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uccessful sustainable design made and sustainable building projects marketplace toward more sustainable
structural systems were selected based Stormwater Not relevant Not relevant Special concrete pavement
Management mixes that are pervious
upon a variety of criteria, including ini- allow stormwater to infiltrate
(2 possible points)
tial cost, serviceability, building type, rather than creating runoff
bay size, and geographic location, they Reduce Heat Islands Not relevant Not relevant Concrete’s light color
(2 possible points) reflects heat instead of
also frequently cited the advantages of absorbing it
using structural steel when seeking Energy and Atmosphere
LEED certification, especially contribu- Energy Optimization Not relevant Not relevant Concrete cladding and
(10 possible points) flooring contributes to
tions to the percentage of recycled mate- thermal mass and may
rials used for a project. provide energy savings.
Materials and Resources
Table 1 evaluates the contributions
Building Reuse Steel buildings are flexible Concrete buildings can be
major structural building materials and adaptable and easily reused, but it is more
(2 possible points)
(steel and concrete) could make to a reinforced. challenging and costly.
LEED design effort. The table demon- Construction Waste Steel is consistently Concrete is consistently
Management recycled or salvaged crushed and reused as fill
strates that material selection also has (2 possible points) material. Steel rebar is
an impact in areas not directly related to removed and recycled.
Resource Reuse Structural steel can be re- Due to its monolithic
the building’s structural system (note fabricated and reused nature, cast-in-place
(2 possible points)
Other Considerations column). concrete affords little
opportunity for salvage
and reuse
CONCLUSION Recycled Content Steel has close to 100% Recycled content typically
Each structural system brings bene- (2 possible points) recycled content from applies to only the cement
scrap steel. portion of concrete and
fits to different LEED credits. A clear en- the steel reinforcing bars.
In some cases fly ash can
vironmental advantage to either a steel be substituted for up to
frame or a concrete frame is not clear in 50% of the cement.
regard to the LEED certification process. Local/Regional Locally manufactured, but Both locally manufactured
Materials not locally extracted and locally extracted
LEED is a performance standard, not a (2 possible points) materials are available. materials are available.
prescriptive standard. It does not favor Innovation and Design Process
one structural system over another. (4 possible points for The following ideas may Exposing structure and thus
Innovation) apply: using fewer materials may
As LEED certification becomes more apply.
popular among design professionals Exposing structure.
and building owners, further studies of
Using composite
the relationship between primary struc- members.
tural material and LEED certification
Design for future
will be possible. In the meantime, struc- recyclability.
tural steel remains a strong option,
Designing for
which can bring a variety of advantages deconstruction.
to environmental design and a LEED Using structure for
plumbing.
certification effort.
An integrated design process that
thoughtfully considers the implications References
of the structural system on other build-
ing systems, and its impact on the envi- 1. Heenan, Bill, Steel Recycling Institute, Recycling Institute, www.recycle-steel.org/
ronmental design effort, will bring value phone conversation, February 24, 2003. leed/leed.pdf, March 2002.
to the project, the owner, the user and, in
2. LEED Reference Package Version 2.0, U.S. 6. “Availability of Structural Steel Shapes,”
a broader sense, to the community. ★
Green Building Council, June 2001. Modern Steel Construction, January 2003.
RESOURCES 3. Carter, Charles J., Murray, Thomas M., 7. Engestrom, Michael, Nucor-Yamato Steel,
For further information please see Thornton, William A., “Economy in Steel,” phone conversation, March 3, 2003.
the following resources: Modern Steel Construction, April 2000. 8. “Utah Olympic Oval,” Modern Steel Con-
www.aisc.org/sustainability 4. Webster, Mark D., “The Use of Salvaged struction, July 2002.
www.recycle-steel.org Structural Materials in New Construction,” 9. Gore, Violet, “Crystal Box: House, Stuttgart,
www.usgbc.org International Green Building Conference Germany,” Architectural Review, September
and Expo, Austin, Texas, November 14, 2001.
2002.
10. “Good Design No Longer Needs the ‘Green’
5. LEED Documentation of Recycled Content Modifier,” Architectural Record, February
for Steel Building Material Products, Steel 2003.