Engineering for a Circular Economy

As designers, we need to find practical solutions to reduce the amount of resources that are used in the built environment. One possible first step is to use material resources that are already available within our cities and structures. The goal of this presentation is to inspire engineers to think beyond a linear economy in construction to a Circular Economy that maximizes existing material values.

Attendees will benefit from a better understanding of how they can:

· Recognize opportunities for extending the utility of existing structural elements through deconstruction as opposed to demolition

· Design new structures that minimize the extraction of new material by constructing with reclaimed elements

· Aid in the future deconstruction and reuse of structures through Design for Disassembly

The presentation will introduce the principles of a Circular Economy in construction and expand on this through discussion of a series of sbp project case studies that demonstrate deconstruction, structural element reuse, and Design for Disassembly.

Dan Bergsagel, CEng, MICE is a structural engineer with over a decade of experience in the design and analysis of innovative buildings, pedestrian bridges, and specialty structures with an emphasis on sustainable research and solutions. As sbp’s Sustainability Lead, he looks for the most sustainable project solutions by advancing the use of timber design applications, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Circular Economy principles in construction. Dan is currently a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University’s AAP Circular Construction Lab, an Adjunct Professor at Kean University’s School of Public Architecture, and the Circular Economy Working Group Lead of the Structural Engineering Institute’s Sustainability Committee.

Attendance in person (Networking starts at 5 pm ET):

Location: COWI North America, Inc.

88 Pine St/Wall St Plaza, 4th Floor, New York, NY

Time: Networking and Refreshments start at 5 pm ET

Attendance Online (Preseentation starts at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT):

Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82375565650?pwd=DnrcGCIQ4Pbgb3YHL5FXR1IjqWfPQ4.1

Meeting ID 823 7556 5650 Passcode 053448

Registration Fees apply to both in-person and online attendance.

IABSE Members: Free - includes PDH certificate

Non-IABSE members: Free – no PDH Certificate

Non-IABSE members: $20 – includes PDH Certificate

Host or Publisher IABSE-USA National Group