Vanessa Gomes

Exploring sustainable construction: implications from Latin America

The outcomes and implications from the regional Latin America and the Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Building (SB04) are considered in conjunction with the current regional context. To understand the development of a Latin American approach to sustainable development in the property and construction sector, it is necessary to include the unique economic, social and natural problems faced by most of its countries. This unique context differentiates it from other regions and includes poverty reduction, maintaining economic growth, enhancing income distribution and coping with the unplanned growth of cities. The importance of a regional approach is highlighted and an overview provided on how sustainability relates to context specificities. Courses of action are suggested for major actors to accelerate progress towards sustainable building and construction implementation, including the development of new regional capabilities and networks, education and training, appropriate financial mechanisms and public policies, the use of appropriate technologies, and the development of appropriate metrics and assessment mechanisms to reflect local and regional needs.

Influência da vida útil, resistência característica e tipo de cimento no desempenho ambiental do ciclo de vida do concreto

Este trabalho objetiva avaliar as cargas ambientais de concretos fabricados com cimento Portland contendo diferentes proporcoes de escoria granulada de alto-forno (egaf) em substituicao ao clinquer e com resistencia carcateristica variando de 25 a 60 MPa. O metodo de avaliacao de impactos CML 2001 v. 2.04 e a paltaforma de Avaliacao de Ciclo de Vida SimaPro 7.3 deram suporte ao calculo das categorias de impacto e de um conjunto de indicadores de ciclo de vida, respectivamente. A vida util, estimada por meio do software Life 365 v.2.1, e testada como unidade funcional normalizadora para a avaliacao ambiental dos elementos de concreto por meio da aplicacao do indicador CO2 incorporado. Os valores dos indicadores, com excecao da pegada de agua azul, evidenciam que o aumento das fracoes de egaf no cimento Portland reduz as cargas ambientais do ciclo de vida do concreto. Discutem-se os efeitos da substituicao do clinquer sobre os indicadores. Aconsideracao da vida util provou agregar coerencia a interpretacao da qualidade ambiental, funcional e tecnica do concreto.

Material eco-efficiency indicators for Brazilian buildings

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a set of lifecycle-based indicators to describe material eco-efficiency of buildings normalized per unit of gross floor area (GFA), and at verifying feasibility of their calculation for building materials and components, based upon four case studies. The paper also examines the effects that discrepancies between two carbon footprint accounting methods (embodied CO2 (ECO2) vs embodied CO2e) have on communication of environmental performance of selected materials. Design/methodology/approach – The lifecycle assessments (LCAs) were performed through LCA support platform SimaPro 7.3. Data for materials/components production cycle modeling were collected from primary and secondary data from national literature or adapted from Ecoinvent database. Embodied energy, ECO2, blue water footprint (bWF), non-renewable content and volatile organic compound emissions (VOCe) indicators were calculated from lifecycle inventory (LCI) outputs, while embodied CO2e was calculat...

Indicadores de sustentabilidade com base em ciclo de vida para sistemas estruturais em concreto

© 2013 IBRACON This paper aims at advancing on the validation of indicators of building concrete frames’ sustainability from an integrated, life cycle perspective. A case study approach investigates (i) feasibility of comparing sustainability performance of different flooring systems; and (ii) similarity between environmental indicators trends for a typical flooring system and corresponding whole superstructure. Three residential buildings are analyzed, using either prestressed concrete flat (PCF) slabs or reinforced concrete waffle (RCW) slabs and flat beams exposed to a marine environment. SimaPro 7.3 supports calculation of the environmental indicators. Service life estimation is used to ensure functional equivalence and to form a basis for life cycle costing. PCF slabs showed best functional/technical and economic results but were outperformed by RCW slabs’ environmental results. Most environmental indicators showed the same trend for both typical floor and whole superstructure.

Diretrizes para o desenvolvimento de especificações por desempenho para concretos no Brasil

Guidelines to develop performance specifications of concrete, including suggestions for performance requirements, are presented. This paper proposes changes to the Brazilian specifications and standards in order to follow the international trend and to move from prescription to performance. Although, the implementation of performance specifications may pose some challenges, it brings an opportunity to increase the service life of concrete structures. The strategic, tactic and operational aspects of performance specification’s implementation in Brazil are presented, as well. These guidelines are based on specifications already adopted by other countries, on mathematical modeling and on experimental work.

From prescription to performance: international trends on concrete specifications and the Brazilian perspective

There are two types of specifications: prescriptive and performance based. The prescriptive specifications focus on materials properties, materials proportions, mixing and transporting procedures and on a variety of processes, such as placing and curing. In these specifications, the concrete desired performance it is not necessarily described. On the other hand, performance specifications stipulate what is required from the product and do not prescribe how the product should be produced. In other words, they focus on the desired performance rather than on the concrete ingredients, materials selection, proportioning or construction methods. These are the responsibility of those individuals who contractually have to comply with the specifications. In this case, concrete is defined in terms of measurable fresh and hardened properties and durability and as there are no restrictions regarding materials and their proportions in the performance specifications, innovative solutions may be used in order to achieve the performance requirements. Currently, most concrete specifications are predominantly prescriptive with some performance requirements. Nevertheless, there is a consensus that in order to extend the service life of concrete structures, this has to be changed. This paper gives an overview of the international specifica tions and describes the international efforts on the performance specification implementation in the concrete industry.