promote sustainable design. Now clients have gotten the ‘taste’ for it, and they like it! Today many clients are far more interested and passionate about environmental design. They also have greater depth of understanding about climate change. Fortune 500 firms now view sustainable design as a chance to promote their social, environmental, and future economic performance; what John Elkington and others call the triple bottom line!
For some engineering firms the biggest obstacle for their clients is to create a sustainability and resilience plan that is consistent with the firm’s social, environmental, and economic goals. Writing for Building Design + Construction, Chris Mundell and Maria Perez say there are firms that still have misconceptions. Many firms think that all high-performance building projects LEED Platinum and Living Building Certifications are costly, are difficult to attain and are only reserved for the most superior developments.
Is all LEED credentialing costly and is it easily achievable?
Liz Austin writing for Green Street St. Louis says that there are different grades of LEED Accreditation (for different budgets). The platinum accreditation is the most costly increasing construction costs by as much as 4.5% to 8.5%. Whereas silver is the far the most economic raising costs minimally by 3.3%. There are also many benefits. Research shows that LEED can boost rental premiums by 17.5%; not to mention decrease the carbon footprint. Austin says when compared to traditional construction costs, “the overwhelming majority of green certified buildings show a 0%- 4% increase in upfront capital expenditures”. So very, cost effective. It is no surprise that many construction developers see LEED accreditation as a priority for projects.
The Take Away
Sustainability has always been a concept that is hard to pin down. Is it a set of ethics? Or, is it a multi-faceted concept with an infinite amount of shades relating to society, economics, and the environment? In reality, there is truth in both definitions. Creating cost effective sustainable solutions that are beneficial to clients and the community is a core part of the ethical mission statement of numerous engineering firms. In small rural areas in Zanesville, Ohio, bridges and other structures are built using repurposed steel beams to give them a new lease of life. In larger metro areas, affordable housing is being constructed that gives professionals a needed option in an area that is bustling with increasing popularity and a shortage of available housing. Ambitious and innovative projects are being developed such as the Seaport Office Tower in Boston’s Innovation District. Projects like these change the feel of the city scape. They are also the part of the momentum to create a more environmentally conscientious future.
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