Course overview

The need for sustainable construction is becoming increasingly important
as a design influence, requiring a collaborative approach over a wide range
of issues. Some of these are well beyond the scope of normal structural
engineering, but do impact on the structure and its design, so at least a
broad familiarity is essential. There is a strong interaction, and sometimes
conflict, between the main indicators of sustainability, but one of the key
issues is to minimise use of resources. This links strongly to the more
general need to control the embodied energy and carbon of the building
structure, and these are clearly the principal responsibility of the structural
engineer. It is of course important to consider operational impacts as well,
as for most buildings these are still dominant. The aim of this course is to
familiarise engineers with the underlying principles of sustainable
construction, but more importantly to offer practical advice on actions to
achieve this.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

Professor Roger Plank
BSc (Hons), PhD, CEng, MICE, FIStructE

Prof. Roger recently retired as Professor of Architecture/Structural
Engineering at the University of Sheffield, but continues to practise
research and consultancy, principally in structural fire engineering, but also
in sustainable construction, and he has led a number of projects dealing
with aspects of fabric energy storage and design for dismantling. He has
played a leading role for the steel sector, the European Convention on
Constructional Steelwork, and the Institution of Structural Engineers in the
field of fire engineering and sustainable construction, and contributed to a
number of government initiatives. He is regularly invited to speak at
conferences, seminars and short courses for practitioners on these
subjects. He is a director of Vulcan Solutions which provides software and
consultancy in fire engineering, and is currently President of the Institution
of Structural Engineers.