From waste to resource: Designing for disassembly

By Sanaz Mani, LEED AP, Architect  AIBC

When thinking about sustainable buildings, their CO2 emissions, energy consumption, embodied carbon, etc., come to mind. However, there is another contemporary challenge that rarely gets any attention but embodies all the above, and that is construction, renovation, and demolition (CRD) waste. Construction waste includes any debris produced during construction, such as cut-offs of materials and packaging waste. The significant construction waste that may lead to up to 30 …

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Blindside waterproofing: Strategies to mitigate installation surprises

By Julia H. Schofield, PE, Sam S. Zalok, PE, and John N. Karras, PE

The practice of blindside waterproofing, where the membrane is pre-applied to an excavation support system outboard of the concrete foundation wall, has a decades-long history of use on commercial building projects, and yet it is not uncommon for contemporary projects to face unwelcomed surprises at the time of the waterproofing installation.

These scenarios can force the team to scramble and either …

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