Environmentally Efficient and Sustainable Design Methodology of Concrete Residential and Office Buildings: A Review

Abstract

Approximately 30 million tonnes of finished building products are created in Australia each year (Walker-Morison, Grant & McAlister 2007), which impart extensive impacts on the environment. The cement industry has been reported (Flower & Sanjayan 2007) responsible for 5% of global carbondioxide emissions while the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings are estimated to account for 50% of all energy usage and more than 50% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally (Smith 2005 & Wood 2007). The environmental impacts of building construction may be effectively reduced by application of increased efficiency in structural design, by reducing the required mass of materials to provide comparable structural performance. By establishing a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the knowledge, the areas can be identified through which improvements are possible. The outcomes of the investigations conducted showed that at present there is no single comprehensive method or approach through which appropriate consideration of sustainability occurs for structural system design.