mark handler
SAWHORSE
The future of composite materials in construction.
http://media.iccsafe.org/news/icc-enews/2015v12n39/jump-solve.html
The International Code Council was invited and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's SOLVE conference, an initiative that brought together people to find solutions to the extraordinarily hard problems facing the global community. The Code Council was invited to the Make portion of the conference with emphasis on building for the future.
The week-long conference will be an annual event tackling problems such as the growing population and how it will be affected by climate change. In addition, issues such as housing, education, medical care, food and energy demands were discussed. Another topic explored and discussed is the type of work people will do in the future with the changes in technology and automation. A reflection upon shift in economics due to the increasingly automated world also was provided.
There were several components to this conference geared at addressing these issues which were titled Learn, Cure, Fuel and Make. It is estimated that the population worldwide will be around 9.6 billion by the year 2050. Much of this growth will be seen in locations lacking infrastructure or resources to provide appropriate housing. These factors coupled with the effect of climate change and decreasing resources created a conversation about buildings of the future. This involved a discussion of the inefficiencies of the construction industry and the need for smarter use of building materials.
One concept that seemed to be at the heart of the discussion was the use of composites as building materials. The marine and aviation industry has had great success with the use of such materials but in the construction industry the impact has not been as significant. The composites of interest focus on materials such as those that use carbon fiber to provide the reinforcing. Generally, such materials are just as strong as or stronger than traditional building materials. In addition they are lighter and involve less connections and overall labor to produce. They also tend to provide high performance in terms of energy efficiency. These materials show promise to aid in a sustainable future but must demonstrate their performance from the perspectives of building and fire codes.
ICC's vision is to protect the health, safety and welfare of people by facilitating the creation of safe buildings and communities. This vision is accomplished in a variety of ways through safety requirements and through inclusion of provisions such as accessibility, energy and water conservation. ICC also is very interested in the concept of sustainability and innovation. In fact, there are several composite construction products that have already been approved through the ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) process and obtained an Evaluation Report. ICC-ES will continue to use a process so new products can enter the construction marketplace both quickly and safely.