SUSTAINABLE DESIGN HAS CHANGED BUILDING DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

I have been a consulting structural engineer in Toronto for over 35 years and am a Senior Principal of Read Jones Christoffersen (RJC) Ltd., one of Canada’s leading structural engineering firms, specializing in the design and restoration of building structures and cladding systems. In those 35 years, I have been involved in the design of a great number of both major and minor commercial and institutional building projects across Canada. These projects are undertaken by interdisciplinary teams consisting of owners; users; architects; structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers; landscape architects; cost consultants; project managers, etc.

The recent heightened interest in the design of “sustainable” buildings, driven by growing environmental and energy supply concerns and spurred by the introduction of measurement tools such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™), has triggered a fundamental change in the design process of these buildings. The integrated design process required by such projects is altering the way buildings are designed and constructed.