Integrating Sustainability into
Construction Programs
American Council for Construction Education San Diego, CA
February 22-25, 2006
Charles Kibert, Ph.D., P.E. Abdol Chini, Ph.D., P.E.
Rinker School of Building Construction University of Florida
Overview
♦
Rationale for integrating sustainability into
construction programs
♦
Courses in sustainability and sustainable
construction
♦
Track and certificate programs in
sustainable construction
♦
Research/graduate programs and the Powell
Center
♦
Collateral effects of UF sustainable
construction programs
Rationale for Sustainability
♦ Natural systems and resources are being destroyed
and consumed at an accelerating pace
♦ The creation, operation, and disposal of the built
environment dominates humankind’s impact on the
natural world
♦ C&D waste (U.S.): 145 million tons/year
♦ Construction consumers 40% of extracted materials
in U.S.
♦ Buildings consume 30% of U.S. primary energy ♦ Estimated 40% of all illnesses attributable to
buildings
♦ Rising energy and materials costs, pressure on water supplies
Sustainability and Sustainable
Construction
♦ Sustainability means providing for the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to provide for their needs.
♦ “We are not inheriting the earth from our parents, we are borrowing it from our children.”
♦ Sustainable construction is the creation and operation of a healthy, resource-efficient built environment based on ecological principles.
Brief Timeline
♦ 1991: Formation of Powell Center
♦ 1993-8: ASTM and USGBC activities toward LEED standard
♦ 1994: 1st International Conference on Sustainable Construction
♦ 1995: BCN6585: Principles of Sustainable Construction
♦ 1996: Green Building Materials ’96 Conference
♦ 1997: Formation of Greening UF
♦ 1999: “Reshaping the Built Environment” published
♦ 1999: BCN 1582: International Sustainable Construction
♦ 1999: BCN 6586: Construction Ecology
♦ 1999: Sustainable Construction track in Masters program
♦ 2001: “Construction Ecology & Metabolism” published
♦ 2003: Rinker Hall completed and occupied
♦ 2003: International Conference on Deconstruction
♦ 2004: BCN 6587: Green Building Delivery Systems
♦ 2005: UF Office of Sustainability established
♦ 2005: “Sustainable Construction” published
♦ 2005: Certificate programs in Sustainable Construction
BCN Courses on Sustainability and
Sustainable Construction
♦
BCN 1582 International Sustainable
Development
♦
DCP 4905: Honors Course, Sustainability
♦BCN 6585: Sustainable Construction
♦
BCN 6586: Construction Ecology
♦
BCN 6587: High Performance Green
Track and Certificate Programs
♦ SCN: Sustainable Construction track in BCN Masters Program
♦ Certificate in Sustainable Construction:
– BCN 6585 Sustainable Construction – BCN 6586 Construction Ecology
– BCN 6587 High Performance Green Building Delivery Systems
– BCN 6910 Directed Research
♦ Certificate also available in distance-delivered International Construction Management (ICM) program
International Sustainable Development - 1
♦
BCN 1582 (3) Prereq: None
♦
Required for all BCN majors (I,S)
♦ Purpose: to provide the students with a picture of how sustainable development is changing
humankind’s interaction with the world and their
place in that world, to include its effects on the economic system, its effects on society, and its
impacts on the survival of critical socio-ecological systems.
International Sustainable Development - 2
♦
Part I - Introduction
– Introduction to Sustainable Development
– Environmental Ethics and Environmental Justice
– The Economic Context for Sustainable Development – Tools and Frameworks for Achieving Sustainability
International Sustainable Development - 3
♦
Part II – International Sustainable
Development
– Women’s Issues and Poverty – Sustainability in Europe
– Informal Economies
– Sustainability in a Formal Economies – Formal Social Systems of development – Consumption and Development
International Sustainable Development - 4
♦
Part III – Construction Industry
– The Built Environment – Energy Resources
– Water Resources – Material Resources
International Sustainable Development - 5
♦
Part IV – Effects on Industry and
Organizations
– Introduction to Sustainable Communities – Sustainability and Manufacturing Industry
Sustainable Construction - 1
♦
BCN 6585 (3) Prereq: graduate standing
♦Sustainability principles applied to
planning, design, operation, renovation, and
deconstruction of built environment.
