SUSTAINABILITY IN THE BUILDINGS INDUSTRY

The article introduces the concept of sustainability and its application to the building industry. Sustainability is a holistic approach to protecting the environment. Sustainable buildings or structures are those that meet specified building performance requirements while minimizing disturbance to and improving the functioning of local, regional, and global ecosystems both during and after its construction and service life. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Subcommittee on Sustainability, a subcommittee of ASTM Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings, has issued standards addressing terminology (E2114, Standard Terminology for Sustainability Relative to the Performance of Buildings) and selection of products used in buildings (E2129 Standard Practice for Data Collection for Sustainability Assessment of Building Products). The conservation of energy and resources during construction and service of buildings is a sustainability concern. The use of alternative building materials, such as adobe or rammed earth, is discussed. An example is disclosed where earth for building the walls of a rammed earth building came from the excavation for an on-site underground parking garage.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/11951092
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

  100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700
  West Conshohocken, PA  United States  19428-2957
• Authors:
  • Heikkinen, R
• Publication Date: 2001-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos; References;
• Pagination: p. 22-25
• Serial:
  • ASTM Standardization News
  • Volume: 29
  • Issue Number: 8
  • Publisher: ASTM International
  • ISSN: 1094-4656
  • Serial URL: http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/archive.html

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Building materials; Construction; Earth walls; Energy conservation; Environmental protection; Service life; Soil conservation; Standards; Structures; Sustainable development; Underground parking garages; Water conservation
• Identifier Terms: ASTM International
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Energy; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00816616
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 26 2001 12:00AM