naturally:wood, a resource of British Columbia’s Forestry Innovation Investment, has released “A Natural Choice: How Wood Contributes to Sustainability’s Triple Bottom Line,” the third CEU course in a three-part series dedicated to examining and comparing the environmental footprint of wood, concrete and steel. Together, the three courses offer architects and specifiers an overview of each material’s performance attributes and explore how wood fits into the overall design of a sustainably built structure.
The three courses comprise:
Designing sustainable buildings requires an understanding of the environmental footprint of each material in the structure. Using research and facts, “Materials Matter” examines the differences between three common building materials—wood, steel and concrete—in terms of their environmental footprint at several stages of the life-cycle process, including raw resource extraction, manufacturing and transportation. Responsible procurement, sustainability and community issues also are discussed.
The second course delves even deeper by exploring how wood, concrete and steel have an environmental impact on building construction, operation and end of life. This article explains the differences between these three materials in terms of basic characteristics and material properties, performance during the building operations phase, and sustainability factors including carbon footprint and material reuse.
By examining how wood contributes to a project’s environmental bottom line, the final course in the series provides a broader view of the meaning of sustainability, while offering specific examples of rating systems and defining green design. BD+C
Related Stories
| Jan 24, 2012
U of M installs new lighting at Crisler Player Development Center
Energy efficient lighting installed at PDC reduce costs and improves player performance.
| Jan 24, 2012
Rockingham County Judicial Center receives USGBC Gold NC v.2.2
The Rockingham facility is the first judicial center in North Carolina to seek certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Building rating system.
| Jan 19, 2012
LEED puts the 'Gold' in Riverside golden arches
McDonald's restaurant recognized for significant energy savings.
| Jan 19, 2012
Odebrecht and Braskem bring sustainable award to U.S. university students
The Odebrecht Award for sustainable development rewards future leaders in engineering and chemistry.
| Jan 19, 2012
BOKA Powell-designed facility at Texas A&M Bryan campus
The new facility provides programs for the Texas A&M Health Science Center, the Texas Brain and Spine Institute, Mary Crowley Cancer Research Centers, and Blinn College Allied Health programs.
| Jan 17, 2012
SOM Chicago wins competition to design China's Suzhou Center
The 75-level building is designed to accommodate a complex mixed-use program including office, service apartments, hotel and retail on a 37,000 sm site.
| Jan 17, 2012
FxFowle and CO Architects form joint venture
FxFowle and CO Architects creates a dynamic alliance built on a shared dedication to collaboration in process, innovation in programming, and excellence in design.
| Jan 17, 2012
Capital Engineering joins AECOM
With 160 employees based in Taipei and Kaohsiung, CEC specializes in environmental, water, hydraulic and land development engineering consulting services for clients in Taiwan's public and private sectors.
| Jan 17, 2012
SOM launches Los Angeles design studio
Expert team to join the firm's West Coast practice, focusing on innovative urban and environmentally sustainable design in Southern California
| Jan 16, 2012
2012 40 Under 40 applications due Friday, Jan. 20
Building Design+Construction's 40 Under 40 is open to AEC professionals from around the world who are under 40 years old, as of January 1, 2012.