Integrated approach towards sustainable constructions : summary report of the cooperative activities of COST Action C25 : volume 1

Abstract

This publication is the Final Outcome of the COST Action C25 "Sustainability of Constructions: Integrated Approach to Life-time Structural Engineering" which includes research reports, datasheets and guidelines in two Volumes. The Action has actively involved more than one hundred researchers, engineers and architects from 28 countries during four years since December 2006. The Action has summarized its research field by the wording "Sustainability of Constructions" that refers to creative combination of methods of structural engineering with those of sustainable construction. The Action Members have collaboratively examined theories, methods and tools for cross-boundary and trans-disciplinary knowledge production, management and communication. These include approaches to assess environmental, social and economic impacts of construction activities; methods to analyse and verify eco-efficiency of materials, components, buildings and infrastructures; and methods of structural design that incorporate holistic understanding of safety, eco-efficiency and sustainability. [excerpt from Foreword]