Emphasis on resource efficiency,
environmental protection, and waste
minimization.
Sustainable Construction - 2
♦ Sustainability in the Built Environment
♦ Environmental/Resources Issues & Industrial/
Construction Metabolism
♦ Environmental Ethics and Environmental Justice
♦ Ecological/Environmental Economics and Life
Cycle Costing (LCC)
♦ Building Assessment and Ecolabels
Sustainable Construction - 3
♦ Sustainable Communities and Sustainability Indicators
♦ Energy Systems, Exergy, Entropy, Energy Conservation,
and Renewable Energy
♦ Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Embodied Energy, Emergy, and Materials Issues
♦ Water Resources, Wastewater, and Stormwater ♦ Urban Planning, Land Development, New
Urbanism, and Landscaping
♦ Design for the Environment, Ecological
Sustainable Construction - 4
♦ Construction Operations, Advanced Construction Waste Management, and Deconstruction
♦ Building Health, Building Commissioning and Facility Management
Construction Ecology - 1
♦
BCN 6586 (3) Prereq: graduate standing
♦Purpose: Develop a knowledge of ecology,
industrial ecology and the application of
these two disciplines to the built
Construction Ecology - 2
♦ (1) Ecology: systems ecology, adaptive management,
complexity theory
♦ (2) Industrial ecology: design for environment,
eco-efficiency, industrial recycling of materials
♦ (3) Product and building design: review of case studies
from industrial design and architecture for the application of ecological theory and the outcomes of industrial
High Performance Green Building Delivery System
♦
BCN 6587 (3) Prereq: BCN 6585
♦Sustainability principles applied to
planning, design, operation, renovation, and
deconstruction of built environment.
Emphasis on resource efficiency,
environmental protection, and waste
minimization.
Graduate & Research Programs
♦ Doctoral: 1 graduate, 6 present PhD students, 2
new students in Fall 2006.
♦ Masters: 10 current theses/papers, total of over 40 since 1992
♦ Funded research:
– C&D waste characterization and reduction – Deconstruction
– Alternatives to Halon for fire suppression
– Renewable energy systems: photovolatics and fuel cells – Community sustainability
– Brownfields
– Implementing sustainability at UF – Reclaimed water
– Construction Ecology and Metabolism – Recertification of used building materials
Sample Doctoral Dissertation and Masters
Thesis/Paper Topics
♦ Optimizing the Green Building Hydrologic Cycle
♦ Modeling Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) for Green Buildings
♦ Economic Modeling of Green Building Decisions
♦ Consumer Willingness-to-Pay for Green Buildings
♦ Rammed Earth Block Design
♦ Ethical/Business Arguments for Sustainable Construction
♦ Rainwater and Gray water Collection and Reuse Systems Design
Guide for Residential Application
♦ Sustainable Design and Construction Guide for Residential
Development in Florida
♦ The use of Recycled Concrete Aggregate as a Base Course in Flexible
Pavement
♦ Developing a Construction Waste Management Work Plan for Tract
Housing Development in FL
♦ Recycling Wastewater in Ready-mix Concrete Operations
Related Efforts
♦ Conferences
– 1st International Conference on Sustainable Construction (1994)
– Green Building Materials ’96
– Greening UF (1999)
– Eminent Scholar Series on Sustainable Construction (1998)
– Eminent Scholar Workshop on Construction Ecology (1999)
– International Conference on Deconstruction (2003)
– Rethinking Sustainable Construction (2006)
♦ International Leadership
– CIB Task Group 16 (Sustainable Construction)
– CIB Task Group 39 (Deconstruction)
Collateral Effects
♦ Sustainability on Campus program ♦ UF Green Building Program
1. Rinker Hall (2003)
2. Legal Information & Phase II Law Building 3. Library West Additions & Renovations
4. Mary Ann Coffrin-Harn Pavilion
5. McGuire Center for Lepidoptera Research 6. Genetics & Cancer Research Center/ ICBR Biotechnology Lab Pavilion
7. University of Florida Orthopedics Surgery & Sports Medicine Institute
Summary and Conclusions
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Sustainable development courses are
offered at undergraduate and graduate levels
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Sustainability is part of the culture of the
Rinker School
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The Rinker School has led campus-wide
efforts to implement sustainability in both
academics and operations
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