Global Sustainable Construction

Overview 

The ideal of sustainability, which is centered around meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the abilities of future generations to meet their needs, is becoming increasingly relevant. But while this perspective is often referred to only in environmental terms, it has implications to cost, society, and survivability of built infrastructure as well.

The program on Global Sustainable Construction in our department seeks to educate future decision makers in the construction industry about how the global and local drivers of sustainability are likely to affect their decisions. For example,

• What are the implications of design decisions on the sustainability of the construction process?
• What are the trade-offs between custom designs for local conditions and a single design for all locations?
• How is the long-term sustainability of the facilities influenced by decisions made during the construction process?

Hence, the concept of sustainability must be studied within these various contexts of the construction industry.

The suggested core curriculum introduces students to the economic, environmental, and social implications of the construction industry. Participating students will learn how to make decisions specifically geared toward sustainable construction practices. An important component is being able to define sustainability with respect to local as well as global effects. Courses on construction project management, the global construction process, economic planning, environmental life cycle assessment, and sustainability will provide the foundation for sustainable construction process decision making.

The Global Sustainable Construction Course Offerings are taught by a cross-disciplinary team of professors, including faculty in our Advanced Infrastructure Systems (AIS) and Environmental Engineering Science and Management (EESM) groups.