Sustainable construction projects

Timon Singh

General construction work uses an inordinate amount of energy, water and raw materials and more often than not, generates large amounts of waste and potentially harmful atmospheric emissions. As such, sustainable construction projects are becoming more and more important, with designers and construction firms constantly working to find the most eco-friendly ways to make buildings.

Earlier in the year, an American sustainable construction project was among four winning entries of the Holcim Awards competition. Picked from thousands of submissions, a shelter for day laborers in the USA was honoured for 'innovation' and awarded $50,000.

The project was designed around informal stations where day laborers can meet and wait for casual work. The architects, Liz Ogbu and John Peterson of San Francisco-based nonprofit Public Architecture, utilized green and recycled materials are used to minimize the environmental footprint and economic cost of each facility. It offered "shelter, benches, washrooms, a kitchen and an education/training space - creating a sensitive environment for people who find themselves on the edge of the community and at the same time addressing health and safety needs."

According to the Holcim Awards jury, the structure "provides a solution to what the surrounding neighborhoods often experience as social disorder and what local police forces find difficult to handle. Thus, the benefits extend to a larger social context than that of the workers themselves"

The other three winning entries were a river remediation scheme in Morocco, a greenfield university campus in Vietnam and a rural planning strategy in China.

Recycling materials

Like the above winning entry, using recycled materials is a key part of sustainable construction projects. Any way in which resources can be saved is utilized and this can range from deciding to retrofit a building instead of building a new one to actually coming up with a way of making more environmentally friendly bricks.

There is also an interest in taking a 'synergistic approach' to building design, ensuring that the scheme "supports an increased commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation, and results in an optimal balance of cost, environmental, societal, and human benefits while meeting the mission and function of the intended facility or infrastructure."

A project that is being planned that includes these measures is the new UN Global Compact Centre, which is being constructed in one of the most polluted areas in North America, San Francisco's Hunter's Point Shipyard; a former shipyard filled with radiation and industrial toxins. The proposed centre would be part of the United Nations "Global Compact" and would be focused on promoting sustainable and clean technologies, but it would also serve as an example of how toxic sites can be transformed into centres of innovation and inspiration.

Saving resources

Once the building is made however, the need to make it sustainable still exists. As such, the buildings are often designed so as not to waste valuable resources such as water and electricity, through the use of recycling plants or other schemes.

These can range from the buildings using rain water to cool systems or to replenish water tanks, intelligent lighting systems to cut electricity use, natural ventilation and a ground source heat pump that reduces heating and cooling costs.

It's not just good for the environment but also for cutting costs. It is estimated that schemes such as those listed above can save up to 10 percent on a building's annual bills.

It is easy to see why sustainable construction is becoming more and more popular for both constructors and clients.

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