Minimizing Energy in Construction

Research has shown that our built environment uses structural material inefficiently, with wastage in the order of 50% being common. Two plausible mechanisms are that some engineers hold individual misconceptions, or that inefficiency is a cultural phenomenon, whereby engineers automatically and unquestioningly repeat previous methods without assessing their true suitability. This talk will present results of a survey of structural engineering practitioners that examined both culture and practice in design relating to material efficiency, undertaken as part of the EPSRC funded project “Minimising Energy in Construction” (MEICON) led by Dr Orr. Our results reveal wide variations and uncertainty in both regulated and cultural behaviours. We demonstrate that embodied energy efficiency is often not a high priority, with habitual over-design resulting in more expensive buildings that consume more of our material resource than necessary. The first MEICON report is the beginning of a conversation. As the construction industry is poised to change significantly between now and 2025, we invite you to join us in this conversation to discover how structural engineering can grasp a significant opportunity to lead these changes. There is much that can be done to improve material efficiency and there is plenty of scope for clients to engage actively with their engineers, working constructively together with the ultimate aim of doing better projects, more efficiently, more valuably, to create mutual satisfaction.

Dr John Orr is University Lecturer in Concrete Structures and EPSRC Early Career Fellow in the Department Engineering at the University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Magdalene College Cambridge. Dr Orr's teaching and research are closely linked to sustainable construction, and improving construction sector productivity. He works in concrete structures, creating new methods for analysis, optimisation, and automation in construction. Dr Orr has a funded research portfolio of £9.13M (April 2019). He has built a team around his vision for the design optimisation and lightweighting of existing and future infrastructure by learning from real performance. Before joining the University of Cambridge, Dr Orr was Director of Research and Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Bath Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering.