Sustainable Construction Methods for ‘Industrial Park’ Development in Chicago’s Southeast Side
Team Members Heading link
- Gilbert Arceo
- Jose Mendez
- Steven Rico
Advisors: Dr. Joseph Schulenberg; Andrea M. Maertens-Pizzo, PE, CFM; Dena Delpazir
Project Description Heading link
With the higher demand for sustainability, the project will focus on the implementation of sustainable methods on the newly proposed “Ave O Industrial Park,” a development site by Chicago’s southeast side.
The construction industry accounts for a large percentage of carbon emissions. As stated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), buildings alone account for 39% of the total energy consumed in the United States and for 38% of carbon dioxide emissions. For these reasons, there is an immense need for sustainable construction methodology to be applied in the preliminary planning and delivery methods for construction development.
Thus, sustainable courses of action during the pre-construction and construction phases will focus on achieving a decrease in waste production for “Ave O Industrial Park.” This will be done through the minimization of material orders and the reutilization of on-site materials, such as the use of crushed asphalt for a more sustainable sub-base filling. Additionally, careful selection of materials is investigated and analyzed to highlight the benefits of lowering the amount of carbon emissions. Reducing the overall carbon footprint up to 30% will be achieved through the selection of materials, such as higher percentages of fly ash in concrete and the use of recycled steel or light-gauge steel frames. The project will also compare traditional construction methods and sustainable construction methods, as well as using a modeling tool such as ArgonneGreet.NET to compute energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, these techniques will be highly recommended for the completion of the industrial park.