Climate emergency

The Climate Emergency Task Group help the profession to tackle climate breakdown. Their 2020 report reviews the group’s activities through the year.

Will Arnold describes the role structural engineers can play in tackling climate change, by making informed design decisions and influencing other members of the project team.

Offsetting greenhouse gas emissions will be required in the short term while the construction industry develops zero-carbon materials. Will Arnold summarises the key considerations for engineers looking to offset a project’s emissions.

Grace Di Benedetto presents a short glossary of key sustainability terms that engineers are likely to encounter when reading climate guidance.

An introduction to the goals and how structural engineers can use them to tackle the climate crisis and create a better world.

Mike Cook summarises the outcomes of the IABSE British Group’s annual debating forum, setting out key actions that stakeholders in the construction industry can take to enable a transition to net zero.

Natasha Watson explains how structural engineers can produce designs that make efficient use of material to reduce their environmental impact.

Ian Poole explores ways to improve the utilisation ratio of designs, and encourages engineers to challenge assumptions that favour rationalisation over optimisation.

The IStructE Safety, Health and Wellbeing Panel considers the safety implications when aspiring to a lean design.

A study shared by BuroHappold to share knowledge that may help address the climate emergency.

Luke Bisby urges structural engineers to improve their understanding of ‘fire resistance’ as the profession looks to innovate rapidly in response to climate change.

Isuru Nanayakkara looks at traditional technologies and modern approaches to lightweight shell construction to seek a better perspective on how shell technology can be appropriated to different local contexts.

Tim Chapman and Ian Firth highlight the carbon differences between civil structures and buildings projects, and propose that engineers work with their clients to target low-carbon outcomes, rather than just low-carbon structures.

How can structural engineers influence decision making?

Can very low-carbon buildings be constructed cheaply enough to suit the pockets of private-sector commercial developers? Yes, says Professor John French, who has set himself that target in his new role as director of sustainability  for Cambridge Innovation Parks. But to do so involves overhauling approaches to procurement, contracting, materials and risk.

William Algaard presents ways in which structural engineers can help shape the direction of a project by confidently and constructively sharing their expertise in a language that client and architect will understand.

Buro Happold and WSP UK have committed to reducing the carbon emissions of their designs by 50% by 2030. In this article, Sarah Prichard and David Leversha set out the rationale for this target, explain how they plan to achieve this, and encourage other firms to join them in setting an ambitious agenda for governments to follow as we approach the COP26 climate summit.

Hear from the engineer behind the Structural Award-winning Newquay Harper Footbridge project - and get into the mindset of only doing what is necessary.

This article describes the climate-positive design for the campus of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture. 

This article describes the design of Hams Way Footbridge from concept through to construction, including an assessment of the embodied carbon.

The article showcases the University of East Anglia's Enterprise Centre project, a low-carbon, sustainable building which achieves both Passivhaus standard and BREEAM Outstanding rating.

This article describes the structural reuse and strengthening strategies adopted to enable three additional storeys to be added to an existing office building in London.

The design of the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ Centre was developed from the outset to control its environmental and social impact, achieving the highest standards of sustainable construction.

This paper describes the design, fabrication and erection of the MultiPly timber pavilion, which was made from the first cross-laminated timber to be manufactured at volume in the UK.