Dutch organization EcoShape is providing nature-based designs for a variety of coastal engineering challenges…working with nature instead of against it. The video below talks a bit about their approach in the context of two projects. One is building salt marshes adjacent to dikes in the Netherlands to protect the structure from waves while providing habit for birds and other animals. The other project is a mangrove replanting project in Indonesia. Read the article on CNBC.
Although sustainability is a hot topic in engineering, I still don’t hear the word discussed too much when it comes to project meetings and owner requirements. But Keller seems to be sensing a change in […]
Hawthorne, NJ (May 1, 2013): The European Federation of Foundation Contractors (EFFC) and the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) are urging the geotechnical sector to make immediate use of their jointly-developed, pioneering carbon calculator tool, the Geotechnical Carbon Calculator.
Developed using internationally recognized standards, the Geotechnical Carbon Calculator is believed to be one of the construction industry’s first standardized and collaboratively produced carbon calculator tools at the European and international level.
Carbon measurement is at the core of the construction industry’s approach to sustainability. The Geotechnical Carbon Calculator uses a standardized emission factors database to make the analysis of the carbon footprint of a foundation project consistent and comparable across the foundation industry.
[Editor] Click through for the rest of this interesting press release from the Deep Foundations Institute! [/Editor]
As the authors of the above-titled report note, the ecosystem and the built environment are inextricably linked, and understanding the interdependence of the two is the key to sustainability in geotechnical engineering, and all civil engineering. Although I am curious how they came to this conclusion, they state that geotechnical engineering is "the most resource intensive of all the civil engineering disciplines." Assuming they are correct, this is a sobering thought for all of us as designers. [Editor] Click through for more on sustainability in geotechnical engineering. [/Editor]
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