ACTIVITE OBLIGATOIRE 1: LECTURES

READING COMPREHENSION
NB: The following activities are mandatory. They will be done as individual assignments, and
collected by the tutor for correction.
TEXT 1: GREEN BUILDING FOR SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Read the text below. Then answer the questions that follow in full sentences
Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure and
process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle:
from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires
close cooperation of the design team, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages.
The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of
economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement current practices in
creating greener structures, the common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the
overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

Efficiently use of energy, water, and other resources

Protecting health and improving employee productivity
Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

The concept of sustainable development can be traced to the energy (especially fossil oil) crisis and
the environment pollution concern in the 1970s. The Green Building movement originated from the
need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly construction practices. There
are a number of motives to building green, including environmental, economic, and social benefits.
However, modern sustainability initiatives call for an integrated and synergistic design to both new
construction and in the retrofitting of an existing structure. Also known as sustainable design, this
approach integrates the building life-cycle with each green practice employed with a design-purpose to
create a synergy amongst the practices used.
Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately
eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking
advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and
photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, ... Many other
techniques, such as using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or
asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building
Questions
1. In your own words, define Green Building
2. According to the text, what are the origins and purposes of Green Building?
3. According to you, what are some of the negative impacts of conventional building techniques
on the environment?
4. Is there any Green Building project in your country? What does the project consist in? What
environmentally-friendly materials are used?

TEXT 2: Consequences of Urbanization

Read the text below. Then answer the questions that follow in full sentences
Cities draw migrants with the promise of higher living standards. City residents have greater access to
health care, more employment and opportunity and access to more social and cultural events.
For all the relative advantages of city life, however, widespread poverty casts a shadow over the urban
future. A vast number of people in urban areas are threatened by homelessness, health hazards and
violence among other things. These may affect a portion of the urban population directly, but their
indirect effects are felt by the whole society.
Residents of urban areas are at risk from pollution and other health hazards. Pollution from cars, the
burning of fossil fuels and industry causes illnesses such as respiratory infections and lead poisoning.
Homelessness is a growing problem in cities all over the world. In addition, there is the problem of
poor housing. Estimates of the world's homeless population plus those living in poor housing can
reach a figure of 1 billion people. People who are homeless or live in poor housing are constantly
threatened by illnesses and have a much lower life expectancy than other portions of the population.
Crime and violence are other, specifically urban, problems that are not limited to one region of the
world alone. Urban violence has been growing by about 3 to 5 percent a year over the last two
decades. Poverty and social disintegration are cited as the causes of urban crime and violence.
These are not problems that must exist simply because cities exist. They are often the results of poor
income distribution (a few people with high incomes, many people with low incomes) and bad policy.
They can be overcome and in many places they have been overcome.
Questions
1. What are some of the problems that have emerged as cities have grown? Can you cite some
problems that are not mentioned here?
2. Who is most affected by serious urban problems?
3. What problems arise from poor housing conditions?
4. Take one of the problems and come up with ways in which the situation could be improved.
What can YOU do to help?

TEXT 3: Road Foundation

Read the text below. Then answer the questions that follow in full sentences
In planning a road, extensive preliminary surveys must be conducted to determine the precise
line of the road, the quantity of earth to be moved, and the quantity of surfacing material that
will be needed. A second objective of the surveys will be to take samples of the different soils
encountered at different depths by boring, in order to decide if they are suitable for use or if
they must be replaced by imported soil. This is very important because various types of soil have
properties which result in low bearing capacity.
Failures in road surfaces are usually due to insufficient preparation and compaction of the subgrade, that is, the soil on which the surface of the road is laid. Certain soils, such as clay or peat,
are unstable, either because they are impermeable or because they cannot be properly
compacted. It is sometimes possible to stabilise some soils with cement, but in most cases it will
be necessary to excavate the soil to a certain depth and replace it by a suitable granular soil. The
most suitable sub-grade soils are gravel or sand.
Mechanical excavation is made by a variety of machines, including the shovel and drag-line
excavator. The type of machine used will depend on how deep a cut is required and how
accessible the cut is. After the soil has been excavated to the appropriate depth and filled, it is
compacted by a roller until it is firm. After this, a sub-base is laid over the sub-grade soil to
strengthen it and ensure that the traffic load will be distributed correctly over the foundation.
The sub-base is normally composed of granular material and will vary in depth according to the
nature of the sub-grade and also according to what thickness of concrete is to be laid above it.
It is essential that the sub-base should be compacted to a uniform density, since the density of a
soil is related to its bearing capacity. The compacted soil is then recovered with tar, or with rolls
of waterproof paper, with the objective of preventing liquid cement from the concrete base from
seeping into it.
Vocabulary
Surveys: tudes, enqutes
Samples: chantillons
Depths: profondeur
Thickness: paisseur
Strengthen: renforcer
To seep: sinfiltrer
QUESTIONS
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Why are preliminary surveys important in planning a road?

How can unstable soils be stabilized?
What is the sub-base generally made of? Can you list a few examples?
In your own words, define what the bearing capacity of a soil is.