In recent months, I've listened as discussion of "green" or "sustainable" construction starts taking an interesting turn. Designers, while still interested in using sutainable materials and looking at the materials and tactics used in construction -- there is more emphasis being placed on how a building will  survive, adapt, and function in the face of shrinking resources or even catastrophic incidents.

The precast industry has been addressing sustainability issues for several years now -- and this is one area where we have more to contribute to a building's sustainability than ever before. Resilience is a common feature of complex systems, such as structure, building envelope and HVAC.  By ensuring these systems work  together and recognizing the potential lifespan and functionality of a building -- the functional resiliance is assured. By creating a structure that can be disasembled and reused, or designing for possible catestrophic events such as a hurricane, tornado or earthquake, the earth's resources needed to maintain a structure can be reduced.

Each year in the United States, more than $35 billion in direct property loss is caused by natural disasters.  Yet, while states and municipalities are seeking to adopt ordinances that require “green” or “sustainable” construction, they are overlooking disaster-resistance construction. 

“A sustainable building with a higher degree of durability can decrease the amount of materials going to landfills and use of community resources when disasters occur,” Steve Szoke, PCA director of codes and standards, said. “After Hurricane Katrina, more than 44 million cubic yards of building materials and contents were disposed of in landfills.  The PCA/IHBS ordinance provides mandatory requirements for increased resistance to natural disasters with the goal of reducing the number of destroyed buildings and protecting property, and saving human life.”

As a building material, precast naturally lends itself to the idea of functional resiliance. One of the places you can learn more about how precast contributes to sustainable design is on the PCI eLearning center. You can learn more about ideas of functional resiliance on the Portland Cement Association website.