Civil engineering has been one of the most important revolutionary keystones of civilization as it has been able to fundamentally change the development of the society throughout the history of mankind. It is a profession with largely human interest in mind. The civil engineers have been able to make use of the natural resources in the environment to make human life more comfortable and efficient. They have also been able to make our day to day life trouble-free by constructing buildings to live, learn and work, roads and railways to travel, bridges to connect unreachable points, airports for air travel and so on. When planning, designing, constructing the civil engineers have always given a great attention to facts such as safety, serviceability, …show more content…
Sustainable development in civil engineering is another challenge that they face today. According to an Engineering Times survey conducted by the national society of professional engineers it is believed that the civil engineers are not involved in sustainable design as they should be. Even though sustainability was a minor consideration in civil engineering in the past, today civil engineers have learned and applied new skills to implement sustainability into projects. A report on “engineering for sustainable development: Guiding principles” which was written by the Royal academy of engineering in the United Kingdom describes three types of concerns faced by the civil engineers as the sustainable development in civil engineering progresses. They …show more content…
Socio-centric concerns. 2. Techno-centric concerns 3. Eco-centric concerns Socio-centric concerns mean the expectations and the aspirations of human beings. The techno-economic systems or the skills engineers must continue to deploy are techno-centric concerns. Eco-centric concerns can be described as the ability of the planet to sustain human beings by providing the material and energy needs and by accommodating emissions and wastes. Sustainable concrete materials and sustainable steel reinforcement have been introduced to civil engineers to get closer to the sustainable development. Sustainable buildings constructed with use of these materials have shown an increased service life and the final cost has been reduced due to them. Implementation of green concepts has been significant not only in design engineering but also in construction. Therefore the knowledge about green design has been a very important fact for the sustainable development in civil engineering. Concepts such as green buildings, carbon foot print, ecological foot print and LEED rating system have helped to achieve sustainable development for civil engineering
The term social design responsibility is also rising used to describe social side. It implicates a design reality, which can be controlled by people all the time. In this view sustainable design is inescapable, whether people are aware of it or not. The social reality is created as a result of the sum of all our individual actions.
Currently, with the enormous emissions of greenhouse gases and the large demand for natural resources, the biosphere is in a frail state and many natural disasters are starting to increase both in intensity and frequency, thus civil engineers are now needed more than ever before when it comes to protecting the environment and society. One of the primary issue is global warming; since the temperature of the earth is rising, glaciers are melting faster and forest fires and droughts are occurring more frequently, hence natural wonders like: Lake Louise could be gone in the near future. Therefore, it really motivates me to pursue my civil engineer degree, so that one day I can play a greater role in creating sustainable cities and help protect the environment and natural wonders such as: Lake
As society becomes increasingly more aware of the decline of the environment, it is the responsibility of the inhabitants of this Earth to both rid of further damage as well as improve the current standing of the land. More specifically, engineers must be mindful of the Earth and it’s condition as their job relates directly a great deal of the time to the environment. Civil engineers, in particular, are hands on with the environment as they are constantly dealing with the land and constructing structures that might have an affect on the surroundings. Engineers must consider a wide variety of factors while doing their job. For example, engineers cannot simply be concerned with the easiest design or a lower cost when they need to be aware of
Yan, J. & Plainiotis, S. (2006): Design for Sustainability. Beijing, China: Architecture and Building Press.
A design process is a sequence of steps and different techniques that designer follows to come up with a design solution to a problem, whether it is architectural, graphics, or something abstract. Designers, architects, and engineers aim to invoke consciousness around sustainability at every step in the design process. When applying the sustainable design principles and improve tools such as CAD there is a huge impact on the design process. McLennan J, F. (2004) believes that "we have an amazing capacity to damage the habitat of all living things while building our own, but we also have an ability to heal it through good design". Sustainable design plays a key role in the design process of changing design society, improves the life, health, well-being and improves the environment through an improved design process. It has become an integral part of our life by bringing so many benefits to
The scope of the sustainable development is conceptually divided into three parts: environmental, economic and social; each of these pillars must be on an equal stage, promoting a model of growth without exclusion (social), equitable (economic) and safeguard natural (environmental) resources (MIT Press Journals, 2017). Considering the words mention above, an interesting approach we could focus on is the way the industry uses the materials to develop projects.
Thus, we conclude, that civil engineering is considered as the first discipline of the various branches of engineering after military engineering, and includes the designing, planning, construction, and maintenance of the infrastructure. The works include numerous facilities that affect the life of human beings. It is intimately associated with the private and public sectors, including the individual homeowners and international enterprises. It is one of the oldest engineering professions, and ancient engineering achievements due to civil engineering include the pyramids of Egypt and road systems developed by the Romans.
Buildings consume a variety of materials in their construction. Green design reduces the dependence on resource intensive products and materials. Today, there are an increasing number of products available made from efficient, earth-friendly, or recycled materials. In a green building, consideration is also given to the construction process itself. Materials that minimize waste or can be recycled, help contribute to an efficient and environmentally sensitive construction process.
Sustainable buildings are becoming somewhat of a necessity in the world today. As the demand for green building develops, so does the demand for green building materials. Just as the old techniques and building materials seem to disappear in the assembly of things, they are now making a come back. Green building focuses on the efficiency of major resources like water and energy. As the cost for sustainable materials and products are on the decline, building green seems to be the most cost effective kind of design and construction. Looking specifically at green materials and their impact on the production of structures, it is evident that they are a prime choice for building material. The use of green materials should be promoted because they are better for the environment, more healthful for the consumer, and better for the economy.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
In conclusion, civil engineers have a responsibility to deal with current issues in a professional and ethical manner for the benefit of society. The topics discusses included: high energy consumption of buildings, the need for efficient water resources, transportation planning, poor infrastructures doomed to failure, the need to have higher standards to become a licensed professional engineer, how globalization has affected all engineers, and the need to have more professional use advance engineering informatics. All these subjects were pondered about how these challenges can be overcome are there effective methods that engineers can apply today. Unfortunately, not all problems are easy to handle.
“Sustainable Development: At its heart, sustainable development is the simple idea of ensuring a good quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It is about living within the carrying capacity of the environment so that how we live, work and enjoy leisure activities, which do not harm or put undue pressures on the environment. It is about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to have a decent education, a quality environment that they take pride in, good health and a decent job (n.p, 2014)”
Civil engineering is a very demanding yet fulfilling career, as the engineer is able to work on a project from its inception right to its completion. When you drive over a bridge, see a building, fly out of an airport, or visit a museum, a civil engineer has had a major part in that
Today's problems are more complex and the needs of current and future societies have created challenges for engineering unparalleled in our history. The use of electronic data collection methods and the application of computers has revolutionized the practice of Civil Engineering. To interpret and satisfy these needs, Civil Engineers currently direct the spending of more than one tenth of Canada's gross national product, more than any other professional group. The Civil Engineer must deal with the human impact of engineering. Social, moral and legal issues concern us to a far greater degree than ever before.
Civil engineers are the people in our world who design, create, and construct both new and old innovative ideas. The role of a civil engineer is to identify a problem, analyze its requirements and conditions, and then design a solution to the problem. Civil engineers are responsible for maintaining and operating infrastructure systems of a society such as bridges, hospitals, airports, dams etc. Civil engineers are also in charge of ensuring protocols such as workers health and safety are followed in the workplace which they are in charge of, this is done by devising methods in which tasks will be carried out which ensure that these safety and ethics codes will be followed.