Investigate the sustainability potential for each of the primary building material systems we’ve covered so far in this course: wood, steel, concrete, and masonry. Create a list and rank your materials in order of the highest-ranked material first and the lowest-ranked material last.
Following each material, write a short explanation of why you assigned the rank to each material and provide at least one link to a recent online article (no older than four years) that validates your ranking.
When selecting the link to support your ranking, select publications and organizations that will not have a bias or financial interest for a given material. For example, select analysis by the National Association of Home Builders instead of the American Wood Council when evaluating wood sustainability.
The following are several elements of sustainability you should evaluate as you make your ranking:
The energy efficiency of the material over the life of the structure The overall carbon footprint of the material Transportation costs Weather resistance and long-term maintenance and repair costs Material expansion and contraction and acoustic properties Labor availability and overall labor costs
Sample Solution
